Ponta da Piedade

During our visit to Southern Portugal we covered a lot of ground exploring the Algarve region. As you know, we don’t like to do organized tours unless they will allow us to experience something special or can take us somewhere we can’t easily get to on our own. We found a tour that fit the bill in Lagos – an hour-plus boat ride out to see the Ponta da Piedade.

The Ponta da Piedade is a series of beautiful sandstone cliffs, that are considered to be one of the finest natural features of the coastline. This area to the southwest of Lagos has been eroded over the millennia by powerful winter storms to form unique cliff formations, which include sea arches, grottos and smugglers caves. While you can explore the area from the pathways that cross and climb the cliffs, our tour proved it is much more enjoyable to view the cliffs from the sea.

We hopped in a basic boat – essentially an over-sized rowboat with an outboard motor. The sights were stupendous, as were the historical and geographical explanations provided by our captain. Words can’t do justice to the formations, so here are the photos. As you’ll see, you can also play a fun game describing what you see in the shapes.

These steps were used, beginning in 1444, to bring slaves from Africa to the slave market in Lagos – they are a monument to a shameful period in human history:

This bridge was apparently built by the nearby property owner:

These formations are called “Lovers” and the “Arc de Triomphe”:

We were able to enter various caves and get up close thanks to the small stature of our boat:

And some additional shots:

If you’ve been to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico and seen El Arco, these formations will look familiar, but they are so much more extensive.

It was a fun excursion – sun, sea, and nature. Plus the water was fairly rough the day we were there, and being out on the ocean in a small boat was definitely an “E-Ticket ride.” Two thumbs up!

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff

PS – we are just about one week into our coronavirus confinement here in SS. So far we’re managing just fine.