First Visitor, Part 2

We spent our third dayventure exploring some trails and sights along the way to Quaiois Beach. Ben had earmarked a few places for us to check out on the drive over to Quaiois. There were some nice overlooks to the ocean, over to Quaiois, and back to Buarcos/Figueira. We first drove to the Miradouro do Abrigo da Montanha. It looks like it was a restaurant at one time. We walked around it and to an observation point. In the distance is Farol (lighthouse) do Cabo Mondego.

We then stopped at a small pullover area – there are a few of them along this road. There’s a trail system around the mountain, so it’s good to know there’s several access points to it.

We stopped at the Farol Velho which literally translates to old lighthouse. It operated from 1865 to 1922 when it was replaced by the current Cabo Mondego lighthouse.

This is the current lighthouse. They don’t let you visit it, so we parked just outside the gate.

Here’s the quarry that is no longer active. There was a cement plant here, but they stopped operating several years ago. The municipality purchased the land, including the old factory buildings and the quarry, in 2022. I do not know what their plans are for the land.

We ate lunch in Quaiois, at a restaurant that was very good. We walked the beach and boardwalks afterwards. The roads to get to Quaiois are small and winding, it’s a hidden gem that doesn’t seem to attract many tourists, at least what we’ve seen.

The last major area we ventured to with Amy on this trip was the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho. We’d passed it on every trip to the dealership in Coimbra, so we knew we’d go here with Amy. It’s believed that the first fortification here was done in 911 by Arabs that settled the area. Once Christians took over the region, King Alfonso VI rebuilt defensive structures and the castle that is preserved today. It was free to visit, and there weren’t many others there the day we went. My kind of sightseeing. =)

This view is from a tower I could climb using a ladder attached to it.