Richard Pickering's Blog: Silves, Monchique, Lagos and Cape St. Vincent

When the bus stopped to pick us up at 8:20 am Sunday we found that our guide for the trip was Luis, our guide two years ago when we went to Gibraltar and Morocco, so we knew we were "in good hands" for this trip!

Our first stop was at a "photo" spot just outside the town of Silves. From here we had a good view of the remains of the fortress that was built by the Moors in the mid 11th century. Remember to click on the photos.

Silves, on the Rio Arade, had been a successful commercial city even before the Romans occupied this area. After the Moors conquered much of the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century Silves became an important maritime trading and industrial city, rivalling Lisboa. When the city was invaded by the Christians from the north, the Moors were able to hold out in the fortress for 3 months, but when their giant cistern, which apparently held over a million gallons of water, ran dry, they were defeated and driven out of the city.

Drew (far end) in the giant cistern

The prominence of the city declined for several reasons including the loss of the trade established by the Moors, the silting of the Arade river which prevented ships from moving inland, the accessibility of other ports on the Algarve coast and later, the 1755 earthquake which destroyed much of what remained. In the 19th century the cork industry revitalized the city temporarily (apparently at one time there were over 50 cork plants in Silves of which, our guide said, none remain).

"Artsy" image from inside
one of the towers.

The "castle" or fortress, abandoned in the 16th century, declined until recent years when restoration began and is ongoing, including archaeological exploration of ruins from Roman and earlier periods.

Algarve coast in mist from Fòia peak

From Silves we went inland to the village of Monchique which is about 400 meters above sea level in the Algarve mountain range, Serra de Monchique. We passed through the village on our way to the Fòia peak, the highest point in the Algarve at 902 meters above sea level. Here our guide pointed out the view, in the distance, of Portugal's southern and western Atlantic ocean coasts which meet at the Cape of St. Vincent once known as "lands' end", the most southerly and westerly point of Europe.

At Fòia peak

Not surprisingly, there was a shop here at Fòia peak selling handicrafts, including sweaters, ponchos and blankets and, of the latter, we purchased a colourful one. Luis took orders for lunch and called them in to a restaurant in the town of Monchique in order to shorten the time for lunch.

At Monchique

After photo ops, shopping and sampling, by some, of the local medronho (locally referred to as moonshine or firewater) we drove down to the restaurant for lunch. Then, on to Lagos.

Lagos, on the south coast of the Algarve at the mouth of the Bensafrim river, is an historically important city. Once occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Moors it was re-conquered from the Moors by the Christians in 1241. And from Lagos in 1415 a large fleet, led by Prince Henry the Navigator, sailed south to Africa in his Caravels, (apparently built in Lagos) smaller and faster ships better able to sail the Atlantic waters than other ships of the time, and they returned with "loot" and stories of discovery. This adventure, in a way, launched the so called Age of Portuguese discoveries and the beginning of the first and largest of the European empires.

Lagos - Henry the Navigator Plaza

Soon ships were returning to Lagos with their riches of gold, ivory and slaves. In 1444 Lagos hosted the first auction of black Africans as slaves and Lagos grew into one of the slave trading centre in Europe - the slave auction site remains in Lagos. We opted to leave the tour group and stroll around on our own visiting the Praça Infante Henrique, Navigator, the site of the slave market and then on to the walls of the old Moors' walled city.

At Cape St. Vincent

In the photo above, the slave auction area is at the far end of the plaza on the right.

Then we went to an old embattlement that was used to guard the entrance to the harbour. Physiology called once more necessitating a search for a WC, which we found quite quickly. The enemy, time, was once more threatening so we made our way back to the bus pick up area from which we set out for the town of Sagres and "lands' end" or Cape St. Vincent. (Oddly enough, St. Vincent, the patron saint of Portugal, was a Spaniard).

Western coast at Cape St. Vincent

Here at Cape St. Vincent is, we are told, the most powerful light house in Europe which apparently can be seen from over 70 Km away. The Cape is, as I mentioned, the most southerly and westerly point of Europe and there is nothing there except the incredible natural beauty of this rather desolate but awesome point of land rising, I'm guessing, at least 200 ft from the Atlantic Ocean. The photos, I hope, tell the story!