Western Algarve - Ponta de Sagres

As I mentioned, we had a speedy trip from Lagos to Ponto de Sagres and the fortress which housed Prince Henry the Navigator's navigation academy - and we made it just before the box office closed

Once we were in we had plenty of time to look around. Past the entry way you find yourself in a large open area with a few scattered buildings, including a small chapel, surrounded by low stone walls. Immediately inside on the left is a large circle of stones (about 50 meters across) with lines of rocks radiating from the centre to the outside of the circle. This "structure" was apparently unearthed in 1919 and the archaeologists are still not certain what it is - the main possibilities are either a sundial or a compass. Above is a photo of this structure.

Though Henry, a devoutly religious man, is referred to as a "Navigator" (a person who explores by ship) he apparently sailed only once or twice and was sea sick each time. He was, however, the motivator, strategist and brains behind the Portuguese explorations, which were extensive. Prince Henry developed here at Ponte de Sagres, with support of a religious organization called the Order of Christ, what might today be called a "think tank" for exploration. He apparently brought together navigation experts from several parts of Europe to "pool" their expertise in order to develop new strategies for exploration and it appears that the results were spectacularly successful. Apparently it was here that the revolutionary sailing ship, the Caravel was developed. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward (beating). Caravels were much used by the Portuguese for the oceanic exploration voyages during the 15th and 16th centuries - the so called "age of discovery".

The Portuguese Colonial Empire (Império Colonial Português), was the first global empire in history. In addition, it was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999. The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 49 different Sovereign States ranging as far east as Japan and the Indonesian archipelago and west to what is now Brazil in South America.

The photo to the right is the small chapel plus some tourists.

It is said that most of the Portuguese expeditions set out from Ponta de Sagres or Lagos.

The photo adjacent is looking east just over the low wall with one of the small turret-like structures intruding on the right.

On to Cape St. Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente), the most westerly and southerly point in Europe and sometimes referred to as "lands end" or "the end of the world", that's how it could easily have been seen by people in this part of the world in the 1400's.

The above photo is taken looking west toward our next destination, Cape St. Vincent - Cabo de São Vicente.