A Day At The Beach In The Algarve
This past March, my daughter and I visited one my favorite countries on the planet, Portugal. After my trip to Porto in the fall, I wanted my daughter to see this incredible country. She met me in Lisbon during her spring break, and from there we flew south to visit the breathtaking Algarve.
In The Algarve, one gets a rare opportunity to view the stunning beaches from the cliffs. This is because the beaches are undisturbed and you can stroll for miles on walkways winding through the cliffs. The only way to access the beach is to climb down from the cliffs or to kayak from the shore. My daughter, my Sony and I walked the three mile path connecting our hotel to the famous Benagil Cave. What enchanted me the most was the golden color of the sand.
The temperature was in the 70s and the ocean was chilly, but wonderfully refreshing. There were only a handful of people at the beach, which resulted in some sublime shots - such as the scene where I captured a girl staring at the vast ocean against the background of the golden sand. These two are my favorites from this incredible trip and the series won a Gold Medal in the 2023 Paris Street Photography Awards and an Honorable Mention in the 20th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards. They are already on some lucky walls!
Out of all sea caves that dot the Algarve coastline between Lagos and Albufeira, the Benagil Cave is the only one that has been eroded both from the side and from the top. This unique natural process has resulted in an opening in the ceiling that allows the sunlight to brighten up the grotto and the beach that it hides.
Algar de Benagil can only be accessed from the water, so we took a small boat to see this unique sea cave. I only had a few seconds to take this shot because boats are not allowed to block the entrance. I had seen so many images of this unique cave, but seeing it with your eyes is a feeling impossible to describe.
Passengers are not allowed to disembark from the boat to see the cave from the inside, so I decided to kayak to it. The ocean was very choppy that day and the man at the canoe shop asked if I was experienced enough to kayak to the cave, park inside and kayak back against the high ocean waves. In my teens, I used to sail a small motor boat around the island of Buyukada off the coast of Istanbul. Sometimes the motor would stop and I would row for hours back to the harbor by myself. So I said, “Sure”.
Atlantic Ocean is not to be taken lightly, and I almost crashed into the rocks as I got out of the canoe, but the thrill was worth it. A small problem. I could only fit my iphone in the waterproof bag that was given to me. Here is a shot of the Benagil Cave which I took with my iphone. Last month, this image won an honorable mention in the 20th Margaret Cameron Awards, in the mobile phone category.
This lonely tree rising from a cliff on the Praia de Marinha captured the essence of the Algarve for me. I called it Solitude and it won an honorable mention in the 20th Margaret Cameron Awards in the Seascape category. I am thankful for the canoeist in the background, as this shot would not have been the same without it.
