A Big Pink Rock

A Pleasant day on Berlangas Island

We recently spent five days on the Silver Coast.¹ We visited with friends…played a little golf…and spent 2 days in Peniche. We took a wonderful free walking tour on the first of these days. Our guide, Diana, was exceptional. She even provided the full 3-hour tour even though Denise and I were her only customers that day. We returned the next day to visit a pink granite rock 10 km offshore … it is called Berlangas Island.

Yep, that’s Denise leading the way.

Berlengas Grande

Properly called Berlengas Grande, we visited the largest island in this small grouping off the western coast. While once inhabited by the Phoenicians in the first century, later the Romans, Vikings, and a few pirates … in 1513 Queen Eleanor of Viseu established a settlement of monks on the island. Monastery of the Misericórdia da Berlenga was tasked with assisting ships with navigation and treating victims of shipwrecks.

Looking down at the fort from the top of the island.

The monks left the island later that century and the monastery was destroyed. In its place, the Fort of São João Baptista das Berlengas was constructed from the remnants of the monastery ruins.

The lighthouse was constructed in the mid-1800s and solar panels were added in the 20th century providing a 50-kilometre (31 mi) field of vision. In 2011, UNESCO included the island as a classified reserve within its World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) program.

A Three…Actually Four…Hour Tour

We purchased our tickets for the “morning” tour which left the Peniche port at 10:00. We both spontaneously broke into song … singing the Gilligan Island classic as we walked toward the large blue catamaran. We had purchased our tickets the day before from one of the kiosks on the dock. You can also buy the tickets online here. If you purchased the optional cave tour, as we had, you will be assigned a time. The trip to the island took only 30 minutes, so we arrived at about 10:30. Our cave tour was scheduled for 11:45. We decided to explore the island a bit so we followed a cement path up the hill. Along the path, there are smaller, natural paths and an occasional placard explaining the history of the island, native birds, etc.

The views are stunning…

The water is so clear that we can see fish dancing around the swimmer in the photo above.

At the appointed time we boarded a smaller, glass-bottom boat with about a dozen others. A Portuguese/English-speaking guide led us as we traversed caves and pointed out rock formations like this one called the Elephant.

The Fort

We were given the option of being dropped off at the fort, which we took, seeming a better option than hiking up the hill again. Today the fort is not only a place to tour, but also a small rustic hotel. With 10 basic rooms and a communal kitchen, you can actually book a holiday stay on the island.

We spoke to a young woman who was working at the refreshment counter. She explained that there are families that return to the island every year…spending a week or more in peaceful, natural conditions.

She is provided accommodations in the fort as well from April till October and is provided a free boat transfer to the mainland each week. However, she explained, she often doesn’t take advantage of the excursion preferring the peace and quiet of the island on her days off.

We enjoyed a Sagres, a cheese sandwich, and a lovely conversation with a French couple who own an Airbnb studio outside of Cannes. After they agreed to allow us to bring Onix along we exchanged contact information. We then headed back…perhaps I should say up. The elevated path you see at the top of this post led us out of the fort. The stairs you see pictured above led us up the hill. They were kind enough to number the stairs … yes that is the number 290 you see at the top. In typical Portuguese fashion, there are no guide rails or walls to prevent you from falling to your death. The Portuguese believe you are a responsible human being, able to judge your own capabilities…so take your time and enjoy.

Recomendamos-lhe que visite Berlenga Island, e Peniche!

Nanc

1. We wanted to escape the noise and commotion associated with Feira da Praia.