November 12, 2024
It was a pretty nice day with temperatures expected to reach 22C. Having quite enjoyed our visit a few days ago, we are returning to the same area, this time to Benagil Beach, one of the trailheads for the 7 Hanging Valleys Trail. The plan is to walk a portion of this 7.5-mile out-and-back cliffside trail which follows the coastline to the famous Benagil Cave and beyond.
It is a 45-minute drive from our condo and we arrive in Benagil Beach by 10:00…
It is pretty quiet on the trail, and the weather is great: sunny and about 21C.
We take our time taking in the superb views as we reach each viewpoint and soon reach the Bengali Cave. This famous cave is open to the ocean and the sky…today we are looking in from above…
There are decent swells on the ocean but we saw several zodiacs and fishing skiffs repurposed for the tourist trade taking in the sights from sea level…taking a boat trip is now officially on our “to-do” list…
The views just keep on coming as we trudge along the cliff trail which in a few places even requires a bit of scrambling. One feels as if they should just keep going but there is the small matter of the return trip…
so, somewhat reluctantly, we reverse our tracks and with a final look back on the coastline head back to the car park…
We elected to head back to Carvoeiro about 10 minutes by car for a late lunch, this time at the Taberna Portuguesa. It is up the street from the beach and rather unassuming but we enjoyed the patio and a pleasant meal of grilled chicken for Annie and a grilled sea bass (robalo) for me. A simple meal but tasty and considerably less expensive than by the beach. As in so many places in Portugal walls are tiled and this restaurant had an interesting mosaic on one wall depicting the Caroveiro Beach and the town above it…
A very good day as we return in time to grab a glass of wine and toast the setting sun…
