Cabo de São Vicente (Cape St. Vincent) is the southwestern point of Portugal, a few kilometres from the town of Sagres. It was a stop along our road trip last year, the beginning of the Costa Vicentina and a gateway to what turned out to be our favourite section of southern Portugal coastline.
If you stand on the windy headland and look out to sea, it’s easy to imagine this point as the end of the world in ancient times for the Greeks and Romans, and later, pirates. The 75m-high craggy cliffs have seen naval battles in the 14th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries between the Spanish, Dutch, French, and British as well as the Portuguese. St. Vincent, the deacon for which the cape is said to have been named when he was martyred in the 4th century and brought here, was later transferred to Lisbon by King Afonso Henriques in the 12th century. According to legend, St. Vincent’s grave at the cape was guarded by ravens during that time and they accompanied the ship to Lisbon, which is symbolized on the coat of arms of Lisbon.
Today there isn’t much left standing after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. There is a lighthouse, built in the 19th century over the ruins of a Franciscan convent from the 16th century. However, if you prefer wildlife over monuments, the cape is teeming with marine life and birds, which I spent some time photographing that afternoon. But take great care on these cliffs: there is a memorial to a young German who died here in 2001 as a cautionary reminder of the cape’s history of peril. Enjoy at a safe distance from the edge!
For more road trip photos, see the (still growing) album.
September 19, 2014
Album: Portugal Road Trip (SEP 2014)
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