Colina Da Lapa Carvoeiro

... jack tshirts or associated Brit paraphenalia. Indeed, youth was conspicuously absent, initially just a few rich silver surfers at the bar, one of whom insisted on loudly sharing with the clientele her lack of colon, and its medical and digestive implications! Anyhow, post Bull we headed back to camp having been on the go most of the day. Unfortunately the showerblock was without either light or hotwater which made for a most invigorating pre ...

... we awoke around 8am) start, it was time to stock up on provisions from the Intermarche, the Portugues version of a large supermarket. We have noticed a wide variation in prices for eg bread which is very well baked,is cheaper than in the uk. the same goes for beer and wine also fruit and veg. not so items which are imported such as alpen (euro 5 a box pg tips euro 2.40 for 80. Anyhow having stocked up we headed to Praia Mos, a little too late to ...

... above the river Odeceixe which runs out to the Atlantic. This was an idyllic location and though the tide was all wrong to surf, we parked up on the river bank within sight of the ocean: an absolutely fantastic location which was all ours complete with open fire. We commented on how different the Portuguese attitude is to free camping; its almost part of their constitution!

... t the most inspiring town, and after two days its time to move on.The kiwis have a plan, they've got a hostel lined up, and a group of friends meeting them, so why not?

A two hour bus ride to Lagos was longer than expected, as we got off the bus we met up with Kirsten another traveler who was staying at the same hostel. Together we all walked to "The Rising Cock" hostel, the clever name suggesting that I perhaps was not its ...

... for everybody. When you're only working for room and board, you expect to eat pretty damn well.

I pull the meat out of the oven, its seriously overcooked. I bathe it in instant gravy and serve it up with the roast potatoes and tomatoes. While the family and guests sit down to the meal, we clean-up, plate dessert, and grab whatever remains. I'm fuming. They linger over coffee and dessert, allowing us a good head start on dishes.

Satiated, Daniella wanders into the ...

An excursion to Lagos’s Marina followed by a boat trip to Ponta de Sagres (The most western point of Europe, from where the Portuguese sailors started the discovery of new worlds) will allow to enjoy the
natural beauty of the rocks, especially the famous and most impressive caves of Ponta da Piedade, wild beaches and the sea waves on the cliffs along the coast and also some of the ‘highlights ...

In Albufeira, we went to a Portugese bullfight, not the real deal as in they don't kill the bull, rather they stab them in the back with a bunch of arrows. I thought it was mean, especially the first bull because it was pretty much still a baby and looked scared instead of angry. Jon ...

... there, he was hilarious and exactly like a euro version of an American beach bum.
We also went to check out the lagoon, I got out for a couple tacks, the wind was super light and I crashed my kite and it deflated... fun. I had to walk my kite back through shallow water ...

The west and south coast of Portugal is pretty much a long stretch of beaches surrounded and separated by huge red cliffs and you can get from one beach to another by crawling through caves in the cliffs (I also think that's where the bums sleep at night...) We did some surfing at a small secluded beach that I had been to 4 years ago with my family. We’re ...

... desparity is obvious between the rich tourism crowds and the locals. Makes one wonder about EU funds. We found the Portuguese to be very, very nice people and incredibly friendly. I tried my best with the language, but it was so different from Spanish--I had no idea. To read it on signs and menus, the language was somewhat easy to cmopare to Spanish, but to listen to the locals speak, I had a difficult time. Here's some examples I took from a ...