Beaches

Sea pebbles

~ saltofportugal ~ 3 Comments


All the seas work hard to please Neptune. They take large rocks and polish them for years, decades, sometimes centuries, to make shiny round pebbles of different colors and shapes. The seas deposit these treasures on the beach sand as a gift from Neptune to those who venerate the majesty of the oceans. When beach goers ignore these offerings, Neptune goes into a rage, and the seas shake with furious storms.

When we are at the beach, we always collect sea pebbles. Later, in the dark days of winter, we touch them to remember the summer warmth and to appease Neptune.

Fog

~ saltofportugal ~ Leave a comment

When we walk on the beach on foggy days we always have a sense that something special is about to happen. In the XVI century Portugal had a young king, D. Sebastião, who tried to conquer the north of Africa. He failed with terrible consequences. Much of the country’s elite died in battle or in Moroccan prisons. The king vanished and Portugal lost its independence to Spain. But the Portuguese did not loose hope. They believed that D. Sebastião would return on a foggy day to restore the glory of Portugal. So, if you are walking on the beach on a foggy day, keep an eye on the horizon. This could be the day.

The tide tables

~ saltofportugal ~ Leave a comment

During beach vacations life follows the rhythm of the tides. Low tide is the best time to walk on the hard, moist sea sand. The sun and the moon regulate the tides with designs that only physicists understand. Luckily, Portugal’s Ocean Institute publishes tide tables, so we don’t have to study physics to know the perfect time to walk on the beach.

Click here to see the tide tables.

Boia Bar

~ saltofportugal ~ Leave a comment

Boia Bar Composit

At Boia Bar, a restaurant in Salema, near Lagos, Algarve, we always feel we are in a movie set. Everything is too perfect to be real. The restaurant is right on the beach. At dinner time you see the sky drowned in yellow and the sea getting ready for sunset, covering its dark blue color with washes of lighter hues. The warm air and the fresh sea breeze create the perfect temperature. Then, the wine and food arrive.

The best item on the menu is the “robalo” (sea bass) grilled Algarve style. Before grilling, the chef makes diagonal incisions on the fish and fills them with thin slices of garlic and some olive oil. It’s that simple. But simple things are often the hardest. You have to have the freshest fish. You have to know the right temperature for the coal, the right amount of salt to use, the right moment to take the fish from the grill to the table. It’s this perfection of simple things that you can enjoy at Boia Bar.

Rua dos Pescadores 101, 8650-199 Salema, tel. 282 695 382, email: boiabar@mail.telepac.pt, click here for website.