Sagres, Portugal

This morning we're walking into Sagres from our camping ground - but first, someone has to watch Prac 1 of Singapore GP! Ok, once that's done and we have morning tea at midday we set off to walk 2 km into Sagres (geez its hot today even though only supposed to be 20 ).

Donkeys on way into Sagres town

Two people bicycle - you've got to be joking!!

We arrive around 1.30 have a wander around then wait for Tourist Info to reopen after lunch and smoke break. The info guy is standing outside having a smoke and I ask him a question (it's 1.55pm) and he says he'll finish his smoke and then when it's 2.00pm on the dot he'll answer my question - hmm, ok. In the end he was quite helpful.

We walk off to look at the Fort, which it a bit over 1km out onto headland, paid our entry then walked around the circuit a few kms, to almost the end of the earth (not quite as that honour belongs to Cabo Sao Vicente which is straight across the bay - we'll visit tomorrow). The view from walking around the circuit is amazing - such dramatic cliffs. We even see some fishermen fishing a metre or so down the cliffs!

Fortress walls

Walkway to Fortress - miles away!

View of fortress grounds - on top of Fortress

Old building inside fortress walls

Fortress walls

Kerrie - investigating gun lookout around fortress wall

Building inside fortress walls

Church inside fortress walls

Time clock (?) - but has wrong number of components (42 and should be 36!)

Cave inside huge rock mound

Dramatic cliffs

Another shot of dramatic cliffs

More dramatic cliff face

And yet another long shot of cliffs

Dramatic cliffs

Men fishing from cliff face

Globe in museum inside Fortress - shows what they thought the world looked like in 14th century - no Australia!

Anyhow the Fort has a rooftop area for surveilling the ocean and when we got up there we were almost blown off - if the photos are little blurry its because I couldn’t hold the camera still in the wind.

Walked back into town (slightly downhill and out of wind thankfully), and off in the other direction to the harbour looking for some lunch (our Tourist Info man told us the views are sensational (he’s right)) - but nothing to eat down there that we like the look of, so trudge back into town and find a nice place but it doesn’t really have a fish meal that we were keen on. Never mind we must eat lunch so order a ham cheese tomato baguette (Bob) and a smoked salmon bruschetta (Kerrie) and sweet potato fries and a big beer for Bob (oh, have I mentioned it has gone 5pm! New record for lunch time!!).

Ham, cheese and tomato baguette + beer (Bob) and salmon bruschetta (Kerrie)

Take a shortcut home which saves a half a km, but a bit more uphill , and arrive back at campsite after 6pm (AND after more than 20,000 steps) - our feet are sore and we are buggered. Dinner consists of a beer/wine and an ice cream and off to bed at 9.00pm.

OK, next day we head off to Lagos, but before we leave Sagres, we need to see "the end of the earth" as it was known in the 15th century. Back then, people like Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama and Magellan thought they would fall of the edge if they went to far out to sea! Portugese are very proud of their place in history of sea navigation.

Kerrie at the "end of the world" blowing a gale!

Kerrie trying to walk through strong wind - at "end of earth"