Every place name tells a story. If you pay attention.

Praia das Maçãs. Apple Beach. As the story goes, during harvest season, ripe apples from nearby orchards would fall into the Colares river and were carried by the current down to the beach. Washing up onto the sand. A beach named after fruits. Only in Portugal.

Yet the story goes deeper than its name.

On the hills above the coastline. various prehistoric monuments sit quietly overlooking the water. First used around 4000 BC. Continuously visited and expanded for thousands of years after that. Most even today, remains hidden beneath the surface. Buried by time and sand.

Below. The Atlantic does what it always does. Powerful, beautiful and indifferent to history.

The mountains of Sintra meet the ocean here. A river carries apples to the shore. And ancient remains rest just above it all.

A true hidden gem for all beach and history lovers.