Jo’s Monday walk : from Ponta to Praia

What is it with me and cliffs? An element of wanting what you don’t have, I suspect, because I live at the flat end of the Algarve. But I do love them, both looking up, and looking down! I’ve found few more sensational than the falesias~cliffs~ at Ponta da Piedade, the most far distant point of Lagos. Shall we start the lazy way, by catching the little train from the marina? Always a hotspot for me!

So, we board the train and off we go, the full length of Avenida dos Descobrimentos, and out beyond Praca Infante Dom Henrique and the fortress. Past Praia da Batata (Spud Beach!) and onto Estrada da Ponta da Piedade. It’s definitely a good ride for the money! Praia Dona Ana is the beauty spot on this bit of coast, but we stay determinedly in our seats till the end of the line, the lighthouse at Piedade.

We can choose to go down to the grottoes, or along the cliff top on a rather magnificent boardwalk which stretches far off into the distance. ‘Just a little way?’ I ask. It’s my husband’s birthday so the choices are not mine to make. Irresistible, though, isn’t it?

A pirate galleon is anchored out in the bay, and as we round the cliffs we spot a shoal of canoes. We later discover that they are towed out there from the harbour in Lagos, to explore the caves. A combination of boardwalk and concrete path dips and sways around the rocky headlands, making it easy for most people to access these magnificent views. The adventurous young persist in leaving the boardwalk and scrambling to precarious lookouts, despite the warning that cliffs crumble. And it’s a long way down!

In the distance we can see Porto de Mos, another fine looking stretch of sand, but it’s time to turn around if we want to have a look at the grottoes. Maybe another day! Back to the lighthouse we go and, behind the cafe, we find another lovely view, looking back this time, towards Lagos.

We linger on the cliff tops a while, before starting the descent to the grottoes. Approaching midday, it has become much busier than I would have liked, but still it felt like a ‘must do’. I didn’t remember to count the steps, but there were a lot of them! Even more coming back up, or so it seemed. That elusive breeze never managed to find it’s way down into these canyons.

So many lumps and bumps and arches! It’s easy to see why the grottoes are a popular boat trip out of Lagos. The last time we were here we hopped a boat from the harbour, but it was good to see the stacks from above.

Just time for a coffee, and back onto the little train. Meia Praia is at the opposite end of Lagos and we’ve only ever seen it from a distance, and usually crowded, but I was assured by a Portuguese friend recently that it was ‘maravilhosa’. A rare treat, then, to find it so empty! But we’d found that naughty wind again, so maybe it had blown everybody home. As a saving grace, it was a warm wind.

The waves rippled gently to shore, as we went in search of a birthday lunch. A humble cafe would have done, as a we planned something celebratory for evening. Leaning into the wind, we laughed. It was good to be carefree again, if just for a little while.

The only place we could find on that windswept stretch of coast was a rather grand looking restaurant, A Gaivota Branca, white seagull, the symbol of the restaurant perched imperiously on the crisp white wall. As the maitre’d rushed enthusiastically towards us we rolled our eyes. Too late to back out, but I did restrict myself to a glass of white and a rather wicked cake. I explained that I wasn’t really hungry, but what a perfect spot they had. I was assured that I was very welcome and that I could simply sit and enjoy the view. The birthday lad was a little more self indulgent and his chunky chips did look good!

Afterwards he paddled happily back towards the town, a night of gaiety still to look forward to.

It seems ages ago, now, as the arrival of our son overshadowed everything. A full year since we were together! One short week, in which to celebrate a birthday, and even to look at a possible wedding venue. But that’s for the future.

Saying our goodbyes at the airport was not as painful as usual, for we have flights to the UK booked for 12th August. Our wedding anniversary, and in the circumstances, a perfect present!

walking logo

Let me share a few walks before I make my farewells.

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Sarah’s walk filled me with delight, and rekindled my love for Italy

On a walk through Serra San Quirico

Happy to share a little sunlight and shade with I. J

Garden in the shade

He’s traveled far from his birthplace but it always pulls Drake back

Tiny but idyllic

Few changes

You probably all know Mel. She’s always such good company!

Elizabeth Quay – a relaxing corner of Perth, Western Australia

What’s a little rain between friends? I. J. is happy to share!

Younger than the mountains, older than the trees

Rupali is 1300 meters above sea level, having a good time

Taking a short break : Looking for Roads less travelled

I guess now is as good a time as any to announce that I won’t be renewing my subscription to my Restlessjo site on WordPress when it runs out in the middle of this month. That’s not to say that I won’t still be walking, and you’ll always be welcome to come along. I intend to go back to basics and start a new blog, in which Jo’s Monday walk will still make an appearance. Further details will follow, but I don’t expect to be up and running before September. An English summer with family and friends will keep me occupied. I hope you have great plans too. Take care and see you soon!

