Day 5: October 5

And Volchy doesn’t seem to care at all — he’s swimming as if it were scorching hot there. Volchy is the only one swimming within the radius I can see. People are either just lying in the sun or strolling along the water’s edge.
We warm ourselves a little in the sun and head further along the coast, to the town of Santa Lucia.

There’s something interesting waiting for us there. And on the way, while guiding Volchy with the navigator, I notice a point on the map — “the oldest olive tree in Portugal.” We stop to take a look at it. The tree grows on a lawn near someone’s house. By the tree there is a sign saying that the tree is more than 2,000 years old. It’s huge, all hollowed out. It’s hard to believe — 2,000 years….

There are plenty of cars in Santa Lucia, and we managed to find the only parking spot far from the pedestrian bridge. We head back to the bridge — this is the start of the path to the beach.
It turned out that the beach for the especially lazy can be reached by little train. In the past, gear and fish were transported here. And now, tourists.

But we walk on foot along the narrow-gauge railway. About 15 minutes later we’re there — it’s not quite what I had imagined. I thought there would be wild, deserted places here, but instead there’s a restaurant and a general buzz of activity. But the beach is beautiful, endless, with white sand. So much open space. And because of that, people are scattered across the beach like beads. We forgot our swimsuits, and swimming naked somehow isn’t really appropriate — there are just too many people.

In fact, we came to this beach not exactly for the beach itself. But for the anchor cemetery.

This area once prospered thanks to the fishing industry, but in the 1960s fishermen had to give up fishing because the amount of fish had sharply declined. The fishermen left these places, simply leaving their anchors to rust on the shore…. And there they lay, washed by salt water, until someone came up with the idea of creating an anchor cemetery here…

And then we drive to an abandoned palace. It was possible to enter the palace grounds from the main highway. But there was nowhere to park the car. Through a low fence in the distance of the large plot, the palace itself is visible, and in front of it someone’s goats are grazing. I suggest to Volchy to drive along the narrow country roads and try to enter from the opposite side of the plot.
The plot is enclosed by a low fence, which we manage to climb over quite easily. From this side, the palace is not yet visible. We walk along a narrow path that keeps getting lost in the tall grass and thorns. Exciting.

Almost nothing remains of what was once a beautiful building. Not only has it stood abandoned for many decades. In addition, a severe fire broke out in the building several years ago. It’s a pity — even now, after the fire, you can see how beautiful it once was here.

During the fire, the roof, windows, floors, and staircase burned down completely. We quietly, trying not to make a sound, enter the building... The palace is quite small. In the rooms, remnants of its former splendor remain.

Above the tall doorways are beautiful tile paintings. The building evokes sadness.
We go out onto the street, walk around the building, and enter through the main entrance. The grand entrance leads straight to the second floor, which we could not reach from below because of the burned staircase. It is dangerous to walk on the second floor; almost all the floors are in a deplorable condition. The floor is completely covered with the remains of the burned roof. We only take a few photos and leave…

We arrive in the town of Alvor. We have accommodation booked here for 2 nights. The apartment I found for us on Airbnb turned out to be very small and somehow unwelcoming. The good thing is that it is in a 10-story building, just a few minutes’ walk from the beach. Here, on the outskirts of the old town, they built a large residential complex of 7 such high-rises. We live on the 9th floor. From our balcony there is a view of the old town and the bay. The balcony faces north, so there is never any sun here. Even on a warm day like today, it’s cold on the balcony.

The mood is a little spoiled by the apartment. It’s not bad, but you don’t want to spend time in it.

In the evening we go for a walk to the beach. The beach here is beautiful. At this time there is no one here except us and the seagulls. I scare off a large flock of birds and they rise into the sky with cries. Sunset. Rocks gilded by the setting sun. Peace and quiet. Only the ocean is шумing. I really like it here. Probably that’s why there are almost no photos of this place.

We walk among the rocks. We pass through one hole in the rock and find ourselves in a new cove. The rocks have formed a real labyrinth of coves and passages between them here, and at some point it seems to me that I’ve lost track of where I am. The rocks turn pinkish in the sunlight. It is getting dark quickly.

In another cove, in absolute silence, we hear music. There is a restaurant built on the rocks here. Such a strange feeling — silence and unity with nature, and then suddenly a little piece of civilization, the smell of food, bright lighting.

We head home when it is completely dark…