Lisboa 2024, Portugal

I took the bus to Praia da Cresmina and had the pleasure of testing the Portuguese bus. In short: 30 minutes delay seems to be the norm. But I arrived and even got back on time - at times I wasn't so confident that it would work 🤣.

The Cresmina Dune extends over 66 hectares and is a part of the Guincho-Cresmina dune system, located on the edge of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park near Cascais in Portugal. This dune system is considered fairly unique because, as a result of the prevailing northwest winds, the sand from the Guincho and Cresmina beaches eventually returns to the sea 5 km further to the south near Guia, after migrating over the flat, rocky and largely uninhabited area of Cabo Raso.

The Guincho-Cresmina dunes are an unstable system due to the constant drifting of sand particles caused by strong winds. The existence of barriers to movement, such as restaurants and hotels, which narrowed the sand transportation corridors between beaches and dunes, and the tendency of the wind speed to be increasing, led to increased deposits of sediments in areas further away from the coastline, with a consequent reduction in the beach area and potential damage to neighbouring land and homes. Studies show that the Cresmina dune is advancing in a north-south direction by about 10m per year.

Praia da Cresmina is one beach, Praia do Guincho the other. It has a shoreline of approximately 800 metres, has preferred surfing conditions and is popular for surfing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

Strong northern winds are predominant during summer time as well as smaller north-west swells, during winter, the predominant winds are from the east, and swells increase in size, making it a perfect spot for surfing, with multiple beach-breaks providing powerful lefts and rights.

However, since Guincho is situated on the western edge of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park and this designation has protected the beach from excessive tourism development, as has the fact that the waves and wind mean it is not suitable as a beach for swimming and sunbathing, particularly for people with young children.

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