A few days later we stop at Madalena Madalena do Mar, an unplanned visit but what a pleasant surprise! A sleepy place and perhaps not a lot to write about but still worthy of a visit. Nestled at sea level between Porto do Sol and Calheta, you have to leave the coast road to get there which is maybe why we have missed it before. The small town, only really a village, is accesible by just one road running along the seafront giving way to pretty houses on the right and the pebbled beach on the left. There was just one small beach bar open in September serving food and drinks, but the view... the curve of the horizon is clearly visible as the expanse of the Atlantic opens up in front of you. We visited in the late afternoon as the sun was lower in the sky and the effect on the ocean was magical appearing as though billions of diamonds were dancing on the surface. The promenade is modern, clean and tidy and you can walk a good way to a pier and another bar where the beach meets the cliff. Here it really is a beach, with dark sand instead of the usual pebbles, although the sea remained a force to be reckoned with, crashing to the shore, and it would take a confident swimmer to brave it. One man we watched prepared to enter via the pier but then changed his mind after meeting the force of the breakers on the stone steps. We saw no-one attempt it from the shore.
Kommentare