Walking the wilder side of the Algarve
A self-guided walk along the dramatic cliffs and deserted footpaths of an Algarve a world away from the beach resorts and golf courses
The hunt for octopus begins soon after we arrive in Sagres, in the western Algarve. Within minutes we find it at Restaurante Gigi, where tender chunks are served in olive oil and garlic, and garnished with sweet potato. The craving for Portuguese soul food sated for now, we wander down Sagres’s main drag of low-slung whitewashed houses towards the 16th-century fortress that looms over the Atlantic. It feels as if we are on the far edge of Europe: its most south-westerly point lies a short way north – at Cabo de São Vicente, whose lighthouse I can just about see.