Benagil, Walk, Boat, Caves and a quick Dip

Benagil Cave another find on instagram and oh what a find.  Ever since I started seeing pictures of it on Instagram it has been my number 1 on my list of places to visit.  The fact that there was a boat involved was a bonus.  There is nothing better than getting a view of the land you are visiting from the ocean that surrounds it and is so important to its life.  This clever entrepreneur set up a shop between 2 cliffs and has boats running all day long when the weather isn't too rough.  I shudder at what it is like in the summer time.  I can't recommend visiting these places off season enough, you can definitely do more exploring and less waiting your turn. 

We booked right at the cliffs with the Benagil Tours Taruga and they were great.  It's probably a good idea to book online.  There are lots of tours from different towns, but we really loved this one. 

There were also lots of paddle boards and kayakers enjoying the water and visiting the caves.  The water was only 17 degrees, I was glad I was in a boat.  After booking our seats, we had a 2 hour wait so we went off to look at the caves from the clifftops.  An easy walk with amazing views. 

Looking down into the Benagil Cave, they have a fence around it but everyone goes over the fence to get as close to the end as possible.  Crazy when you think of it as I am sure over the years pieces have fallen off.  During high season you would probably be lucky to get this close to the edge. 

Nothing like lunch after a long walk.  Pescador looks down on the beach between the 2 cliffs, has a wonderful menu and wine list and lovely staff to go with the location.  I had a vege curry and Jim had a tuna salad, delish 

This is definitely on my list next visit.  LOL  I don't think I could even climb up the pathway.  Lindsey and I enjoyed just watching :)

Some of the cliffs have tunnels to get to them.  Now what's my excuse!!!!!!!!!!

And we're off these boats just skim along the water going in and out of the caves at full speed.  Thankfully we had a calm day and were a middle tide. 

There were big caves easy to get in and out of.  And then there were little caves that you had to put your heads on you knees and were pitch black on the way in.  I don't know how Captain John knew when to stop.  He had to time it perfect with the waves going in and out of the caves so he didn't hit the sides, or top of the opening.  Lots of laughter and shrieks. 

Let's make it totally perfect by adding in a lighthouse. 

This is the heart cave.  We really lucked out with the sky as well, so blue with white wispy clouds, everything was so vibrant. 

The shore was dotted with caves. 

This is the actual famous Benagil Cave, you can swim to it or kayak or paddleboard.  Next time. 

The colours were amazing, from the water, to the walls to the sky through the hole. 

There were so many beaches that you could only get to by water.  Definitely picturing James Bond lying on one of these with his current interest.  Now which James Bond would I pick.  Come on down Sean :)

Yes this cliff face definitely looks like an old man.  Captain John knew all the spots and added some local colour. 

The departing and landing were quite exciting.  Backing in at full speed and jumping on the boat in between swells and yes you do have to get in the water to do it so dress appropriately. 

We survived.  Now are we brave enough to go for a dip. 

Yes we are, 2 quick ones, it was mighty cold and quite choppy for a calm day.  I guess with the beach being between 2 cliffs the waves had a little more oomph to them here than out on the ocean. 

Our Bond Men.  If they had speedos on they would definitely remind me of Daniel Craig. 

On the way home we made a stop at Praia de Albandeira a beautiful little resort town right on the beach.  The owner of the restaurant was telling us that there was a big storm in early March and it took all the sand away from the beach which is why there are these little rock pools below.  It happens every few years and the townsfolk have fun playing in the pools and then a storm comes and the sand comes back. 

So many shells and so many embedded right into the sandstone.  Shows you how wild the sea is here.  Now we just have to find a rental right here for next year :). 

Tavira - a modern Moorish Town and a must see in the Algarve

Tavira is a beautiful Moorish town about 20 minutes east of Faro.  The people we met in Ferragudo told us to put it on our list and my first reaction was "No I want to see rocks" and this is definitely more beachy.  I am so glad we went, it is a stunning town, so clean, so white and so interesting.

 Tavira wasn't just a Moorish town, the Roman's also were residents for awhile.  Below is a Roman bridge. This lovely little town still reflects it's Moorish inhabitants (from the 8th to 13th centuries) with churches, a castle and beautiful whitewashed buildings which looked amazing with the big blue sky on the day we visited.  I can't believe how many pictures of this town I took, but around every corner was a wonderful little alley, or doorway or building or vista of the city.

 Tip:  If you want to see inside the historical churches and buildings don't go during lunch because they close from 1 to 2.  When the custodian in the church wouldn't let us up the bell tower because she was going to lunch it was a good reminder to us that we better eat before the restaurants close at 3 :).  Can't be hungry or thirsty while touring.

 As we were leaving the town, we spotted a fisherman at the bottom of the Roman Bridge, not sure what he was catching but he was very intent.

After we arrived home and had our customary pre-dinner wine, Jim and I set off for a walk along the beach to Julia's restaurant.  Walking along the boardwalk we passed some stunning houses and lots of building going on.  We then headed down to the beach.  Our 20 minute walk ended up being more like 40 but it felt so wonderful to feel the sun on our faces and the sand and water on our feet.

 Can you picture Jim giving up his golf clubs to take up fishing when we retire :).

 Julia's was hopping when we arrived, lots of burnt bellies and faces sitting on the patio.  Inside were our travelling buddies ready to share a cocktail with us.

My only sunset and it was a spectacular one.