Lapa de Santa Margarida

Meet the Flintstones: an extraordinary detour, not just to the Stone Age.

Park just before the traffic light after Portinho da Arrábida, by the dumpsters next to the rundown soccer field. Then follow the inconspicuous sign down 200 steps towards the coast. After a few prickly minutes through cacti and other vegetation, you’ll reach a small spot with a view of the seemingly Caribbean sea and access to a cave.

This cave has been inhabited since ancient times, and nearby is an important Neanderthal site, though it’s not open to visitors. After spending a few minutes in the grotto and doing a bit of climbing on the rocks in front, you can get a good sense of how people lived and hunted 100,000 years ago — seals with pine nuts have been found as evidence of their diet.

The real highlight is the chapel at the back. There are different versions of its story. The fabulous one goes like this: there’s a hidden passage through the rock that leads to the monastery. People searching for this mysterious monk-guarded entrance have disappeared, necessitating a memorial.

A slightly more plausible version is that fishermen prayed to Saint Margaret of Antioch as their patron against “monsters from the deep.” This fits with its existence since the 16th century when an early supply industry for the Portuguese sea power emerged, and fishing around Sesimbra boomed. In modern times, unfortunately, it’s the saint herself who needs protection — after several thefts and graffiti incidents, the wooden statue now resides in the Arrábida Convent mentioned above.