Dolphins and Caves

Albufeira: 10^th September 2020

This morning, we rose early, and took a taxi down to the marina, to join our cruise. The first thing that strikes you about the marina is the brightly painted shop and apartment blocks around it, the work of architect Tomas Taveira, and I loved them. The cruise was branded ‘Dolphins and Caves’ and we saw plenty of both.

Several boats left the marina at the same time as we did, and all headed unerringly to where the dolphins were.  It was pointed out that this was not a resident pod, but they like it here because the water is so clean, there’s plenty to eat and there are few predators in these waters. We saw plenty of dolphins, although photographing them was an entirely different matter. I’ll discuss that further later.

 The cliffs around the Algarve are composed of a bright red sandstone, which is easily eroded. Therefore, fantastic shapes are carved  … caves, stacks and the Benagil Cave; a beach within a cave, where a part of the roof has fallen in.  There’s an arch they call the Arc de Triomphe, of which they claim the Parisian version is a poor copy. Another offshore formation is called the Yellow Submarine; the guides claim it gave the Beatles the inspiration for their famous song.