Cabo Espichel

Mileage: 161689

We continued on. We had collected various suggestions from the taxi drivers of the previous day about where to stop next in the evening. We were recommended to visit the 'Palácio da Pena' and 'Castelo dos Mouros' near Sintra, as well as 'Cabo da Roca', the westernmost point of Europe. However, we decided on something completely different and chose 'Cabo Espichel'.

The route that Ines had chosen for us today took us around the highway ring of Lisbon and out of the city over the 25th of April Bridge, with a view of the great statue of Jesus. Surprisingly, the toll for the bridge only needed to be paid when entering the city, so we passed through toll-free. On our way to our resting place for the night, we could finally see cork oaks standing by the roadside. The typical stripped trunks were easily recognizable, especially when only a few years had passed since the last harvest. After eight to ten years, when the next harvest was due, the trunks had regained their original girth. Sebb had to stop and take photos of the trees.

We spent the afternoon at 'Praia da Lagoa de Albufeira'. Ines wanted to go back to the sea and swim. Here, the water actually felt significantly warmer than during our last visits to the Atlantic further north. We had a lovely time at the beach before heading to our parking spot for the night.

At an old hermitage, a pilgrimage church, 'Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Cabo Espichel', had once been built. The exterior of the buildings was now quite dilapidated, looking abandoned and rundown with its bricked-up windows. However, we were fortunate to reach the church just minutes before closing time and were very pleasantly surprised by how beautifully preserved and decorated the main building was inside.

After a little walk, we made our way to the cliffs to enjoy the sunset at the sea with a view of the lighthouse.

As it quickly became dark, we retreated to Gary. Tonight, there was something special: fried potatoes and sea bream from the fish counter. We had been able to choose the fish whole while shopping and then watched as it was freshly cleaned. However, it was still packaged with the head and tail attached. The task of removing the two ends of the fish fell to the cook.

It tasted excellent.