7 Hanging Valleys Coastal Walk 11th May 2022
Eight walkers gathered at the café near Benegil beach for the AWW on 11th May 2022. Our Irish friend Ellen had flown in especially on the previous night and was woken up early to join us on this magnificent coastal walk. John and I had arrived a few days previously from Ireland, done a recce and had fingers crossed that all would go according to plan.
From left to right: Ellen, Jim, Gill, Susan, Geoff, Sue, John and Terry
We climbed the hill from Benegil beach at a
steady pace to discover that one of our crew was already missing. However, as
an experienced reccier she quickly found us and rejoined our group.
As we left the beach the waves crashed
against the rocks reminding us of the power of the sea and that we shouldn’t
dare take a dip during this walk. We passed the world famous and much
photographed Benegil cave.
We
followed a coastal dirt track to Marinha beach admiring the stunning coastal
scenery which marks this area out as one of the most scenic areas in the
Algarve. We passed Marinha beach and
continued towards Albandeira where we sat and had a well deserved mini break.
The girls at Marinha
Albandeira mini break
The aggressive waves warned us not to dare
advance to the beach, instead we continued on the coastal path to Senhor de
Rocha.
We arrived at Our Lady of the Rock chapel
where we enjoyed a shaded break away from the heat of the day. John’s offer to
listen to confessions was ignored by all.
Following a short break and admiration of
the magnificent coastal view towards Armacao de Pera we began an inland route
towards Marinha. The route followed an undulating dirt track. My carefully placed
stone and twig arrows aided us on our way while John and Terry carefully
monitored the route online.
Eventually we emerged on a road and onto
another track which took us back to Marinha beach. We sat on the benches, ate
our well -deserved lunches followed by cherries complement of Ellen. We made a
new acquaintance, a sole Canadian cyclist who was eager to make friends. He was
on route from Lisbon to some part of Italy. Hopefully his bike was where he
left it as he deserted us and left it unattended baggage and all.
Slowly we began the coastal trail back to
Benegil passing the many sink holes and rock formations which were created by
the combined force of rain, erosion and sea water. We passed a small beach
which is accessible only by boat. Eventually the world famous Benegil cave came
into view and a little while later we reached the large car park at the top of
the hill at Benegil. We decided to finish the walk at this point as we had
completed over 13 kilometres in temperatures of 28 degrees. Part 2 of the walk
can be done another time when the heat is kinder to us walkers.
Walk stats:
Distance: 13.29km
Walking time: 3:43hours
Elevation gain: 324m
Well done to all participants. I hope like
us that you all enjoyed the walk despite the hot temperatures.
The flower(?s) of Scotland...or Och, ye wouln'ae like it up yer sporran...
Other scenic photos:
....and thanks to John & Susan for their kind hospitality at their villa afterwards for cold Sagres! Not as adventurous a hike as Ken's EBC , but a bit safer!
ReplyDelete