Ponta da Atalaia (Caves of Sagres)

Ponta da Atalaia sits on the south-facing Sagres coast just inside the shelter of the Ponta de Sagres headland and Cabo de Sao Vicente, which stand to its west and northwest. That geometry shields the site from the dominant W-NW Atlantic groundswell that hammers this corner of Iberia, so the direct W and WNW windows are heavily shadowed and the WSW only partly open. The fully exposed sector is the open ocean to the south — the S, SSW and SSE are wide open and a Southerly swell or sustained S-SE wind will build waves straight into the wall and caves. The landmass of the western Algarve blocks everything from the northeast round through east. Because the dominant swell is largely blocked, the site is diveable on many days when nearby exposed sites are not, but a big NW groundswell still wraps around the capes and a Southerly blow can shut it down.