Month: January 2019

In my previous post, I wrote about the beautiful walk between Almograve and Cabo Sardão, along the coast of Alentejo. Today, I want to take you a few km inland, on a journey around the municipality of Odemira. More specifically, along the back roads that hug the hills between Odemira and Sabóia.

This area of the interior is characterized by gentle rolling hills, dotted with old farms, where sheep graze amongst cork and holm oaks. Thanks to recent rains, the pasture is green and abundant. The road to Sabóia is quiet, there are hardly any cars on it; it is easy to fall into a driving rhythm that is in synch with the landscape. Driving along, I stopped many times, simply to slow down and experience the peacefulness of the place,  slowly composing my photos. No need to rush!

I simply walked around the area, trying to find the best vantage point to photograph a farm house surrounded by the trees and green fields. At the start of the trip, the sky was cloudy and grey, therefore not very interesting in terms of a typical landscape shot. So I concentrated on more intimate shots, of trees and grassland. The grass was particularly interesting, with vivid greens due to the rains.

My destiny for this trip was the small village of Sabóia, whit its interesting train station. Unfortunately, Portugal has not invested in the railways for a very long time, and that shows. The Sabóia station looks, and feels, like time has stopped; it has some beautiful azulejo panels depicting the village of Monchique in Algarve, and these are well preserved. But, similar to many other train stations in Portugal, it is deserted; I wonder what to do if I wanted to buy a ticket, as the building is closed…

The main building, and the surrounding supporting ones, are in dire need of a paint job, as a starting point. I walk around, no soul to be seen; nearby, I hear a tractor, someone is tending to the fields. Many houses in the vicinity of the station are abandoned. Looks like a ghost town…

On the drive back, sometimes the sun breaks the cloud cover, and I wonder if I am lucky enough to still have some more interesting light at sunset. There is this farm house that I have been trying to photograph at sunset for quite some time; maybe today I think? Sunset in December is around 5.30 pm, so I need to hasten.

And indeed I am lucky, during sunset, the light is wonderful, and I bag the photo I wanted. A nice and inspiring way to finish a wonderful day in this area.

 

 

The trek between Almograve and Cabo Sardao, which is about 8km long, is part of the much longer (around 180km) “Rota Vicentina”, or Vicentina Trail. I recently had the opportunity to re-do this small walk, and took a few photos along the way, of course!

The date was late December, just after Christmas, a quiet time, and as a consequence I was the only one doing the walk. Especially during Spring and Summer, it can be busy. The trail is an easy one,  and affords great views of the coastal sand dunes, dark rocky cliffs, and the azure sea. The only sounds are the ones coming from the crashing waves, the sea birds, and the wind.

It often pays off to go a bit off the trail, and explore the small inlets and coves along the way. There are many photo opportunities along the way; I walked the trail in the afternoon and waited for the sun to set, to have some high quality landscape light. The scenery is beautiful, with dark rock formations emerging from the sea like menacing spurs, in plain contrast with the blue sea, white foam, and golden dunes. I spent some time playing with long exposures, to capture the interplay between the elements.

In some places, the dunes have been fossilized and display a rusty colour, thanks to the presence of iron oxide cements. In some other instances, the dunes are replaced by hardened calcrete soil, where the water has carved some round pot holes; in these, it is common to find some plants perhaps trying to get some shelter from the wind. Of course the birds are present all along the trail, particularly seagulls. In the distance it is also possible to see nests that belong to storks.

In the last couple of km it is possible to start seeing the lighthouse of Cabo Sardao in the distance, 70m above sea level. The coastal cliffs at sunset become enveloped in the winter haze, and the light in the lighthouse comes up precisely at sunset. It looks tiny in the distance, like a beacon marking the end of my journey.

 

The Arrifana beach is one of the most famous in the Vicentina Coast of southwest Portugal. It is located close to the historic village of Aljezur. Thanks to its configuration in a crescent shape, protected between two rocky promontories, the beach offers some great waves. No wonder there are several local surfing schools that are active all year round.

Arrifana is one of my favourite beaches in Portugal; I visited the first time in 1988, and fell in love with it. To arrive at the golden sand, one has to descend along a hair pin road; it is a slow approach that allows great views of the beach. The entire coast south of Aljezur is dotted with (still) peaceful and wild beaches, all the way until the Cape of Saint Vicente, of Age of Discoveries fame. The coastline is made up of rugged tall dark cliffs, in sharp contrast with the sand and deep blue sea water. Due to its general exposure to the Atlantic, it is normal to have some rough seas and strong northerly winds.

I recently decided to make a small trip to Arrifana, scouting for new possible photo locations, taking advantage of the increasing number of trekking routes in the area. Also, in early December, the place is much more quiet, and the light has a different character.

On the beach, I only had for company some surfers, and their nice dogs. Great place for a picnic, reading a book, and strolling around beach combing! I took some nice photos, using my trusty Fujifilm X-PRO2 and small 23 f/2 lens, a perfect combination for such relaxed occasions. At the end of the day, from the northern view point near the old castle ruin, I took a few shots that later were assembled as a panorama. I also came back with ideas for future trips in the area, that are in the plan for 2019!

Happy New Year, full of health and photo opportunities!