Praia Formosa walk

 It seemed like a good idea at the time to catch the bus to Praia Formosa.. The promise of the Atlantic surf crashing onto dark volcanic sand didn't quite live up to expectations. 

Another cloudy and overcast afternoon and being dropped off in the middle of nowhere was not a great start. It was only when we found the beach that we realised that it would probably have been easier to have walked.
The wind had got up and the word that sprang
to mind was 'bleak'. Sitting at the beach-side cafe

The words to the Morrissey song ' Every Day is like a Sunday' were going through my head 'This is the coastal town that they forgot to close down'.
Fueled by an ice cold Coral beer we made the decision to walk back to the hotel . 

It was difficult walking on the beach with all the pebbles until a tunnel appears and bores through the rock. 

 It was cool to walk through the tunnel and hear the sea crashing all around.

The rest of the walk takes us along the hotel zone. The south facing slopes are carpeted in tropical and sub-tropical  flora. There are plenty of lizards scampering between rocks. 

We spot an interesting bird in the branches of a tree, a 'Harris Hawk' . It is undisturbed by our presence and I noticed that it had a tag on its leg. This is probably a 'tame' bird of prey that is used to scare of the local pigeon population.

Harris Hawk

 
We walk back past the lido, a popular sunbathing area.