9th February 2025 – Ria Formosa, Portugal

We made the most of the sunny and calm conditions to take a three hour trip around the Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal.

In 2010, the lagoon was recognised as one of the country’s seven natural wonders and the series of barrier islands connects to the sea through six inlets, one of which is artificial to allow easier access to the port of Faro.

We spent half an hour on the tiny island of Armona, just enough time to visit the village with its charming minute houses which are mainly used as holiday homes and to savour the tropical feel of the island.

We then moved on to the larger island of Culatra which has a permanent population of about 1,000 people who are mainly involved in the fishing trade.

The island has an extensive sandy beach on its ocean side to which we made our way across the protected sand dunes on a raised wooden walkway. It was warm enough to sit on the beach next to a bar and enjoy a beer.

As the tide was high most of the sandbanks were submerged and so, apart from gulls and cormorants, we saw very little bird life, except on the return journey we saw a small colony of spoonbills.

In the evening we had another walk around the Salinas de Olhão, next to our hotel.