After driving for a long long time we arrived in Lagos. As we were arriving it was getting pretty late and we already knew that we wouldn't be able to go to the beach. We stopped off at a gas station to look at a map and to decide on what to do. After lots of contemplating and calculating we discovered we were pretty screwed. We had to have the car back in Cedeira tomorrow at 7pm and we had to drive from the very South of Portugal all the way to Northern Spain. We miscalculated the driving times and we had to backtrack a little so that tomorrow Ben wouldn't have to drive for 12 hours straight. So after 5 minutes at a random gas station in Lagos we were back on the roading heading North. We were all pretty pissed off as we spent the last 5 hours driving in the car only to turn around and go back the way we came! This time we took a smaller highway rather than a motorway so that we could avoid the tolls. On the map we saw a place called Sines so we decided to head there.

tolls, tolls and more tolls - i think we paid about 70 euros this time only for tolls in portugal. were not exactly happy about and i can feel some tensions between the group.  i dont know if there was, or was its just me.

maybe ben was so tired from driving? robbo not having enough sleep? lori wanting to go to the beach? rubs not happy with her foods? hannah wanting to get and eat vegetables or me - tensed of the whole situation?

i know that these things are shallow and petty and maybe even taken for granted, but i am fearing what i feared - cabin syndrome. were so together for a long period of time, that we need time for ourselves - being alone. it also didnt helped that we have to pay toll again and fish money from our pockets.

all of us are unusually quiet - i dont know whats haeppning at the back as i was admiring the great landscape beyond me! its turning more hotter and hotter as we drove south and the vegetation is becoming bushy and dry.

i kept entertaining ben, to engage him and lift his spirits while he was driving, as he was seated next to me, i feel almost ashamed of myself since i am talking nonsense.

we didnt knew that algarve was far.... fucking far.... it was still a less than 300 kms from lisbon...  we  miscalculated our routes.

at was 6pm when we finally in portimao - the gateway to the algarve beaches - then we saw that its still 50+++ kms to lagos. that is too much. too much for ben to drive.

we got to lagos at 7 pm, it was cold and windy and chilly - not really a beach weather at all.

ben parked the car in a gas station and from there we talked things over. the car is only until tomorrow at 7 pm. i tried asking pablo if its possible for an extension, but we cant because the car is rented the next day.  were not going to make it back on time. now its time for a major decision and all opinions should be voiced out. i quietly left the group and smoked cigarette in front of a gas pumping station. hahahahahahahahahahaha i didnt noticed it! i only noticed it when i put the fire out! hahahahahaahahahaha.

as the adult in the group, i never want to be bossy nor the leader. everyones opinion counts for me, as we all depend on each other. when i came back - ben wanted to know what i think because they all decided to go back - i said - it doenst matter with me, what have they all decided will be the best for all of us.

so we gas up again for the 3rd or 4th time? it was diesel so it drips faster than normal gas. lori took the map out - as i cant think anymore - that we should go up north again to save time and to save money too that we should avoid national highways and opt for secondary roads.

i was really worried for ben (sorry if i kept saying this - because i wish i could have helped him with the driving) he drove over 500 kms (from  cortegaca to lagos) for nothing.

If you are looking for fun and not worried about where you are going to lay your head at night, this is the hostel for you. A few years ago they offered a booze cruise, beer pong tournament, and for 5 euros all the beer you could drink out of the beer fridge. I don’t know if they still do all those things, but definitely a great time.

Paul et moi avons quitte Lisbonne avec deux etudiants de la republique tcheque que nous avions rencontres au bar de Fado. Ils nous ont offert de nous emmener a Lagos, ou ils se dirrigeaint pour le week-end.  Nous nous sommes arretes en chemin pour voir plusieurs plages magnifiques et nous sommes rendus au "bout du monde" pres de la ville de Sagres, un point de vue tout a fait sublime! Petra et Thomas nous ont deposes a la porte de notre auberge apres une journee tres agreable.

Sinon, c-est la belle vie a lagos, la region de l-algarve est spectaculaire! Je passe de belles journees a la plage a me baigner dans l-ocean. Je suis allee voir les grottes et falaises et bateau aujourd-hui, c-etait splendide!

Je quitte ce paradis terrestre demain, retour a l-espagne VIA Seville.

A +

Huwelijksreis
Portugal

Landkaart »
Portugal 2005

Ze waren net getrouwd.
Toen ze op het vliegtuig stapten.

Maar amper aangekomen in het oude Lusitanië, in het gebied dat de Arabieren het westen "Al-gharbe" noemden, vonden ze een herberg. Ze betraden de oude vesting van Lagos.

Vanuit deze stad had Hendrik de zeevaarder zijn expedities voorbereid, en zou ons bruidspaar erop uitvaren, eerst moest er echter gezond worden, en wel op het magische strand van Al-Jazur.

Maar toen was het tijd voor de expedities. Ze gingen op zoek naar die magische zoogdieren die dolfijnen heetten. Deze dartelden vrijelijk langs de hobbelende supersnelle boot, communicerend met elkaar en misschien wel met ons, of zoals DNA het schreef "So long, and thanks for al the fish"

Ook onder het water werdt een expeditie opgezet. Bij lagos werd tot 18 en 11 meter gedoken. Eerst langs een schitterend ondergronds bos waar vele kleine vissen in en uitschoten en vervolgens over een dorre vlakte vol zeesterren en aanemonen.

Ons echtpaar vertrok vervolgens naar het meest zuid-westelijke punt van Europa. De bange jonge portugese ondekkingsreizigers zagen hier het laatste stuk van hun gelieden vaderland alvorens naar de oost te reizen.

