There is an actual museum inside a building in Carrapateira, but even more amazing is the outdoor "museum" that's been created along the coast. Large, rusty metal letters mark each stop from A to J and there's online interpretation (at pontaldacarrapateira.com) of what you are seeing at each stop, where you can walk out on a boardwalk (and if you dare, out onto the cliffs) and learn about the history of the area.
I'm staying at a guest house a short distance from Bordiera beach, in a very quiet (I think that's because it's winter) spot. It's lovely here.
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| Bordiera beach, 3 km of sand, huge sand dunes and huge waves |
I spent close to 3 hours walking along the cliffs and learning about shipwrecks, fishing, geology and fossils, plant life, an ancient Islamic fishing village ruin, and surfing. Not long ago, I'd read Barbarian Days by William Finnegan, a Pulitzer-prize winning book about his love of surfing, and honestly, most of the people I saw today were congregated at sites where the camper van could be parked and guys were heading into the surf carrying their surfboards. I loved seeing that too. I watched a lot of surfers attempt to ride the huge waves at Bordiera and Amado beaches and not many stayed up for long.
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| there's a surfer there, just about to fall back into the water |
It was truly spectacularly beautiful. Also windy. Spectacularly windy, so no painting on the cliffs (yet).
I had lunch in the center of town and then went into the actual museum, which had limited English interpretation, but a lot of fabulous photos and objects on display.
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houses next to the museum
Tomorrow is my last full day in Portugal! I'm going to enjoy the next couple of sunsets, and I have only one item on my agenda tomorrow, a pizza place in Sagres that Time Out ranked #33 on its list of the "best pizza in Europe." |
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