Fábrica - Cacela Velha - Beaches - Islands - Fábrica. A nice walk through a tidal area (um passeio por uma área de maré).

The track starts at a parking place in Fábrica.
You will pass some nice areas with nature, a couple of pristine beaches and you will walk over the ilha de Cabanas. Therefore before starting out it is a good idea to check the ebb and flow times in the area. At two points (after 4.5 km and 6 km - clockwise) the track passes through areas that are under water at high tide and almost dry at ebb time. You can also use the available water taxis if necessary. The phone numbers are 966023411 and 965890566. However walking all the way is a lot more fun!
So we start walking along the beach in eastern direction. In this time of the year there are a lot of Cistanche plants (beginning of May - see included pictures) close to the waterside. These are rare plants that we find in just a few places in the Mediterranean close to the beach. After about 1 km we will reach Cacela Velha. There are some bars and restaurants here. From Cacela Velha we have a very nice view over the coastal area. We then go back down to the coast and continue east in the direction of Manta Rota. We walk for almost 2 km through a part with a very nice coastal vegetation where it seems nobody ever passes. Seas of flowers around in this time of the year. Just before arriving at Manta Rota beach we head to the sea and continue in South Western direction over a Peninsula (So we have the sea on the left and an internal Laguna on the right). We walk over very nice and large beaches where other people are enjoying the sea. This area is part of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa. This will bring us to Praia da Barra were we will have the first sea-crossing (4,5 km clockwise). At ebb time the water will just be knee deep. So there is no difficulty to cross. This gets us to Praia de Cacela. We now continue walking over the beach to Praia Fábrica. From here we head back to the main land. We will have to cross the water just before arriving at Fábrica. Also here at ebb tide the water is really low. There will be thousands of crabs around. No problem to get back. On the parking place there are water taps to clean our feet (the last waypoint).

In general this track is pretty easy. But make sure to check the time table of the tides. It is advisable to be able to swim. For the rest it's just fun!