Day 8: Nordeste

Today, we travelled all the way to the East to a little town called Nordeste. That is about 45 minutes by car, and approximately 45 kilometers. This is also the eastern most part of the island, and it looks and feels completely different from where we are now.

The centre of the town is really picturesque, with a large bridge leading into a very cozy town square with the traditional church towering over it and the café. Yes, there always is a bar or café on spots like that! We couldn’t visit the church as it was Sunday, and there was a service going on.

So we regrouped at a small coffee place overlooking the ocean nearby the bus station, and happily enjoyed the good weather and the extremely well made coffee.

After we dragged ourselves from the terrace, we ventured out and visited Miradouro da Ponta do Arnel, a viewpoint overlooking an old but still functioning lighthouse and the majestic cliffs it was built upon. After this we drove a little further away from the town of Nordeste, to visit a lovely public park (more like a well maintained garden) called Parque Sossego, where the very logically named Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego was situated. This offers an excellent view of the same lighthouse, albeit from the other side of the cliff.

The weather was getting a little overcast, so we decided to go back to our apartment, but found yet another lookout point along the way (Miradouro da Vista dos Barcos) which also gave us a view of that lighthouse. I guess it’s the most thrilling thing out here!

We spent the rest of the afternoon on the side of the pool, just relaxing and basically enjoying being here on Dia de Portugal or Dia de Camões.