Lagos: City by the Sea

December 6-8, 2018

I spent a very pleasant three days in Lagos. It has a boardwalk all along the side of the marina, and a wonderfully convoluted center area. There isn't a 90° corner anywhere in the maze of narrow cobblestone streets and walking paths.

The weather was warmer than in Portimão, either due to location or just what the sky wanted to do, so wandering around in the afternoon while the sun was still up was a great option.

My mornings were spent on a boat, or under water. I had three days of diving in Lagos, and since it was the bottom of low season, I got personal attention as the only diver for two of the days. (Underwater photos will be in a later post)

The first day of diving it was me and two other gentlemen who had booked last minute. John was from the Netherlands living in Portugal, and Bill was his friend visiting from Scotland.

Back at the marina after our two dives we showered, got gear rinsed and stowed for the next day, and John and Bill invited me to a late lunch. We went to the main seafood restaurant on the water, and I had delightful garlic shrimp.

Bill had to go, but John offered to drive me out to the Ponte da Piedade (Piety Point) to catch the sunset. I of course accepted.

The quick drive would have been a long walk, and the sunset was fantastic.

More glorious colors in the cliffs, and a lighthouse.

I remembered to take a selfie with John

Sunsets are hard to capture on cheap cameras, but this one turned out pretty good.

I love the sound of the water rushing in and out of all the caves and nooks when the swells come in.

John dropped me near my hostel in town, and drove home. I'll likely never see him again, but he will forever be a kind stranger that helped make a day exceptional for someone he just met.

I wandered the streets after getting checked in, and found some lovely light decorations.

Outside the biggest church is a lit up water feature which was fun. Christmas lights on palm trees are in the background.

Town was pretty quiet because a lot of places are closed for the 'holidays' meaning they open up next March. In low season it's more cost effective to just close, than to stay open with minimal business. Lots of places had signs in the windows.

My second day diving it was just me and Nuno, the owner of the shop. There were two guys from another company who rode out on the boat too. In 2003 four big ships were sunk off the coast of Portimão as artificial reefs. We visited two of them, unfortunately I couldn't get my GoPro to work. (Turns out it just needed more charging)

Leaving the marina

I love wreck diving. Something about floating past a giant ship and around the railings and stuff is just so cool.

That evening I went to Sagres, the most southwest point of Portugal. Click here to read that post.

Day three of diving was just us again, plus Dylan, another dive master from the shop. He had a legit camera setup, and I'm still hoping I might get sent some good photos from in the wreck. We had two successful and fun dives on the same wrecks as the day before, and went through some of the compartments instead of just looking from the outside.

After cleaning everything and gathering my personal dive gear back up, Nuno gave me a lift out to the beach that was my destination before my evening train. Again, it saved me a long hot walk.

Praia do Camilo was my first stop. More beautiful rock formations, and I just don't get tired of them.

225 steps to get down to the beach. Worth it.

I see you sailboat.

I walked to Praia Dona Ana too, it was just 5 mins down the road back to town. Since I was on the clock, I didn't take the stairs down to the sand.

Back into town I went. I made a new friend along the way.

Then got my bags from the hostel and headed to the train station on the other side of the marina. I got a soup and sandwich, and a piña colada as the sun went down.

My train was right on time, and I was off to Tavira for the next chapter in my journey.

Boat trips around the rocks are very popular, and there's lots of international tourists, so lots of things are in lots of languages. I believe this is German for Grotto Trip, and it made me laugh every time I walked by. Yes, I am still a 12 year old at heart.

Sagres: The end of the world

December 7, 2018

My second afternoon in Lagos I caught a bus to Sagres, the most southwest point in Portugal. It's also referred to as The End of the World. (The first two days in Lagos will be expounded upon in greater detail once I have my diving photos downloaded.)

It was a windy affair, and I got there at the perfect time to walk around a bit before catching sunset.

I wandered down to the beach.

The cliffs in the distance that go to the left side of the photo are Cabo Sao Vicente, the western-south point of Portugal. I didn't have time to get over there this time.

Then paid my €3 entrance fee for the fort. There was a large area to walk on the other side.

And a lighthouse. Good thing due to the rocky coast nature of the area.

I watched sunset over the Atlantic while being buffeted by 20mph winds. (Between that and semi-clean diving hair, my head was a tangled mess)

Where there are rocks, people will build cairns. It's one of the laws of nature.

After the sun went down I wandered back to town, found an open-ish restaurant (they all seem semi closed since there's just about nobody in them right now) and got a beer and a ham and cheese sandwich to tide me over.

Sagres of course, because what else could I get. Also it's the cheap option.

The bus back to town was uneventful and dark. Once the sun goes down, there's no light outside of the streetlamps. Not much light pollution happening.

I arrived home a tired but happy cookie.