Cabo da Roca is the most western point of continental Europe. Located in Portugal, 30 km away from Lisboa, the capital city and at the base of the Sintra Mountain.
ALERT:
Before going any further, please do not take lightly the following disclosure: The location I am about to describe involves single tracts, fishermen trails and high cliffs. This is usually a very windy place. Don’t go there alone. Always pair up and let people know when and where you are going, as well as the expected return time. Cell phone coverage is not guaranteed. Take water and some snacks. People have died here. This is a dangerous area if you don’t know what you are doing.
Plan
I’ve been wanting to go there for some time now. Although this is just 30 minutes drive from my home, it involves a very difficult trail to get down to the sea level. For that reason, planning ahead is important. I don’t want to get down there and not having the bare minimal for a photo session. Things I take int account when I plan going there:
- Weather: rain, thunderstorms, strong winds and full cloud coverage are show stoppers for me. If any of these come up, I don’t even start packing.
- Tides: high tide is not good here. It will limit your ability to trek over the rocks to the near beaches and will make it difficult to move around or positioning for alternate viewpoints
- Sunset sessions: facing west or southin coves, means that sunrise won’t be the best light. Aiming for sunset is always a better bet (although climbing back with a pitch black night is an extremely risky activity if you don’t know your way around)
Be prepared
Tomorrow is one of those rare occasions: sunset and low tide, low wind and some cloud coverage expected. I’ve packed and I’m ready to start the trail during the afternoon. I’ll be recording some videos and I hope another Alpha Series VLOG will come out of it. I’m too junior on this process to make promises.
Be safe
This is the route I will be taking, heading to Praia do Louriçal. As a precaution, I’m sharing this with my family and will be using a tracking device, so they can follow my whereabouts in real time, just in case… All it takes is a sprung ankle and your in for a very uncomfortable, cold night, while waiting for rescue to drop by…
Remember, adventure is all about managing risk and preparation.
Always hope for the best, but be ready for the worst and have a lot of fun while doing it!