structures & shapes

The coastline of the Algave, portugals southern region, is really impressive! The area between Faro and the Cabo de São Vicente is called “Barlavento” which means “facing the wind”. And wherever the two natural architects “wind” and “water” are in action there is some promise to discover “structures and shapes created by nature”.

The coast line is a rugged 20–50 m high cliff from yellow limestone and reddish-brown sandstone with amazing formations such as arches and caves as well as beaches and bays.

Here I want to focus on the caves! My favorite one is NOT the one that got famous when Microsoft added a picture to it’s Windows 10 screensaver a while ago and the world started travelling to that place. It’s another one called “Gruta do Paraíso” or “Paradise Cave”. And that’s the one in the picture above. I took an early boat ride so that the low sun would have a chance to light up some of the walls and also let the sky shine in blue. The few clouds were an obviously not predictable but great goody.

For me, the peaking of that palmtree outside the big hole on the top was doing the trick! Together with the little sand beach below and the few green plants on the walls this is truly a paradise like cave.

And here, Benagil cave, the one from the screensaver … Very hard to get a shot without any tourists on it as the boats are standing in line – or not so much in line – …

Finally and not really a cave but an iteresting hole in the cliff … Seems like someone drilled a hole to get some light on the pool …