Oct 2nd - Oct 16th - The Silver Coast

A short drive north of Lisbon brings us to Costa da Prata, a.k.a. the Silver Coast - the name derives from the color of the ocean on certain days when the sun's rays seem to paint the water a shiny silver color. This is not as well known as the Algarve but does boast 150km of beaches.  It is an area of stunning natural beauty and under developed.  Miles of agricultural land, and a wealth of dinosaur fossils.

A former co-worker of Julie's at BP, Roopali, moved here in the 1990's with her husband Rajan and together they have established a successful land/property development company (Obrana Group, www.obrana.pt) and a Real Estate Agency (www.atlaspropertyportugal.com).  They are currently working on the third phase of a lovely development, just outside Lourinha.  We were lucky enough to stay in one of their phase II properties.  These are beautiful contemporary properties - not sure why I did not take more photos but check out their web sites to see their styles!

      

     

It was a little chilly in the pool but we did go in.   The coastline is just lovely - long, clean beaches with hardly a soul in sight.

      

 

And lovely sunsets...

    

          

The coastline is popular with surfers all year round but in late December the waves at Nazare (about 40 mins north) go crazy and can hit 100 feet or more. They were only 5 feet when we visited though. Another popular destination is the picturesque walled town of Obidos:

  

    

We were very pleased to be joined in Lisbon & Silver Coast by good friends - Rebecca, Ken and Susan.  We love it when friends join us on our travels and hope many more will.