Trip to Lagos
Before leaving this part of Portugal, Jake and I decided to head out west along the coast to visit Cascais and the Belém Tower.
We had a great coffee and pastel de nata at Cascais in a lovely little café. We drove along the coast, spotting many different ancient forts before finishing the trip at the Belém Tower—a popular destination and quite an impressive structure, built on the water.
We left Lisbon behind and decided to stop at the coastal town of Sines for lunch. The weather was great as we headed south, and Sines—although a small town—was very charming. We managed to find a fantastic spot for lunch: Mercearia 27.
We continued on to Lagos, where we checked into our accommodation just outside the old town. We had dinner at Illicit Burgers then made our way in to explore and managed to stumble across a medieval festival. It was in full swing, and we discovered it was the final day of the week-long event. I got to dust off my old archery skills at a range where they charged 1 euro for five arrows. The man running the range was sceptical about whether I’d shot before, but after letting me shoot seven arrows, he confirmed his suspicions. Very fun.
We later found a very incognito speakeasy and enjoyed a couple of very well-made cocktails before calling it a night.
Day 2 in Lagos
Another pre-booked tour today. After finishing our coffee and pastel de nata, we headed to the wharf. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the watercraft we’d be boarding, as there were all sorts moored. Luckily, it was a decent-sized vessel and not crowded at all.
We set off for our tour of the caves and cliffs along the coast, and even got lucky with some dolphin spotting—somewhat rare for the area.
The boat dropped anchor near the cliffs, and we were allowed to swim in the Atlantic Ocean. The water was quite fresh, but I wasn’t about to let that spoil the fun. Armed with my new GoPro camera, I jumped in and enjoyed a good paddle with Jake and about half of the other guests.
We had a nice lunch on board before heading back to end the tour. A very special trip—an awesome experience.
Once we’d returned and had showers, we decided to head to Sagres. Not only is it the name of the local beer, but it’s also the southwesternmost point of Europe. We took a long stroll around the fort and coastal walk and visited the museum. It was an interesting feeling being at the very spot the ancient Romans considered to be the end of the world.
Back in Lagos, we grabbed a very tasty dinner at Cantinho de Minas, a Brazilian restaurant very close to our accommodation, and we planned the next few days.
It turns out the car return wasn’t flexible, which messed around with our plans a bit. No matter—we booked our journey to Seville, planned the drop-off of the car in Faro, and sorted our accommodation.
So tomorrow: Faro.
