Beach

The Beaches around Olhos d'Agua are wide, golden and rather busy.  Last time we were there, we had the beaches almost to ourselves, but this year, a couple of weeks earlier and a good few degrees warmer and the beaches were much more crowded.  It didn't make much difference to us as we picked our way along the coast, rock-pooling and enjoying the views.

The rock pools were filled with tiny shrimps, fish and crabs.  The rocks themselves were covered in a very slippery layer of algae which required much care to traverse.  Limpets and barnacles clung to them, doing their best to put up with the hot sun and increased salinity of the water around them.  Among the more colourful members of this community were the Beadlet Anemones (Actinia equina), looking like bright red blobs of jelly with their tentacles withdrawn.

Some of the sandy inlets and small bays revealed fishing boats, hauled onto the beach until dusk, when they were cast off for the evening.

Others were almost devoid of people except for the odd, lone fisherman after his dinner.