WALKING ON WATER

Well, sort of... Welcome to Praia de Benagil where we met with I LOVE SUP to experience stand up paddleboarding and the Benagil caves!

Stand up paddleboarding (or, SUP), has become huge in popularity over the last couple of years in the Algarve. Stand up paddleboarding as a water sport originated in Hawaii, though variations of SUP have been around for thousands of years. The modern version mixes surfing with kayaking to create a fun way to enjoy the water whether it be in calm lakes, in the middle of breaking waves in the sea or as we did this month, calmly making your way from one incredible sea cave to another along the Algarve’s magnificent coastline. Having lived in the Algarve for over 10 years now, we have always wanted to visit the caves, as social media has become more and more present in everyone’s lives, it is hard to go a day in summer without someone sharing their experience at the Benagil cave. And so, we reached out to I LOVE SUP who agreed to take us out to experience the caves for ourselves.

We met Márcio and Filomena at Praia de Benagil at 9:15 to get all of our safety equipment on, disinfect our hands and then have a quick lesson on how to get around with the board. Once we all had our bearings we marched down to

the water and hopped on our boards. Amazingly, it took a good 15 minutes before anyone fell in, however once one went we all shortly followed but I can’t say it wasn’t enjoyable, it was around 35 degrees and boy were we feeling it! We quickly made our way to the first cave and immediately fell in love with the experience, the crystal clear water was absolutely stunning.

Marcio and Filomena took us on a 2 hour tour of the caves along the coast, past Praia do Carvalho and all the way to Cabo Carvoeiro where we went through the cave that has a resemblance of a skull on the ceiling. After this we made our way back to the Benagil cave where we spent some time taking pictures and admiring just how amazing nature is. Most of the Algarve is made up of Miocene Limestone which sits on top of much older rock created in the Mesozoic era (back when the Dinosaurs were around!). The Algarve Basin was part of a region caught in the epicentre when the supercontinent Pangea split. During this process, warm, shallow seas slowly made their way in and overtime limestone built up, with the layers that make up the Benagil Caves being formed around 20 million years ago.

Like other karst formations around the world, the cliffs surrounding Benagil have been subjected to natural weathering processes such as running rainwater to waves crashing which forms these caves and pillars, eventually these weathering processes will lead to the caves completely collapsing so before they do make sure you visit them!

We would like to thank Marcio and Filomena at I LOVE SUP for taking us on this amazing tour, if you are interested in learning how to Stand up Paddle or would like to go on a tour for yourself please contact them and mention Simply Algarve. Their equipment is professional and easy to use and their guidance makes for a very enjoyable experience that we couldn’t recommend any higher. T: +351 936 190 126 E: booking@ilovesup.pt W: ilovesup.pt