Friday/Saturday, July 11 – 12, 2014 –
Tucked into our little rental car we headed west back to see Cape St. Vincent, the southwest corner of Europe from land. Friends who had both sailed around the Cape and visited by land had said that the view from land is much more spectacular. We agree. The 400 foot cliffs dropping off into the sea with outcroppings of rocks and the brightest lighthouse in Europe were amazing.
Fishermen did not let the heights stop them from casting into the sea. Their poles were long enough to reach out over the edge. It must be quite a skill to not lose the catch on the way up. On the plus side, there would be no need to carry a net to land the fish!
It was here in the 15th century that Henry the Navigator trained sailors to go off to sea to explore the new world. Prior to then they would watch the sun set into the ocean off these cliffs and believed that they were seeing the edge of the world. Henry the Navigator is a legend here. I do find it fascinating that, for all of the men he sent to sea, he never actually went himself.