How a traumatic accident led a young traveler to beauty in the Algarve

I had no idea who Blair was… the only connection I had with this guy, was that he took a mesmerizing photo of Benagil cave. It was an image picturing his girlfriend. An image which was pretty sexual, but sensual, natural and bold at the same time. It showed that this guy knew a thing or two about photography but what it didn’t tell me was that there was a brilliant story behind how he got down to Benagil.

Blair grew up in Cape Town into a nature friendly family. His father was a nature conservationist and his mother an entomologist. His desire for travel is evident while he designs himself a location independent career as an online teacher. What defines him though is a careless accident. Find out how he managed to look at the Algarve from a completely different perspective to the normal drinks, dinner and hotel tourist due to his traumatic accident and his resultant grateful outlook on life.

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Show notes

  • Blair = “from the fields”. We look into Blairs outdoor youth in Cape Town in South Africa.
  • Blair wanted to explore the world (like many young South Africans), travelling alone to the South of France after obtaining a few yacht qualifications.
  • What its like to fall out of a three storey window!
  • Split his right patella (knee), broke open his nasal cavity, broke some teeth, scarred his face, broke his ankle and spent a month in a French hospital.
  • Travelled with his girlfriend, Beatrice, back to South Africa, then onto Majorca, Ibiza, Barcelona and the Caribbean before settling in Trafaria just south of Lisbon.
  • They set about planning a road trip from Lisbon to the Algarve (300km), with the idea to visit our iconic cliffs, caves and coves.
  • Driving down from Lisbon through Sines and down through the Costa Vicentina (West Coast national park) stopping off for a night on the beach on the west coast.

Do out of the norm things to have out of the norm experiences

  • We talk about this hidden gem below that they both found in Benagil Beach and caves.

A post shared by Blair Impson (@blair_withme) on

  • On swimming around to the Benagil cave at 7am: “Respect the ocean“, really wise words. It’s about 100m but this depends on the tide (high tide is a longer swim).
  • Floating around Ponte da Piedade in Lagos with a flotation device and unfriendly life guards.

benagil cave access

Blair Impson

You can follow Blair and his girlfriend Beatrice on Instagram. Give them some love!

Blair https://www.instagram.com/blair_withme/

Beatrice https://www.instagram.com/beatriceljunggren/

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