170 comments

  1. Another wonderful walk Jo. I did get a laugh at Spud Beach. Fabulous photos. I hope M had a great birthday and chips for a birthday lunch, he’s my sort of bloke 😂 Hope you have a fab time in England. Shall miss your posts but know you’ll drop into mine and say G’day or write. Catch ya later m’luvly 🤗💕💕

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  6. Some of your best photos here Jo. I’d love a stroll along those cliffs, a boardwalk and solid paths are always so much easier than the uneven and rocky paths around our coast. If you don’t renew the blog doesn’t it just go back to being a free one? Not sure what happens to photos if you are over the limit though. Anyway, take care. Enjoy your time over here, I suspect we’ll not meet up unless you are near London at the end of the month!

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    1. When you make it out here we’ll do this one, Jude. 🤗💕 Not sure about that. I think it’s just closed and I had reached my photo limit which was why I started a paid blog. 🤔💕💕 Thanks, darlin!

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      1. Your blog reverts to the default WordPress address URL unless you pay for the domain. The site remains open, and no photos are deleted, but if you have reached the 3gb limit then you cannot add any more unless you delete images to get under the limit. As it seems you aren’t going to continue using this blog it will simply remain as it is.

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      2. Thanks for that! I was going to check before I put my last post up, but you know what I’m like and time seems to be disappearing before my eyes 🤣💕

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      3. One reason why I went for a paid blog was to get rid of the awful adverts. Some blogs have them all over the post, between photos as well as at the end. Paying a relatively small sum is worth it to me to avoid that on my blogs.

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      4. I thought that was if you went with Word Ads, or whatever they call themselves, if you want to advertise or make money on the blog. 🙄💕 Like Julie Dawn Fox.

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      5. No. Ads appear on free blogs. You’ll see them on my flower blog. I don’t as I am permanently logged on to WP. You don’t have any control over what appears.

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  8. Such a beautiful walk for your final “Restless Jo” outing. The scenery was stunning and I really think catching the train to the top was an excellent idea. Enjoy your family time in UK and happy birthday to hubby, I will miss you Jo, as you know I have pulled right back on my blogging and finding once a month just to keep a record and the occasional pop in to touch base with my favourite blogging buddies posts works well for me. So take that time for yourself and enjoy the blogless freedom, and I hope we do get to virtually meet again in the future. Good luck and stay safe in this uncertain world.🤗💕

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    1. Thanks so much, Pauline! It was quite the adventure when I set out on this blogging malarkey. I’ve made so many friends here that it will be hard to leave. But life takes precedence and I know I can always pop in and see folks. You and Jack take good care. I’m sure we have all learnt a few lessons in the past year or so. 🤗🤗💕💕

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  11. Lots to think about here. There’s the walk and those blue skies(!); the amazing sight of century plants in flower on the cliff tops; the desire to send belated best wishes to the birthday lad and congrats to your son; then the sad surprise that you’ll not be renewing the subscription for this blog. How will it work, do you know? It ought not to just vanish, surely? You’ve a lovely, kind presence online and we will miss you. I feel hopeful I’ll still see you around and I’ll be looking forward to visiting your new internet home whenever you get it up and running.

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    2. Thanks, Susan 🤗💕 Yes, I realise it’s a bit of a ‘chuck it all out there’ post but it’s now or never. For the last couple of years when I’ve had the reminders from WP I’ve considered ending this, but then I bottle it. I’m never organised enough to have another site set up in advance and I haven’t got very far with the new one. I do love many aspects of the blog world but life is pretty complicated right now and it is more important to live it than blog about it. Believe me, I’ll do my best not to lose touch. I’m not sure if on 14th August I will just disappear down the rabbit hole, but if I do I’ll have to climb back out. 🤣💕 Wish me luck and thanks for your lovely company.

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  13. I confess to feeling a bit sad that you’re giving up this blog Jo, I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts and walking along with you over the last few years. This looks like a lovely combination of train ride and walk and your photos are great as always – I particularly like the first shot, it’s stunning. I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer and I’ll look forward to seeing some great shots on your new blog 🙂 xx

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    1. It’s hard to explain, Eunice. I love writing the walks but I don’t want the blog to take over my life… And it can! There are a lot of things going on that I haven’t written about and that really do need my attention. I won’t be far away but I really don’t need a massive following. It’s something we might aim for at the start but there are drawbacks. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, and yes, I do love an audience. I’m very happy to have had your company and I hope we won’t lose track of each other. 🤗💕

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      1. I forgot to say happy forthcoming anniversary, I hope you have a lovely time 🙂

        I know what you mean about a blog taking over your life. I recently had a 10-day holiday in Cumbria and I seem to have done nothing since except edit my (665!) photos and write my blog posts – and I’m still only halfway through the ten days! When I started the blog nearly five years ago it was really just a way of keeping myself occupied during the non-camping winter months – I wasn’t aiming to have lots of followers, in fact I wasn’t sure anyone would actually bother to read it. I now have 286 followers, not many compared to a lot of blogs, but I’m happy with that and sticking to my initial principles of posting just twice a week then I don’t get overwhelmed with it.

        No-one knows what’s round the corner, circumstances change and maybe there’ll come a time when I do get fed up with the whole blogging thing, but for the forseeable future you will always find me in the Mouse House 🙂

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