Moor to see in Silves

Our villa was near the Ponta da Piedade, which a tourist website tells me is "possibly the most beautiful natural feature of the Algarve coastline. The shoreline is formed of heavily weathered cliffs that have been carved into rock pillars, natural tunnels and hidden grottos. The sandstone cliffs of misshaped angles stand at stark contrast to the deep turquoises and greens of the calm seas and the entire region simply stunning."

We kayaked along one side of the point. Here's the other, which we viewed on our morning walk:

No trip is complete for David without a train ride, so we took a half-hour trip inland to Silves. Like most of the Algarve, it was under Moorish control from the 700s to 1242, when the Crusaders spread Christianity by means of slaughter. More of the Moorish castle and walls are in tact in Silves than in Lagos.

He who holds the sword:

There were storks nesting all over the place.

Lots of tile:

One of the coolest things within the walled castle was a cistern that seemed to go down to the earth's core. It was very creepy.

4/29