Pedra da Mua

You can hardly see anything there. Still important. And you can add a short hike.

No idea how drunk you’d have to be to see the Virgin Mary climbing cliffs on a giant white mule. Two fishermen proved it possible around 1410. The “Stone of the Mule” should correctly be called “Pedra da Mula.” This is likely due to linguistic evolution rather than alcohol. In any case, the footprints on the cliff were plausible proof of a Marian apparition for the church and became a reason for pilgrimages. Today, the tile images in the chapel are considered the first illustrations of dinosaur tracks worldwide.

In 1971, science turned the mule into 38 sauropods that wandered through a lagoon 145 million years ago. Sauropods are those giants with long necks from every dinosaur movie and the superstars of natural history museums. These animals left tracks that can be wonderfully seen from the opposite cliff: adult footprints measuring 80x60 cm for a foot and 20x40 cm for a hand. This translates to a 25-meter-long dinosaur weighing upwards of 30 tons.

 

According to the Movietour, the idea for “Jurassic Park” originated at the cape. What’s certain is that Steven Spielberg was familiar with Portugal from filming “Indiana Jones.”

 

 

The track patterns suggest that three young dinosaurs, possibly two years old at most, led the way to find safe paths through a lagoon due to their lighter weight. The adults followed slowly, with one in the middle limping. If true, this would be evidence of social behavior in a species not known for high intelligence. Given the time elapsed, much speculation remains in all statements on the topic.

 

This is roughly what it must have looked like back then.