Lisboa to Ponta de Sagres

Lisboa to Ponta de Sagres

5/8 Today was a long drive from Lisboa to Ponta de Sagres and after several hours on the highway, we made the mistake of taking the scenic route. The road followed along farmlands but eventually turned into a goat path. By American standards this RV is small, however, by European standards it is quite large. We finally made our way to Sagres; please note its location on the map, we are about as far southwest in Portugal as one can go... before falling into the Atlantic. Well after a light meal we set out walking into the town, which was quite closed down by now. But we followed the dirt road and eventually found our way to pavement. We noted the monument we will visit tomorrow, and began back to the campground, about 4 miles or so. Our dirt road was now FILLED with goats of all sizes and shapes, do we go on... or turn back to the trusted pavement and around the long way. We moved forward slowly and the goats moved for us, some were busy fighting but most were just eating. Then we noticed an old goat herder, his skin was tanned and leathery and he was not interested in us...so we move on "home."
5/9 We got on our bikes and headed to Ponta de Sagres. This is one of the best places to get a sense of what the early navigators must have felt at the school Prince Henry used as a school of navigation. Out on the windswept promontory his students looked down on the enormous rock-made compass, studying the strengths and directions of the prevailing winds, then sailing out to Brazil, Cape of Good Hope, India, etc, etc. We walked and browsed and discovered this is a wonderful place for local fishermen, high on the cliffs. What a massive rod they have, as they sit patiently waiting.
Our next stop is Selama which is still a quaint fishing village, but also has a tourist based economy. After walking along the beach and the town we stopped at "Aqua Na Boca" for a Portugal specialty...fish stew and green wine; it was a delight. Green wine is made from the first green grapes and doesn't have much alcohol, but does have a "fizzy" light taste, great with fish.
As we head for Seville, Spain, we have lost an hour, so it is "later than we think!" Dos Hermanas, Seville Campground is the most crowded campground we have stayed in on this trip. Seville is obviously very popular with Europeans from the north.

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