De geliefden brachten vervolgens een bezoek aan de oude vesting van Silves, de oude hoofdstad der moren. alvorens naar het oosten van het land te vertrekken.


Hier voeren zij op de zwaarbevochten grens tussen het Spaanse koninkrijk en de Portugese republiek; door water gescheiden gingen de landen hun eigen weg tot in 1991 eindelijk een brug Portugal dichter bij Europa bracht.

Tenslotte werd er nog een bezoekje gebracht aan de arena, waar de vaderlandse helden hun penalty trauma hebben overwonnen door de heidense noormannen te verslaan.

So I left to Portugal on the twenty-fifth of May at 7:00 in the morning. After several (4) hours in the car I arived in Lagos. The first stop was the hotel.. After that I headed to a small restaurant down on the beach that was at the foot of my hotel i was occupying at the time. The resturaunt was a good deal for a significant amount of food. I think I spet about 6 euros for my Italian pizza and one euro after that for ice cream. All in all it was a good place, and the view was pretty good too. The building sat about 20 yards from the water, so if you like to dine outdoors and overlook the water for a fairly inexpensive price this place is your best bet. I will find out the name of the restaurant in a little while. I can't remember at the moment. After that I walked along the coast for about an hour. Then it was off to the city. The city life in Portugal is amazing. People are everywhere! The population of Lagos alone is over 50,000 people! So I visited a couple shops, I had a cola cow ( Hot chocolate) and then went to Pizza Hut for a great dinner. The Pizza hut is located across the river in a medium sized building on the second floor. Right next to a chinese restaurant. It is also looking out over the harbor. That meal was about 5 euro for a medium pizza a drink and a bowl of ice cream. The pizza was excellent! Better than any in I have had in Spain. Then I headed back to my room for a good night sleep.

The moment we stepped onto the station, we got hassled like crazy... lucky theres this nice old lady offered us a place to stay. Lagos was mesmerizing... the marinas looked more like the Monaco of Portugal!

We arrived....

I had a hard time finding good food that wasn't seafood....but lots of pizza and a nice italian restaurant remedied that.  The cliffs and water around Lagos are so dramatic.  I also find the weather to be very refreshing.  While the sun was bright and the beaches were warm the water was a bit chilly and there was generally a breeze.  It was fun to explore around the huge caves and cliffs.  We veered off a trail and found it lead down to this pit of rocks, so we went down into it.  Then we noticed a cave, and we could see light at the end of the tunnel, so we went through it.  Soon, we were in a cave right next to the ocean....actually, the pool in the cave connected to the ocean through a passage under the rock. Once you swam underwater, under the cave wall, and swam around another rock, you were back to dock.  I was pretty damn scared swimming into that turquoise pool in the cave that i'd get stuck under the rock, but it was thrilling!  At one beach there was a HUGE boulder in the ocean, about 30 feet out (5ish feet deep) so we swam out to it, and rock climbed through a large crack in the rock, to the top, where we all plunged down into the water. 

On the more flat beaches the wind picked up, but we played things like volleyball or tackle football.  Oddly, on this trip I never got to participate in a game of "futbol"...or soccer.  After I told my professor in Sevilla that I was looking forward to playing soccer with Spanish boys she replied with "girls don't play soccer."  Ummm thanks.  So we just ended up checking out the shirtless Sevillanos playing soccer. 

cheap thats all it is you want a bed you get it shared with a few fleas

When exploring the coastline above the cliffs around Lagos we came across a flight of stairs cascading steeply down the cliffs to the ocean. At the bottom we found we could pay 10euro to have an old Portugese fisherman give us a tour of the surrounding grottos. We jumped on the small motorboat and he proceded to take us in and out of caves and around amazing rock formations around the cliffs. The water was so clear and we saw fish and the sandy sea bottom very easily. The guide pointed out rock formations to us in Portugese which we did not understand but we got the general drift of what he was saying when he used his arms and pointed at things. I would recom,mend doing this to anyone as i found it quite unique, entertaining and beautiful.

We stayed at the hotel aqualuz.....for two nights.  The outdoor pool was gorgeous and open twenty-four hours a day.  The hotel was located very close to the beaches, about a 10 minute walk to any given one.  The bartender also had great suggestions for night life.  Rooms were suite-style with two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, balcony, livingroom...and I think this is standard for the hotel.  The elevator was cool, too, how the actual elevator car didn't have doors, so you could reach and touch the wall as it went by.  Cool, but kinda scary....
And!  We saw and heard some fun latin dance lessons being taught around the hotel premises. 

oh, the Cock.

sister hostel of the Camel Toe located in Europe´s best kept secret, Lagos.

hostel employees are all ridiculously attractive Aussies and Canadians. rooms have fabulous names like "The Tea Bag" (my abode), "Sweet 69" and "The Red Room".

go on the Booze Cruise. :)

When I arrived in Lagos I didn't have a place to stay yet, so I asked a girl on the bus where she was staying in town.  Fortunately for me, she was staying at Carlos House.  We arrived and they had beds available for only 15 euro/ night.  The rooms were very clean and the bathrooms were nice as well.  The hostel also had two kitchens and a great roof top area to eat and chill out on into the night. 

The harbor has a lot of boat rides available to tour the famous caves of Lagos.  The prices usually run from 15-20 euros and it is worth the ride.  The caves are beautiful and the water is an amazing aqua blue.  The boats sometimes don't run if the water is too choppy so call the companies ahead of time or ask in the morning.  The harbor itself is so pretty and amazingly clean. It reminded me of the opening scene of Giligan's Island because everything there was so neat.  It's a nice relaxing walk around the harbor on a warm sunny day.