We woke to a beautiful clement day, a slight cloud covering, and a perfect temperature to head off and enjoy a morning walk before the heat of the day arrived. I had arranged to pick Debbie and Fred up at 9 a.m. and I decided it might be a fun thing to head into Olhão and check out a trail, part of the Ria Formosa Park, that I hadn’t visited for a while.
CEAM – Centro de Educação Ambiental de Marim (Marim Environmental Education Center) is in a 60 ha estate on the edge of the Ria Formosa. At Quinta de Marim, you can see groups of wild birds, egrets, herons, coots, marsh chicken, etc.. in the ponds and marshland. There is an old marim tidemill (used in collaboration with the tides to make flour, it traces back to the Roman occupation. You alternate back and forth from dunes, marshes, woods, freshwater ponds and a laguna area. It’s an easy trail, tranquil and very enjoayable……even though we arrived at the same time as a large group (perhaps 20 or so) students and teachers out on a field trip.
The day was heating up rather quickly but as we were right beside the sea, we had a tiny breeze that keep us from feeling overheated. As we came around the back of extensive marsh area we arrived at the old tidal mill and enjoyed a lovely conversation with two young women who were working there. Sadly the building has fallen into a state of disrepair and you can no longer go inside but, we could climb up the roof for extensive vistas.
We did a little back track from here and wound ourselves to the bird observation huts, it was worth it.
From here we headed towards a rickety boardwalk…it creaked and groaned as we crossed it but left sturdy enough. It crossed a duned area and gave us a really lovely perspective of many of the plants that grow in the sandy dunes, as usual, colour galore.
As always, another truly wonderful walk taking in a part of the beauty that this part of the Algarve offers in abundance. I think, for me, any time I get to spend near the sea wandering like this, feels special. By now the heat was building and it was time to call it a day.
As we headed towards home I made a suggestion of stopping in a small walking park I had learned off many years ago and both Fred and Debbie were happy to do so. It really was to simply push myself up to my daily walking goal andd to introduce another new option for Debbie and Fred for future trips. The path was 1,5 km, perfect for a quick stroll.
One more full day left for us here in our winter paradise and as the sun is to shine again tomorrow, I think there might just be one last hike/walk in my near future. I’m certainly going to miss these outings when we leave here but, I’ll do my best to find new trails at home and happily, we will be back next January.
Boy, that camera of yours took some very nice shots. It was a lovely ramble and we agree, any walk that takes you near the sea is perfect. See you tomorrow 😉
I do love my Canon! I think I might have chosen a different path for us to explore tomorrow……stay tuned