'YO“I’m not sure about this,” says the American woman, sitting in the rider’s seat across from me, as the edge of the boat, carrying 20 of us out into the Atlantic, sinks against the waves. “I think I'm a little scared.”
She's not the only one. A dolphin watching trip seemed like a wonderfully relaxing way to spend a morning in the sparkling seas around Sagres, a town on the western side of the Algarve, which for centuries was believed to be the end of the world. Mar Unlimited's pre-cruise briefing promised bottlenose dolphins, perhaps minke whales and even hammerhead sharks in “unusually calm” conditions in early fall.
Despite the still warm sun, as we skip beyond the shelter of the rocks, the tide begins to rise and fall with enthusiasm, and I wonder what the “seasonal calm” will be like. As my stomach started to growl a little, the spotter at the back of the ship shouted. Almost immediately, a dolphin leaps out of the water and executes a perfect arc before disappearing into the depths.
Everyone grabs their phones, and then there's another, and another, until the water stirs with paddles, vague shapes emerging on thin, deep gray skins. It's incredibly fun to watch, but Mar Unlimited has strict rules that you can't spend more than 30 minutes with a bot. As we glide, I think about how lucky we are to be the only boat at sea, rather than one of the many that leave every day from the large resorts of Carvoeiro and Albufeira.
Sagres is a slightly ramshackle surfer town, windy and sunny in autumn (an average of six hours a day in November), surrounded by bare bushes, towering cliffs and wide seas. Under Arab rule for 500 years, Henry the Navigator embarked on voyages in the 15th century that led to the Portuguese Golden Age of Exploration, a gateway to an entire undiscovered world.
However, Chagres takes his story lightly. The massive clifftop citadel offers nothing more than nondescript walls and vast blue skies, although the lack of information boards and tour groups somehow adds up to the end of the world.
“People come to the Algarve expecting big resorts and endless apartments, but since the far west is a national park, there is less development,” says our guide Paulo, like bread. “Surfers, hikers are coming – The Chagres Fisherman is on his way [a 140-mile coastal path from São Torpes in the Alentejo to Lagos on the Algarve] But the entire area is under the radar.
At the end of September, we're on the cusp of a seasonal transition from sun-drenched beach vacations to weeks of misty walks, but the sun is still warm enough for an hour or two on Burgao Beach, a vast expanse of golden sand stretching along below. A cluster of low-rise whitewashed houses, quiet bars and narrow streets woven into the hillside. In Salema we find walkers following the steep fishermen's path to the next beach, but we cannot leave our living rooms to join them.
Walking is an increasingly popular way to discover this coast and its hinterland, and this year the tourist office launched a website, algarvewalkingseason.com, with details of the festivals held during the winter. We decided to take the Seven Hanging Gorges route, one of the most famous in the Algarve, with its spectacular sinkhole on the Benagil coast, and Praia da Marinha, famous for its spectacular castles and arches.
Only four miles each way, it is too strenuous and we turn back halfway, although the views are worth it. In summer, the beaches below are crowded, the parking lots are full early in the morning, and all the sand dunes are covered. In fall, the trail is still popular, but the crowds are less crowded and the scenery is even more beautiful in the late sun.
But this part of the Algarve is much more than its beaches. Our villa, the elegant Casa Bardal, is situated on a hillside 10 minutes north of Portimão, an oasis of calm, surrounded by gardens, North African lamps and carved wooden panels that are traditional from the area's Moorish past. From here, it's easy to reach the mountain village of Monchique, said to be the greenest in the Algarve, where the narrow streets are lined with art galleries and gift shops, and groups of pedestrians appear outside the side streets holding poles and empty water bottles. .
There are times when we see the other, better-known Algarve, such as at lunchtime in the picturesque village of Ferragudo, where every restaurant table seems to be occupied by British retirees flocking from their apartments in Praia da Rocha. But most of the time we skipped it, heading to Portimão at night to eat crispy-skinned sea bream at the Taberna da Maré in the old fish market, and wandering the pretty streets of Silves, once the capital of the Algarve, now dominated by a picturesque town. With the largest fort, it is one of the most complete Arab forts in the country.
It was nothing like what I expected; A tourist area that retains a greater sense of identity than some of the less developed and more authentic neighboring Spanish coasts. It's my first time in the Algarve, but it certainly won't be my last (next time I'll be wearing hiking boots instead of a swimsuit) and I won't let the Seven Hanging Gorges route beat me to it again.
Casa Bardal sleeps eight people and costs from £2007 for seven nights (oliverstravels.com) Guided tours and hiking, farolddiscover.pt. A two-hour whale watching excursion. It costs €40 pp (marilimitado.com) More information at visitalgarve.pt
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