Weekend Getaway in Lagos

  Lagos, Algarve, Portugal
Thursday, October 30, 2008

After spending a few weekends in Cordoba, Denise and I decided to to go Portugal for a long 4 day weekend along with 2 other friends here that are also teaching English.  The trip getting there was long, but in the end it was definetly all worth it.  Here´s how we got there:  train from Cordoba to Sevilla, bus from Sevilla to Faro, and an incredibly slow bus from Faro to Lagos - about 8 hours including stop overs.

Upon finally arriving we found out that the guesthouse with which I had made reservations was actually closed or at least was not answering the door.  After asking around we found a hostel which was just fine for 10 euros a night.  The first night we took in some of the Lagos nightlife, but still ended up going go bed early by Lagos standards in anticipation of exploring this beautiful beach town in southern Porgutal the next morning. 

We woke up early and walked up and down the winding, narrow, cobblestone streets of Lagos.

A Typical Street in Lagos

After getting a feel for the town we headed back to the hostel and got ready for the beach.  The beaches here are a series of small, secluded beaches divided by rocky cliffs.

Us on the Beach

To move from one beach to the next we had to move through tunnels  that have been made to connect  them all.  The weather was a perfect sunny and 80º so we spent the first part of the day lounging on the beach and swimming and in the afernoon we took a small boat out to a part of the coast where there are all sorts of grottos and caves - the boat even drove into a few caves with some precise steering from our guide who has clearly seen many days in his small boat.

On a boat in the cave

On Saturday night we were pleasantly suprised when we found out that Lagos was hosting a cultural celebration every night for the next week.  People from many different countries in Europe and Brazil were on hand with booths selling traditional food and candy and there was a large stage set up in the middle of town for each country to put on a show of traditional dances or music from their country.

Traditional Dance

Each of the dances and musicians was very interesting, but our favorite was the little girls from Brazil who did a hip-hop routine and were incredibly talented.

The entire day Sunday was spent on the beach and at night we ate the best food we have yet to taste in Europe - traditional Moldovan food.

Enjoying Traditional Moldovan Food

The food was being served at a street stand as part of the cultural celebration for 2.50 a plate! On Monday woke up to catch the rising sun rising over the Atlantic before making the long journey home.

Sunrise our last day

We were happy to be home again on Sunday night and realized that for the first time our new home actually felt like home!