Sunbathers enjoy the sun, sand and crystal-clear water at
Praia do Camilo
beach near Lagos in Portugal's Algarve region.
The Costa d'Oiro — the golden coast — runs south from Lagos and
features a string of sandy coves tucked among crumbling sandstone
cliffs leading to saltwater caves and weird rock formations.
Mist shrouds the lighthouse at Cape St Vincent on Portugal's
spectacular and captivating southwest coast in the Algarve region.
Brightly colored cliff-top flowers enhance the stark beauty of
Portgugal's Algarve region.
A fisherman tries his luck off the rocks at Carrapateira on
Portugal's southwest coastline.
Centuries ago Portugal was a seat of discovery, the place from
which explorers set sail in search of gold and glory. These days
visitors are finding it boasts its own majestic treasures, writes
Paul Ames.
The wind picked up after we left the last trees behind and the
narrow road stretched out over the misty, scrub-covered plateau
toward the end of Europe.
At Sagres, the road stops at the walls of Henry the Navigator's
fortress. Beyond, the land runs out and the old continent drops 50
meters into the roaring Atlantic. After this there is nothing but
ocean until New York.
Europe's southwestern tip is a place of stark beauty, prone to
sudden fogs and blustery sea breezes. Jutting into the sea, the
twin headlands of Sagres and Cape St Vincent were places of mystery
and awe to ancient Romans and early Christians.
For Prince Henry the Navigator, this finger of land pointing
into uncharted waters was the obvious place to site the school for
explorers that kicked off Europe's Age of Discoveries 500 years
ago.
History buffs can visit the clifftop chapel where Henry once
prayed, walk the walls of a fortress sacked by Sir Francis Drake or
look out over waters where Lord Nelson battled the Spanish fleet.
Birdwatchers flock here to watch waves of migrators rounding this
monumental corner of land on their way between Europe and
Africa.
But most visitors come here for neither buildings nor birds, but
for beaches.
The 100-kilometer coastline running along the far west of
Portugal's Algarve region offers some of the continent's best
bathing spots with an amazing variety of beaches from the
translucent shallows of the Ria de Alvor lagoon to the thunderous
surf of west coast spots like Bordeira and Arrifana.
European vacationers have been flocking to the Algarve since the
1970s and mass tourism has turned much of the region's central
strip into an unsightly jumble of towering hotels, pizzerias and
Irish pubs.
Thankfully the gentle, warm-water eastern coast near the Spanish
border and the more rugged west have so far escaped the worst
excesses of overdevelopment and are looking increasingly attractive
to savvy Americans seeking to stretch their exchange-weak
dollars.
The Ria de Alvor is a mild start to the Algarve's wild west.
This blue lagoon is edged on the east by the town of Alvor. Once a
quaint fishing village it is now a bustling tourist center that
still has some great restaurants along waterfront where freshly
caught bream, bass and cuttlefish sizzle on vast quayside
barbecues.
Visiting bathers share this protected estuary with yachtsmen, a
multitude of seabirds and old men paddling in plaid shirts and
rolled-up pants to hunt shellfish at low tide. The open sea is a
short walk over the dunes to Meia Praia, a six-kilometer crescent
of white sand curving toward the city of Lagos.
Deserted apart from a few nudists at its eastern end, Meia Praia
becomes a boisterous family beach near the town where locals take a
rowboat ferry across the narrow Bensafrim River to reach the
sands.
Lagos is the the port where Portuguese explorers set out for
their first voyages down the coast of Africa. It still has
something of a swashbuckling air with its rivermouth fortress and
medieval walls holding a warren of narrow streets that fill in
summer nights with a youthful, bar-hopping crowd who use the city
as base camp for surfing trips.
There's also culture to be found in Lagos' art galleries or open
air concerts beneath the city walls. The church of Santo Antonio is
lined with intricate wood carvings coated in gold leaf plundered
from Brazil.
On a grimmer note, a 15th-century building near the river is
believed to be the site of Europe's first African slave market.
Running south from Lagos is the Costa d'Oiro - the golden coast
- a string of sandy coves tucked among crumbling sandstone cliffs
leading to saltwater caves and weird rock formations at the Ponta
da Piedade headland. It's the ideal place for romantic sunsets.
All this coastline naturally brings other attractions. It's no
surprise the Portuguese eat more fish than any other Europeans. At
the restored market hall in Lagos, the array of freshly caught
seafood is dazzling, from tiny sardines and baby squid to the great
snakelike silver scabbard fish or torpedo-sized tuna.
Farther west, the coast gets progressively wilder. The beach at
Martinhal just before Sagres rises to a mountainous sand dune but
is exposed to powerful southwesterlies that make it a challenging
favorite for windsurfers.
For those willing to climb down the steps cut into the cliffs,
Praia do Beliche is a wide triangle of pale sand sheltered from the
wind by the twin capes of Sagres and Saint Vincent.
Although most of the beaches have lifeguards during the summer,
care is needed when the surf's up on the west coast. Four tourists
drowned last October, swept away by currents on Tonel beach at
Sagres.
North of Sagres, the coast has some of Europe's best surfing.
The rugged, wind-swept landscape here seems a world away from the
gentle waters and groves of almond and citrus of the central
Algarve.
The beaches here are remote and undeveloped, but are great for
those hoping to ride the waves, or simply to get away from the
crowds to soak up the sun and the sound of the surf.
If you go
Getting there: Lagos is 90 kilometers from Faro airport while
the Portuguese capital Lisbon is 300 kilometers from Lagos by
highway. The train journey from Faro airport to Lagos is slow but
picturesque, and Portuguese railways have recently upgraded the
rail link from Lisbon to the Algarve, which takes about four hours.
Lagos is the end of the line.
Accommodation: There's a wide range of accommodation in Lagos
from rented rooms to luxury hotels. Rates vary greatly from the
winter to the high summer season.
On the Net: Portugal tourism agency, www.visitportugal.com;
Portuguese airports, www.ana.pt; Portuguese rail company,
www.cp.pt
(Shanghai Daily by Paul Ames February 18, 2008)
