Oh Malhão, Malhão!

"Oh Malhão, Malhão
Que vida é a tua?
Comer e beber, oh trim-tim-tim,
Passear na rua!"

O Malhão is an old traditional portuguese song, and these first lines is how the music starts. Truth be told, I never really checked any history behind the music (if there is any); so I don't know who Malhão is, or what does he do for a living... but I know where his beach is! 🙂

Praia do Malhão is a beautiful beach located in SW Portugal, a few km below Porto Covo. It's only accessible through a bumpy dirt road (short one, though), but it's definitely worth the visit.

There are a ton of wooden walkways to explore and view the entire beach from above, since a huge trail that follows almost the entire SW coast - Rota Vicentina - passes here too; that means that are a lot of people just passing by, doing the walking trail.

For the ones that decide to go down to the clear sand, a huuge clear sandy beach awaits, bathed by the rough atlantic ocean.

The beach is divided between north and south beach, although practically speaking there isn't any division. The north part also has a naturistic part, if skinny dipping/sunbathing is your thing. Whatever part you choose, the beautiful view is the same.

Shallow pools appear between the rocky formations, cool if you have kids that like to explore. You may even catch some dinner! Mussels, anyone?

These seemed a little too small, but I'm pretty sure that in this rock there were a few with a decent size for the pan already. And as I walked along the rock, realised someone had the same opinion as me!

I was just planning to have a nice relaxed morning, so I've followed my path. Fortunately, the wind that can sometimes blow strong here was just a tiny tiny breeze, enough to cool a bit but without being unpleasant.

And yes, the water was still freaking cold! But cold water and rough sea is a given in this part of the country... and it's still perfect as it is! So if you like to explore beaches, put this one on your list. 😉