Cape of Sines

The Cape of Sines projects into the Atlantic on Portugal's Alentejo coast, dividing a long sandy shore to the north from the bay of Sines. Above the bay stands the town's castle, built to defend the coast and its inhabitants. Pedro I made Sines a town in 1362 on condition that its people continue the castle walls. The navigator Vasco da Gama grew up here, looking out over the same Atlantic that carried his expedition toward India.