A Very, Very Deeply Delightful Day*

*With apologies to my Blip friend, Jan, and hope I've done her proud with a longer than usual write-up.

Today really began to feel like a holiday... got up early and walked round the marina and out to the open sea; this was the first photo I took on a day of many photos, but I love the sparkling water and the morning sky.

Decided to explore some of the beaches west of here; we always tend to go east because this direction is real tourist country... anyway, many adventures were had, including driving through bush on a terrible dirt track, twice, finally ending on the edge of a ravine, because "the sat nav says it's this way"; I was so frightened I got out of the car while said truster in sat navs manoeuvred his way back onto the road track... decided it would be better to watch him hurtling into space rather than go down with him, at least I could try to get help.

Some incredibly beautiful beaches in small coves, including Albandeira, where we were intrigued by four huge figures, almost four metres high, made from driftwood, scrap metal, and rocks for faces. This one, on the top of the arch in extra, was definitely female, looking back towards a male, in lederhosen on the near clifftop. And, the colour of the water!!

Anyway, got talking to a guy who was renting out kayaks, from São Paulo, quite a character. Long story short, we bought a kayak off him, after trying it out - we paddled through the arch in extras, loads of birds in holes on both sides. Excellent price as he wants to get rid of all but one of them, which he's planning to paddle to Italy in.

We skirted round some very built up areas and then, at another gorgeous little beach at the end of a ravine, Benagil, we chatted to two English guys, who reckoned they were on the first flight out of the UK since it was permitted; they said the press at Stanstead were there taking photos as they boarded. 

Very, very deeply Gratefuls!
- being the proud owner of a kayak, not quite the Indian canoes I spent my childhood paddling, but pretty good, fits two adults and a kid
- beauty and colour, so much beauty
- that we didn't fall down a cliff or drown in the sea (in fact, it was a lot of fun)