We are from Rock: here the earth ends and the sea begins

The cold, salty wind mercilessly unleashes its gusts on your face and hair, and below the sharp stones with noise and rumble crash into the foam with millions of splashes of the Atlantic waves. You hopelessly peer into the horizon, trying to see a narrow strip of land, and with small steps carefully approach the cliff, the edge of mainland Europe.

The era of the great geographical discoveries is long behind, the borders of the continents are measured by satellites, the maps are many times more accurate than those guided by the Portuguese sailors, which now opens up almost unlimited possibilities for travel. Inveterate explorers and adventurers seek to visit all continents in their lifetimes or set out to visit all countries of the world, the most notorious ones plan to climb the highest peaks of each continent. There are simpler punctures in their lists, for example, to be noted at the extreme points of the continents. In Europe, turning this adventure on is easy, because you can easily get to Cape Roca, the extreme western point of mainland Europe, by bus.

“The place where the earth ends and the sea begins” - these are the words of the Portuguese poet Luis Camoes engraved on a memorial stele crowned with a cross next to the exact coordinates of the cape.

With the weather, I must say, we were not very lucky. One should not even dream about the calmness of Cape Roca, a strong wind blows from the ocean almost all the time, so even in the summer it is better to take care of a light jacket so as not to catch a cold. Over the cliffs towering 140 meters from the deeps of the sea, thick clouds hung, to get through which the sun had no chance.

And below the elements raged, washing with thick foam the sharp coastal stones. Sadly, accidents took place on Cape Dora too - trying to make memorable shots, people broke and fell down in front of their relatives. The area near the stele, beyond which packet tourists usually do not go, is fenced from a cliff by a fence - in other directions you have complete freedom of movement.

I recommend running away from the crowds of the Chinese (and even in such cloudy, cool weather, we stumbled at the edge of the world into a noisy Chinese group taking a million photos from the stele) a little to the left in the direction of the sharp spur.

Going down to it lower is not the most pleasant experience, the inconvenience of the relief paid off instantly with a feeling of solitude. Just the two of us and the sound of the ocean. Peering into the distance: will the Flying Dutchman suddenly emerge with a cursed crew on board covered in shells and algae?

The salty wind blew all the primary frustration about the fact that today you can’t do perfect bright landscape photos with a blue sky, like on postcards. We are at the end of the world, after all, the rest is not so important. It's nice to put such an important tick in your list of places that you want to visit.

The constantly blowing cold wind affected the type of flora growing on the cliffs of the cape - low shrubs, grass, mosses and succulents. Standing apart is the so-called crystal flower, the scientific name is edible carpobrotus. At the place of the flower, an edible acidic fruit ripens like figs, from which jam is even boiled in some countries.

You can officially document your stay on Cape Roca by purchasing a certificate at the tourist center, where your name will be entered for 11 euros. And what to do with this memorable piece of paper in the era of selfie and Instagram? However, demand is available.

Since 1772, the lighthouse has served seafarers as a guide for entering the port of Lisbon. The current version of the lighthouse was built in 1842. The light of a 22-meter lighthouse with a power of 1000 watts is visible 46 kilometers from the coast. The lighthouse is operational, but the entrance for tourists and visitors is closed.

Having trembled in the cold wind, we hastened back to the stop to catch another bus number 403 to Sintra, and from there return to Lisbon by train. The driver treacherously slammed the doors right in front of our nose and, turning around, drove off, leaving us to wait for the next flight in 30-40 minutes. In Russia, the whole bus would shout “Wait!”, And catching a few tens of seconds on a long winding road is a trifle, but the Portuguese driving was too punctual. Soon a small car stopped next to us, from where a Russian guy got out and offered to wait for the sunset with them, and then they would throw us up to Lisbon, only at first they intended to drive us behind the port. We politely declined the offer. Although it became a little clearer, one could not hope for a picturesque sunset.