Cascais and Boca do Inferno

After a long day of walking around Sintra, we decided that a relaxing day on the beach is much needed. Luckily, we're right on the coast of Portugal here in Lisbon, and the beach town of Cascais (pronounced cash-kysh) is only 30 minutes by train. This time we walked over to Cais do Sodre station, right on the Tagus River. 4.80 euro later, we were on a train to Cascais.

Something I found so interesting about the beaches at Cascais is how they vaguely reminded me of being home in New England. The Atlantic is just as cold on this side as it is back home, if anyone is wondering! Sail boats floated lazily, docked at buoys in the water, giving the quaint beach almost a Cape Cod feel. 

The rest of Cascais has more of a Mediterranean vibe. The streets are similar to Lisbon, winding and featuring beautiful white cobblestone. Walking along the coastline, we saw spontaneous small patches of sand where locals would set up camp and dip their toes into the water. We stopped into a free exhibition at the Casa de Santa Maria. She had quite the lovely view from her terrace.

Further along the road was a gorgeous natural curiosity called Boca do Inferno, or Mouth of Hell. Looking down, it's easy to understand how this rock formation got its name. The water is bright blue over there, and the mystery of the entire place is absolutely mesmerizing. 

Boca do inferno was definitely the highlight of this day trip. While the natural beauty of it was worth a visit to Cascais, there was nothing particularly special about the beaches we went to.