first you dare to poke your toes carefully. You take a couple more steps and the water is already it reaches your knees : A shiver runs through your body. Then you take a deep breath, close your eyes, clench your fists... and launch yourself headlong into the icy waters of Atlantic.
the soul is paralyzes you for a few seconds , just and necessary for stick your head back out and admire the picture that surrounds you. “Hey, yes, Carvoeiro is nice” , you think And in two thousandths of a second, you're back in the sand.
Most likely – you have already verified it – the most beautiful picture of this little town of Algarve –once seafaring, today delivered to the jaws of tourism–, is found precisely from the sea.
Carvoeiro spreads out like an amphitheater.
Because Carvoeiro spreads like an amphitheater to its only urban beach, a short stretch of emerald waters and fine golden sand – so Algarvian, she – a few meters wide where to say that about "there is no room for a pin" in full month of August it is pure reality.
However, it is well worth the experience. find your square meter in which to plant the towel and live for a few hours the local environment. Because in Carvoeiro you breathe peace, also the sun cream of those around you, everything must be said, no matter how many people you have around you.
They, in various languages that have nothing to do with him Portuguese, they talk relaxed in front of a sea of colored boats aware of the privilege it is to enjoy this wonder. Just the screams of street vendor bolinhas they bring you back to reality: he says that he takes them from cream, sugar or Nutella. Let's see who is capable of not sinning now.
The surroundings are full of treasures in the form of caves and grottoes.
On one side and the other start, from here, the rugged cliffs with earthy tones that so well describe this side of Algarve. Also, from the beach itself, boats full of tourists set sail from time to time, ready to go on sea excursions : the surroundings are full of treasures in the form of caves and grottoes. But it's time to move on, so you dry off, you leave the beach , and you're going to walk around the surrounding streets : businesses focused once again abroad, await you.
Among shops of souvenirs , cocktail bars and international food businesses – Villa Medici has some pizza great and a terrace with views of Praia do Carvoeiro marvelous–, you find the oasis that is Porta 16, a flirty design store with Portuguese ceramics and garments as protagonists.
Elegant pieces, with style, ideal to take with you as a souvenir and add a Portuguese touch to your home, they will make you have to control your wallet: yes a tile here , yes a ceramic sardine over there , what if a fragrance inspired by the aromas of the Algarve... A few steps further on, another temptation: A Praça Velha, more touristy, is a perennial craft market in which to drive you crazy with all the typical crafts of the Algarve that you can imagine.
IT'S TIME TO PLAY...
Well yes, it's time. So make yourself comfortable, because it's time to go up and down trails as if there were no tomorrow: only then will you discover the wonderful offer of viewpoints and views that Carvoeiro has. Next stop? Dry algae.
Along the way, dozens of houses and chalets line the road , something that is repeated constantly as it goes up the slopes of the town in any direction: it is seen that its benefits have convinced more than one to set up your summer residence here . Finally you arrive, park, and start walking.
Corner in Algar Seco.
And you do it while being enthralled by this freak of nature formed from the earth twisting thousands of years ago and will rise to infinity for later sink back into the sea. It was she who caused the water and wind to erode its outline until give impossible shapes that today give you unique landscapes: this is pure inspiration.
you choose one of the three wooden walkways that start from the car park and you discover unique windows to an Atlantic in which the kayaks and boats with tourists –yes, the ones from before– are counted by dozens. Also natural pools where, why not, give yourself a refreshment. In high season the line of people waiting for selfie shift can break up the scene a bit, but it will just take look at infinity to forget.
The landscape presents impossible shapes.
A small bar-restaurant wedged between the cliffs is the place ideal for snacking , regain strength, and wait for the sunset. Another option is to decide to enjoy the gastronomy of the place in its entirety. Fleeing from proposals for foreigners, you get back in the car. The party is about to start.
A FLAVOR OF THE ALGARVE, A FLAVOR OF THE SEA
It has been five years since the Bon Bon Restaurant won its michelin star and the good work of the manager and sommelier Nuno Diogo, and the executive chef José Lopes, continues to generate successes without ceasing.
Located in an urbanization in the residential area of Carvoeiro, its garden and its hexagonal hall –with its inviting central fireplace for winters– they are the ideal enclave to enjoy, not only the incomparable views of the neighboring Sierra de Monchique, but also of tasting menu – there is even one vegetarian– who conquers the table.
And what appears on it are proposals that cling to the local flavors of the sea and the mountain, traditional dishes although with a bit of avant-garde : product of kilometer 0 in which there is no lack octopus, tuna, shellfish or lamb.
Looking for something more earthy, the appetite takes you a little further, to the neighboring town of Ferragudo , where you go straight to your Big Beach to find your niche at the Beach Bar Escondidinho: here the authentic, the truly local, becomes strong, and you lick your lips just by smelling how the freshest fish of the day ends of cook over the coals.
At the time of choosing, they will make it easy for you: the waiters will arrange before you trays with the available product, and you will only have to stay with what convinces you. A grilled sea bass or some sardines? A sea bream or a squid? Whatever it is, you will savor it in front of the enormous rock that governs the landscape, and under the shelter of the lights of the neighboring port. What more could you want.
Ferragudo (Algarve).
WHO WAKES UP EARLY…
It's going to be yes: you get up early. Because in high season not doing so means not being able to park next to Praia da Marinha , your starting point for the hiking route that you are about to start –and why better to walk with the freshness of the morning than under the intense midday sun, right?–. Another option would be to start it at the other end, in Praia do Vale Ceneanes: 6 kilometers separate one end from the other Route two Seven Hanging Vouchers , considered one of the most beautiful walks of Europe. And how true.
you carry water in backpack, sun cream and hat when you look at the viewpoint of Praia da Marinha to recreate yourself in the idyllic scene that unfolds at your feet: as if it were a freshly painted canvas , the colors of the sea and the sand of the beach, with the rocks, reefs and arches in the background , they motivate you to know that it is this paradise that will be waiting when you return.
Praia da Marina.
But first, it will be time to go through this karstic landscape full of balconies overlooking the Atlantic bordering its vertiginous cliffs. A path that runs through the heights and passes by beaches and coves as popular as Praia do Carvalho or Praia da Benagil. Complicated not stopping at every step to portray the scene, but even more complicated is not go down to each cove to cool off. The best of all? That nobody prevents you, so do it without thinking about it!
The Algar de Benagil, a hole in the ground – fenced off, don't worry – will catch your eye and you'll want to know what's going on down there. The only way to do it will be, yes, hiring a boat trip, renting a paddle surf board or a kayak : it is an immense and spectacular cave whose dome lets in sunlight through a huge hole, and that with a small beach inside it is the great attraction of the area. The dozens of boats of all kinds queuing at the sea to enter to see it already let you guess.
Benagil cave.
Following the path, marked at all times, you reach the Leixão do Ladrão and the Alfanzina Lighthouse, in Cavo Carvoeiro. When you finally reach the end of the course, it's time for the back loop, which ends with the best of the endings: a swim in Praia da Marinha , voted many times as one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in Europe , will make you come back to life, will make you love this corner of the Algarve, and it will make you confirm again that yes: that Water in this corner of the world –my mother–… it's cold as hell.