The Sea (A Photo Blog)

I like living by the sea. And it's not the first time I have done so, much to my mother's annoyance, who has always wanted to live at the seaside and never managed to actually do it somehow. I've lived on the south coast of Devon, the west coast of Wales and on the east coast in Lincolnshire. All these places had their merits and I loved living in all of them. Wales had some fantastic storms in the winter, sending shingle from the beach up onto the promenade and I used to love sitting in my bay window watching the waves crash under the pier. The south coast was glorious in the summer and although I only lived there for just over a year, I enjoyed many gentle sun-drenched walks along the seafront. By the time I lived in Lincolnshire I had a family and we spent many a Sunday getting burned shoulders whilst building sandcastles on the massive beaches at Skegness and Mablethorpe.

And now? Two thousand kilometers further south and the sea is still the same. The tide comes in and the tide goes out. It's still cold when you dip your toes in. I think for me the big difference isn't actually the sea. It's the sky. The rich blue colour of the cloudless sky somehow seems to invigorate and make the seaside views even more stunning. There are some breathtakingly beautiful views along the promenade between Cascais and Estoril, and so, I've gathered together some of the photo's that I've taken since moving here, and posted them below for you viewing pleasure.

The promenade at Cascais

The view from Estoril with Cascais Marina in the distance.

Cascais in the distance.

The view down onto the promenade from the platform of Monte Estoril train station.

The view in the other direction towards Estoril...

In summer, when the tide is high, the young and brave dive from the end of the pier.

Spending the afternoon walking along the beach is all well and good, but the scenery is just as stunning at other times of the day too. In fact it really is well worth the effort of getting out of bed for a glimpse of the sunrise...

Estoril at sunrise.

Standing on the beach, looking back towards Estoril on a balmy September evening.

Technically speaking, Estoril and Cascais lie along the Tagus estuary. I'm not a geographer so please don't ask me where the river ends and the sea starts! All I know is that the Tagus a very busy river, used by many different types of boats from enormously large tankers and cargo vessels right down to the much smaller pleasure dingies and fishing boats that fill Cascais harbour.

Old and new boats travel up and down the river Tagus.

Cascais Marina.

Finally, I'm going to finish with a picture that I took on a day out with my family to the beach at Carcavelos, which is about half between Cascais and Lisbon. It was Boxing Day (which incidentally is not celebrated in Portugal) and although there are a few wispy clouds in the sky and it was cold enough for hats and coats, it was, as you can see, still a very beautiful day.

Carcavelos beach on Boxing Day.