Sunday – 08/09/2020

We left our hotel  LuzMar Villas in Praia da Luz after a hearty breakfast and we went to explore the famous region of Sagres. We used the Lonely Planet and Publifolha guides to guide us and followed the order of the numbers:

We started the day by going first to the Cape St. Vincent, who is responsible for the name of the Vicentine Coast. In the Middle Ages, this cape was considered the end of the world because of its constant, strong winds and its 60-meter cliffs facing the Atlantic. Since the 15th century, it has been an important reference point for ships with a 95km range lighthouse that is considered the most powerful in Europe.

Cape St. Vincent

We parked the car in the parking lot in front of the tourist spot, took some pictures of the impressive view and, of course, bought my fridge magnet from the vendors. Then we went into the building where the lighthouse is and enjoyed the view a little more. The wind is REAL, people!!! 🙂

We returned stopping at the viewpoints of the beaches of Bunkbed and Barrel – both beautiful but with a good descent – until we reach the Sagres Fortress, the main attraction of the region.

We parked the car in the parking lot in front of Fortaleza, took photos with the beaches of Barrel and Mareta in the background and we prepare for the visit by putting the baby in the backpack.

A little history

Henry the Navigator built this fortress in the 15th century and soon after founded the famous Sagres School of Navigation and Shipyard. Between 1419 and 1460, he invested the resources of the Order of Christ, which he commanded, and his efforts in building caravels that would travel to unknown waters. In 1434, Gil Eanes of Lagos was the first sailor to pass Cape Bojador in Western Sahara, which opened the West Coast of Africa to exploration.

The Fortress of Sagres

We were about to pay for the tickets at the box office when we saw a sign that the visit was free for residents. Yay, that was our case!

We went in and I was impressed by the size of the place. It's huge! Since I wasn't expecting that size, I regretted not taking water, sunscreen and a stroller to push the 15kg baby around instead of a backpack, so here's a tip! We walked around the whole place, enjoyed the view, and went back to the car feeling exhausted.

We then stopped at a bakery in Sagres to buy some snacks and went to explore the Martinhal Beach, where is a resort that we want to stay, the Martinhal Sagres Beach Family Resort, and many luxurious vacation homes. If Paddy hadn't been asleep and we hadn't just finished eating in the car, we would probably have stopped to eat at the restaurant on this beach. Look how cute:

After this quick visit to Martinhal beach, with lots of wind, we continued on to discover and enjoy Burgau beach, details of which are in post Luz, Burgau and Salema beaches.

This post is part of a 9-day trip through the Algarve and Alentejo. Read about the entire trip in links below:

• 9 days driving along the Costa Vicentina (Algarve and Alentejo)
• Setubal Ferryboat until Troy
• Troia, Comporta and the Carrasqueira Stilt Wharf
• Beaches of Luz, Burgau and Salema (Algarve)
• Sagres, Cape St. Vincent and Martinhal (Algarve)
• A day at Lagos Zoo
• 1 day exploring the beaches of Amado and Bordeira (Algarve)
• 5 days on the Alentejo Coast (Vila Nova de Milfontes, Zambujeira do Mar, etc.)