The Algarve

One of the many interesting rock formations along the Algarve coast. This one is somewhere along Praia da Rocha - which translates into beach of the rocks.

photo: G Hooijer

Faro is Portuguese for lighthouse which may go some way to explaining why the one here is particularly grand.

Yacht sailing close to the algarve coast near Lagos on a misty summer day

photo: P Bradshaw

This headland of Cabo Sao Vicente (Cape Saint Vincent) is the south westerly tip of Portugal (and Europe).
The legend of the martyr Saint Vincent is that his relics were mysteriously transported by ravens from the Holy Land to the Cape and subsequently guarded by them. In 1173 the ravens reputedly then moved the relics to Lisbon where they remain to this day.

The impressive rock formations of Ponta da Piedade, the headland to the south of Lagos in the Algarve.
Taken from a small charter plane

The impressive Vilamoura Marina. Built in the 1970's the marina has capacity for up to 1,200 boats and is the focal point for the resorts upmarket activity.

An aerial photo of Praia da Rocha beach, Portimao with the distincitve bridge in the background

Beach groynes keeping the sand on the beaches on a stretch of Beach near Vilamoura on the Algarve.

This scene has changed a bit over the last few years with a large marina being built in the middle of this beach at Quarteira

A bizarre rock formation in the cliffs of Tonel Beach in Sagres

Photograph taken from a small charter plane of Sagres - the South Westerly tip of Portugal