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The
Algarve coast line stretches about 100 miles from the western-most tip to
the Spanish border.
The western ends juts out into the Atlantic, a rugged, undeveloped
area, which has retained its natural charm - traditional arts and crafts,
which have all but disappeared from the eastern coast - form part of the
way of life here. |
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The
western coastline is extremely dramatic, with cliffs of black rock from
which Algarvian fishermen cling precariously hundreds of feet
above the sea, for hours on end. Beaches vary
from tiny, intimate coves to long lengths of open soft sand, where the
Atlantic waves crash and retreat.
Nothing appears to have changed over the
centuries, and the entire area is virtually untouched by tourism. A
"spaghetti western" or two must surely have been made
here!.
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| The high spot to visiting
the western coast is Cape St. Vincent
- the most southwesterly point
in Europe - Europe's equivalent of Cornwall's Land's End - but without the
souvenir shops - although you may be able to buy some of the local
handicrafts from tiny market stalls along the road. Cape St. Vincent
as a stop off
point en route from Northern Europe to Africa. Spectacular views
from the cliffs straight out across the Atlantic Ocean, with nothing
but water between you and America - the very same view that surely
inspired Henry the Navigator all those centuries ago! |
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