With the sun just beginning to rise over the Atlantic, I’m bracing myself to step into cold, crystal clear water when suddenly I see them: a pod of dolphins cuts through the mirror-like surface just metres from where I stand. One by one, around a dozen leap into sight, curving around the mountainside from the open ocean and into the sheltered bay, before slipping out of sight.
I’m standing on the sands at the foot of Arrábida Natural Park, a protected coastal region around 45 minutes’ drive south of Lisbon, in Sesimbra – the seaside village I have called home since 2015. Although I’ve long heard rumours of these marine visitors, it’s the first time I’ve seen them close to home since I discovered this place almost by accident, having fallen deep into a rabbit hole of Lisbon-based property hunting.
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The waters here are crystal clear but cold year-round, which is how I’ve added cold water swimming to trail running as part of my lifestyle here – all the better to balance the dangerously affordable local wines, delicious cheeses, and regular barbecue sessions.
Now, interest in Arrábida is quietly building and the signs of change are already visible. The former four-star Sesimbra Hotel & Spa has been revamped and rebranded as the five-star Sesimbra Oceanfront, where guests now wind their way down to the beach clutching takeaway cups of bubble frappe from the newly opened Crazy Bubble Sesimbra. At the same time, in the back streets locals still sip strong espressos that cost less than 60p and restaurants grill fresh-from-the-ocean fish on rustic charcoal grills set out on the cobbles.
Sesimbra, the fishing village where I’ve made my home, sits at one end of Arrábida Natural Park, a 176-square-kilometre protected area founded in 1976 that stretches to the coastal city of Setúbal. Here, the blue of the sea alternates with white limestone cliffs and dense Mediterranean vegetation covering the mountain range. The park’s nomination for Unesco Biosphere Reserve status would further protect this unique ecosystem where limestone mountains meet the…
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