Or Cathedral Beach, as we call it in English.
This is a tourist honeypot beach with some admittedly impressive rock formations. As you approach, you instantly know that it’s a honeypot because there is extensive parking rammed with cars and motorhomes. The approach paths are also full of humanity. There is only a two hour window when you can visit, that being an hour either side of low tide.
Our timing on this day really could not have been worse. The sky was heavy with rain clouds and it didn’t take long before they began discharging their contents. The only bright side was that a full rainbow appeared which Francine managed to snap.
You have to make reservations to get a slot for your visit and Andy had booked us in for 11:00. We assembled and duly descended the steps down onto the rain-pitted sand of the beach to join many others, a lot of whom were sensibly holding umbrellas. We had our waterproofs with hoods.
Approaching the main photogenic formations there was something of a bottleneck. A slight scramble over some rocks was needed for those intending to keep their shoes (mainly) dry. The problem was that there was one preferred route over the rocks with a line of people waiting, or not, on either side. we needed road work traffic lights. Francine took off her shoes and waded through the side puddle to avoid the queue. She wanted a paddle in the sea anyway and pronounced the water warm, which was a bit of a surprise..
There is a single arch formation, a little like Durdle Door in the UK. Further on are a couple of aligned arches mirroring each other. Naturally, these are the formations everyone wants to photograph. Also naturally, many folks dangle around hoping for a people free shot while they, themselves, foil the attempts of others to get people free shots. How Francine managed to grab these without people I really don’t know but grab them she did.
The rain continued al the time we were on the beach. The whole scene would be so much better in good weather but these were the cards we were dealt.
We made the rest of the journey to Foz.
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