First stop was Silves.
Silves is the old Moorish capital, dating to the 8th century. The castle was built in the 12th c. after the King of Portugal conquered the town. The town was then re-taken by the Muslims, but was taken back in 1242 and the great mosque was changed in to Silves Cathedral.
Looking towards the cathedral and castle, from the River Arade -
The streets are narrow and cobbled. Shops are shut on a Sunday.
There seemed to be more storks than humans in the town. See my blog on storks of the Algarve.
Note the nest on the top of this building -
We then went up into the mountains to Monchique. On the way we passed an area in which hundreds of storks were nesting. Monchique is a market town, again with narrow cobbled streets. Oranges are replaced by lemons higher up in the mountains and there are many cork oaks. A fire water liqueur is made from the arbutus (strawberry tree) and good quality honey is produced.
Monchique is a spa town. The Romans built baths using the natural spring waters. Bottled mineral water -
We went on up to the highest point of the Algarve, Mt Foia, 902 m. As we went up, clouds came down and when we got to the top, it was thick cloud and a cold gale force wind. And of course zero view. In good weather there are great views down to the coast. This is a view from lower down looking towards the mountains - the cloud typically cleared after we left!
Next stop was Lagos. Lagos has always been a seafaring town, and during the 15th century was the base for the 'voyages of the Discoveries' instigated by Henry the Navigator. African slaves were brought back from the voyages and Lagos had a big slave market. The city walls were built in the 16th c.
Cape St Vincent, the most southwesterly point of mainland Europe. It was known as the end of the world. The wind was the strongest I have ever experienced. It was quite a challenge to take these photos as it was almost impossible to stand still.
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| Looking east towards Africa |
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| Looking west, no land between here and America |
Onto Sagres, passing the Fortaleza, that was the 15th century home of Prince Henry’s School of Navigation. Before then Sagres wasn’t inhabited as it was believed to be a place where the gods went to sleep at night. Sagres means sacred. Even now it only has a small population and mostly exists for the surfing tourism. We stopped overlooking the Baleeira fishing harbor with great views over the cliffs.
I was amused to see a condom dispenser alongside an ATM
Crossing the River Arade and looking towards Portimao, the 2nd largest town in the Algarve, after Faro.
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