The rocky cliffs and sheltered beaches of Cascais

Trip Start Aug 21, 2009

Trip End Dec 06, 2009

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Just a Day Trip

Flag of Portugal Cascais, Estremadura, Portugal
Sunday, August 30, 2009

We left Porto last night to cruise down the Portuguese coast towards Lisbon. We weren't expected to arrive in Lisbon until around 2PM and I was getting restless aboard. A commercial airline pilot that I had met online had recommended that I visit Cascais, a small fishing village west of Lisbon, near the point at Cabo Raso. The point is very rocky and beautiful with a lighthouse standing out on the corner.

The crew stopped the boat and dropped a tender in the water to take us ashore. The Bosun came along to helm and care for the tender. This little village has a protected harbor and is full of small fishing and sail boats. There are a few small beaches in the village, but the rest of the coast is just rocky cliffs. Between the cliffs and the harbor jetty, there is a very small inlet with a small lighthouse on the point and a beautiful villa, I believe the Santa Marta. Behind a small stone bridge that crosses the inlet is the Palace of Conde Castro. This romantic building and location is one of the few places that I would actually love to live in.

The village has a lot of small shops and many restaurant all serving sea food caught offshore earlier that day. There are a few small beaches in the village, all framed by rocky outcrops that are topped by villas or hotels.

After a few hours of wandering around town, we climbed aboard the tender and rode to the yacht, already moored in the Lisbon harbor.

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