Most people visiting the Algarve are familiar with the tourist beaches of the south Algarve coastline where there is an abundance of sandy beaches, small and large, occasionally punctuated by rocky outcrops and cliffs. Generally speaking the beaches get smaller and the prevalence of cliffs and rocky outcrops increases as you move west along the Algarve coastline towards the Atlantic.
As a frequent visitor to the Algarve I prefer to head for the beaches west of Lagos for my photography. Here you will find an abundance of small rocky coves and beaches, some of which are only accessible via narrow unpaved roads and laneways. Many of these roads and laneways are not even shown on maps – so once you find a nice location it's sometimes very difficult to return another day.
This shot was taken down one of the aforementioned unpaved laneways in April 2010. Access to the cove was via a very steep footpath winding down from a laneway where there was only parking for a few cars. On the steeper parts of the path there was a rope to hold on to. Descending the path while carrying a camera bag, tripod, etc. was difficult, heading back up near darkness wasn’t easy either.
The fisherman in the top left of the photo had to wade to shore from the rock he was on and climb the path carrying his rods, catch, nets and other equipment. He didn't seem to mind the steep climb. I got my photos; he had a fish supper to look forward to!
Fishing at Sunset. Western Algarve, April 2010.
I haven’t been able to find my way back to this location since. I have a general idea where it is, but I’ve not managed to find the correct laneway from the main road.