I had walked down to Ponta do Sino a number of times over the years, one big open space of land where the the only thing on it was the light house. However this was my first time to actually walk around the new construction being built there of the hotel and resort called ‘New Horizons Ponta Sino’ Beach Resort Hotel.
I was accompanied on my little trek by a friend who, unlike me, enjoyed walking. It was good to have his company as it made my trudge through the sand less noticeable. We chatted about various things mainly to do with this new construction, the beach and what changes lay ahead.
There had been a lot of concern raised about this area of beach which as far as we were aware, was supposed to be a protected area….yeh, heard that one before! It makes you wonder how many other so called ‘protected areas’ will be grabbed up for large amounts of money, it happens everywhere.
As we started to walk along the walkway outside the Morabeza hotel, we talked about beach area on our left which was taken up with beach beds along the waters edge, with only a few spaces along the beach where there were still open spaces yet to be filled by more sunbeds. We saw that an area next to the Atlantis Restaurant was now starting to be developed to accommodate a new beach club. Further long we came to the Djadsal Holiday Club, a big hotel on the beach that had been closed for some years and had fallen into dis-repair. It was good to see that talk of it being redeveloped by another company was actually taking place. The Djadsal was now busy with workers, they had already removed the windows and doors of the chalets and some tiles off roofs of other structures so they could be re-used elsewhere. Some of the structures were also being demolished. Then immediately next to the Djadsal, work continued on the Sal Hilton Hotel which supposedly is due to open later this year, we’ll see.
Having left the walkway, which ended at the Hilton, we continued along the beach past the Hotel Creolo and Villa do Farol (Brava) hotel. Standing on the beach outside the Farol and looking ahead, the ‘New Horizons’ was now the last development at the southern west point of the coastline.
Approaching New Horizons as we did, we didn’t get the true impact of the size of the construction ahead of us. Once we reached the fence and continued to walk alongside it, the fence stretched out ahead of us, in the distance we could see the ocean around the other side of the point.
As we looked over the fence we could see some nearly completed, half built and new structures being worked on
Before we reached the end of the fence we stopped and looked at the beautiful beach that stretched out in front of us, I fear that this area of beach will also change. As we turned the corner of the fence line, we noted plastic bags that had entangled themselves on the fencing. Plastic and rubbish is a big problem on land and in the sea. We had already started to walk up the other side of the construction taking more photos but also noticing the wildlife, the crab holes and the birds that live in this area. Many people have wondered and argued that there will be an effect on wildlife in this area. As we approached the far end and entrance to the site we could see the old lighthouse. I wondered if this would remain a feature or be demolished. The open area of land the other side of the New Horizons development is so far untouched. Will this remain the case I asked myself?