Hello you lovely lot, hope today finds you well. We’re still here at Manta but thought I’d do a separate short post about the nearby old town of Cacela Velha. We cycle up here most days for coffee and cake. It’s a very special place, albeit tiny. It takes around ten minutes to bike it from Manta. You take a left out of the Aire and turn onto the Rua da Quintas, past the various little farmsteads then left again at the junction. The route takes you through the orange and almond groves, it’s a lovely, picturesque ride. You can apparently walk or cycle off road on a track but we haven’t found it yet! Got lost last time we tried and ended up in the middle of an orchard on private land. Oops!

The whitewashed village is perched on the side of a low cliff overlooking the estuary. It’s a picture of how the Algarve must have looked many years ago before tourism and thus development took over. It’s a real step back in time.

There’s not much here. A couple of nice restaurants and a little cafe which serves the most amazing sticky orange cake on the planet!

Beyond the rows of traditional fishermen’s cottages, all swathed in bougainvillea and other brightly coloured flowers, stands the remains of an eighteenth century fort. It now serves as the Maritime Police Headquarters. Facing out to sea and the river below is the gorgeous white walled church. It’s all so chocolate box pretty. What’s not to love.

The main feature of Cacela however has nothing to do with its history or architecture. It’s quite simply the amazing view. It has been voted as one of the top ten most scenic views in the world and the beach below rated as one of the best in the world too. I can’t disagree. I could sit here all day and look down at the ever changing beachscape. Every minute looks different as the tide moves. It’s spectacular. The turquoise lagoons are crystal clear and great for swimming and paddle boarding. Binoculars are a bonus, there are so many different types of bird to see.

Leaving Cacela, hang a left and left again to the even smaller village of Fabrica. Nowhere near as charming as Cacela but from here you can get the little ferry boat over the estuary to the fabulous beach for around a Euro. Be warned, it’s a steep old hill biking back up from Fabrica. There are a few Motorhomes staying on the seafront. Wouldn’t fancy dragging our big bus down here though.

So it’s time to face the incline and pedal back to base for our daily sundowners.

Hope you enjoyed the scenery. We’ll say cheerio for another day and wish you a boa tarde. Love to all. M and M x