Portugal – Alentejo Coast – Vila Nova de Milfontes (En)
Last Sunday, we arrived at Vila Nova de Milfontes, located in the centre of the Alentejo coast. It is a magnificent region made up of huge beaches, dramatic coastlines and bucolic rural countryside. We stayed at the Campifeira campsite just in front of the town market. 15 euros with electricity, you can take dogs but you have to show the dog’s passport with all its vaccinations. The facilities are good, although there is no toilet seat, something normal in Portugal, and the shower could have more power. Another thing in the Portugal campsites is not hot water for washing the dishes and this campsite does not have a washing machine. It has a nice restaurant but it will close tomorrow Monday. The good thing is its location since you are in the town and you can walk to see the whole town and the beaches.
The town has a colourful urban centre where the white of the facades combines perfectly with the blues, yellow and grey of the doors and window lintels. Among the things to see is the Fort of São Clemente built by order of King Felipe III of Spain and II of Portugal to control day and night any arrival at the port. It is popularly known as the castle of Vila Nova de Milfontes and its powerful and rough walls, visible from the town’s beaches, present a bucolic image thanks to the ivy that climbs up them. Right in front of the Fort stands a monument to one of the greatest achievements in aviation history, where in 1924 two Portuguese pilots managed to fly from here to the Portuguese colony of Macao on China’s southern coast. The town’s main church has a blue and white facade from the 16th century. We went to tour the town since it was a great sunny day.
From here we went towards the beaches and we decided to have lunch in a restaurant with amazing views of the sea and beach. When we went to see the menu the waiter told us that it was a buffet for only 13 euros! The buffet consisted of starters, typical Portuguese dishes and meat or fresh fish. We ate on the terrace and we decided to share some starters and typical dishes. So we started with a plate of cheeses from the area and several pies that were made of pork, cheese and crab and a plate of sushi, followed by the typical Alentejo plate of pork with clams, and then a typical plate of broad beans and pork. Ben ordered beef on the stone that came with rice, chips and a fried egg and I ordered grilled seabream accompanied by a little rice with curry sauce, potato and broccoli. The seabream was delicious. All with a pitcher of white sangria. We couldn’t eat dessert or try anything else as we were full. All great for the price with amazing sea views.
After a great lunch, we went to see the beaches, the lighthouse and the Arcanjo statue. The main beach of the town is Franquia beach where there is a paddle board school and a beach bar. At the mouth of the estuary is Farol beach. These two beaches are oriented towards the Mira river and are quiet beaches for bathing. At the southern end of the estuary is the Furnas beach, which can be reached by ferry in summer, this beach has giant Atlantic waves for surfing. We walked from Franquia beach to the lighthouse and the statue where there are formidable views of the town, the Mira river, the Atlantic Ocean and the beaches. The lighthouse is a small construction from where you can access the Farol beach by a wooden walkway. The statue is made of recycled iron on a rock base. It shows a winged knight who rises a melting globe with his arms, in a clear denunciation of the damage we are inflicting on the planet. It received the Utopia Award for Fantastic Art. At Farol beach, people have made stone sculptures which are quite amazing to see.
And on Wednesday we go to the Algarve, to Vila do Bispo in the district of Faro, in the southwest of Portugal, where I always go to eat barnacles and where Ben tried them for the first time and they became his favourite seafood along with the crab. In the town square, you can see how the fisherman arrives with freshly picked barnacles and take off their wet suits and hang them in the square. And you can see this in the next post!
