2016-02-06

Exploring the Algarve on the motorbike. - Cabo de São Vicente, Portugal

Cabo de São Vicente, Portugal

Where I stayed

Quinta de Odelouca Campismo Rural,

What I did

Fortress at Sagres Algarve

Algarve Portugal – January 2016

Based in Quinta de Odelouca Campismo Rural we are inland about 25 kilometres from the south coast and a bit further from the west coast of Portugal. The campsite is charming with only 25 stands. The facilities are relatively new and exceptionally well maintained – down to under floor heating in the showers when it's cold. It’s about 3,5Km to the village of São Marcos de Serra on a dirt (mud) local road with some fairly steep hills and sharp stony corners. I don’t buy eggs to carry in the panniers on my bicycle.

The 2015-2016winter has been relatively mild so far in Southern Portugal. A local resident told us it was about 4°C warmer than usual. We stopped here for the month of January and only had a couple of wet days and a few nights with the temperature below zero. The days have been a real treat after 8 winters in North Poland.

Brutus the motorbike has come into play here. The roads in the area are great for a day out. In fact there is even a motor biking group "for seniors" who organise regular day trips.

We have never been on an organised ride before and jumped at the chance when fellow campers, also “seniors” with a BMW, invited us to go along too. There were about 30 motorbikes ranging from a well-used 120cc Honda through to some big beasts. The route took us up some lovely roads from the meeting point (Paderne) to a hilltop village Malhão. The little café battled to produce enough coffees!

We wound our way down the hills to finish up with a 3 course meal including a “jar” of wine for €10, in Messines. In addition to the many asphalt roads through the area there are extensive dirt road trails through the forested hills – ideal for the scramblers and off road bikes.

We explored the south coast which has some very picturesque coastline. The pocket beaches and intricately carved cliffs are a Geographer’s Dream.

As we prefer the “natural” places we did feel a bit sad at extensive development along the coast and we are certainly not tempted to return in 'high season” when it is packed with holiday makers. It was quite onerous to find our way down to the shore as many of the development have restricted the access. To find parking must be a nightmare in season. The down side of visiting now is the cool sea – there were some surfers out but they were in full wet suits. We were not brave enough to go for a dip. Galé, Castelo, São Rafael were favourites and we would have liked to ‘linger longer’!

There were in fact some vans parked but our set up is not geared towards “free camping”.

The west coast was far less developed and “wilder” somehow. The rocks are more resistant to erosion and the powerful waves from the Atlantic have made some magnificent landforms. A national park, Parque São Vincentina, extends over a lot of the area and the actual coastal interface is beautifully controlled and maintained. The dangerous areas are fenced off and wooden walk ways allow access to view points with minimal impact on the fragile landscape and vegetation.

We had a scenic ride across through small villages to Odeceixe. The main village is about 4Km inland. In addition to a good road there’s a lovely ‘canoeable’ river, ending at the river mouth. Tides may make the last part tricky.

Some of the villages we particularly enjoyed were Monte Clêrigo, and Arrifano. The older fishermen’s cottages are nestled into the lee slope of hillside to find some shelter. The actual fishing harbour at Arrifano is really small with a tricky, narrow entrance. The access road is steep and in winter it’s mainly used by surfers. There were a few waiting for “the wave”. The point break was good but I had my heart in my mouth as they had to weave around some mean looking rocks. It’s definitely not a place for beginners to be surfing.

Another magical day saw us taking the road westwards through Monchique and Marmelete to Aljezur. The section from the IC1 at São Marcos de Serra is one of the best roads we’ve been on with the motor bike. It’s smooth and has lots of curves as it crosses the mountain range. The area doesn’t have the majesty and size of the Alps or Dolomites but it has its own more gentle beauty. From Aljezur we turned southwards and then west again to Bodeira and Carrapateria. The coast, a few kilometres to the west, is breathtakingly beautiful. With towering cliffs that have been eroded to make a rugged fringe which must be very scary when an Atlantic storm with howling westerlies blows in. We were there on a relatively calm day and the there was still a significant swell. Once again we appreciated the way the region is managed. One of our favourite spots has the remnants of an Islamic Fishing village perched high up above a small harbour that is still used as a seasonal fishing base.

In fact they were working on improving the slipway and parking apron when we were there. The small wooden boats are parked up on the hilltop above. After a slow (because of the repeated photo stops) detour around the headland, on a dirt track we picked up the asphalt road and headed for the most south-westerly point in Europe Cabo de Vicente.

Cabo de Vicente is one of the many headlands that jut bravely into the Atlantic. The squat, sturdy lighthouse is built to be functional and durable as it stands guard on the most south westerly point of Europe.

Across the bay is it’s “twin” at Sagres. We called in at the fort as in addition to its strategic role as a defensive position, it is the place where Henry the Navigator had set up a maritime academy in the 1400’s. The exhibition hall is being reconstructed. The fort too had to be rebuilt as it was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1755. The chapel evidently was relatively undamaged. In the massive courtyard there is a circle of rocks (50m diameter) with carefully 48 carefully placed lines running from the centre. It was unearthed in 1919. Its original function remains a mystery but it is believed to be related to early navigation (a compass or a sundial).

The area around the fort is also a well laid out park with a path and information boards taking one around the headland.

The walk was a pleasant surprise but I was disappointed as I had expected to see some of the relics from the maritime academy – things like sextants, compasses, telescopes and examples of the evolution of cartography. Perhaps the exhibition hall will house them in future? In the courtyard however there is a replica of the stone crosses which sea farers from here, planted in new territory they discovered, in the 1400’s. This was extra special as we have seen several of the originals along the South African coast which were erected by Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco da Gama on their voyages of discovery.

The Algarve is certainly a lovely place to be, in the off season.

We would love to be here when it’s warm enough to enjoy the beaches and the sea and surf. However we will definitely not stay around long enough to fight the crowds. In our short time in Portugal, the place has really grown on us. The people are quiet and we‘ve had nothing but friendly, efficient service. The scenery is pretty with forested hilly interior and the spectacular coastlines. Another definite plus is that the food in the smaller village restaurants is tasty and good value. We really like the idea of ‘meal of the day’ for about €10 for 3 courses and a drink. Midday is the most usual time to go out in the out of the way places. The restaurants are usually doing brisk business with locals and passing motorists stopping for lunch. Quinta de Odelouca has been a great base for us but the freedom and flexibility of the motorbike has really made a big difference as it has enabled us to explore the countryside. We are really having to ‘be strong’ to pack up and move on. We are very comfortable here and have made some new friends in camp – there is however a whole lot more out there! So tomorrow we head for Tavira, on the east Algarve coast, as we intend going back to explore the SW chunk of Spain that we by passed on the way south.

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