Not unlike the cities of Spain, the seaside town of Lagos, Portugal holds a long & convoluted history. Throughout the ages, Lagos has been inhabited and conquered by Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths & Moors, though not necessarily in that order. In 1249, Lagos was conquered by Dom Alfonso III, who integrated the city into the kingdom of Portugal. Since then, Lagos has played an important role in New World exporations; it was home to Henry the Navigator & embarking point for Vasco de Gama. During this time period, Lagos was also the city through which African slaves entered Europe & served as the capital of Algave, the Moorish name for the southernmost region of Portugal. (The capital was moved in 1756, the year following the massive Lisbon earthquake & tsunami, which destroyed most of the historical buildings in Lagos.) Today, most of Lagos' population has gravitated toward the coastline, which generates tourism & is also the reason I found myself in Portugal this weekend.
Friday morning, I departed with Discover Sevilla, a travel agency marketing to American study abroad students. We took a tour bus for the 3-hour drive to Lagos. Crossing the border into Portugal was amazingly easy; we just kept driving. I didn't realize we were in a different country until I noticed that all the street signs were in Portuguese. We arrived at our hotel, Sol e Praia ("Sun and Beach"), which delivered exactly what is name promised. As soon as we had checked in, everyone rushed to the Praia Dona Ana. I had never seen a beach like this before; the shoreline was a series of looming cliffs, & the beaches were alcoves nestled between the rocks. Even the sand itself consisted of tiny pebbles, which were beautiful but painful on bare feet. I spent the afternoon relaxing on the shore & swimming in the water. Later, a few friends & I decided to explore the shoreline, & we found a "hidden" beach that could only be reached by climbing over part of a cliff.
When it got too cold to stay on the beach, we checked out the swimming pool on the roof of our hotel, but it was cold there, too. So a friend & I decided to walk along a little trail atop the cliffs. From the beach, we had no idea how far the shore continued on because everything was hidden behind the giant rocks. After walking for awhile, we found wooden stairs leading down to yet another small beach, which we also explored. Only after we finished the excursion did we notice the sign reading "Danger: Unstable Cliffs."
That night, our Discover Sevilla guides took us into the center for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called the Nah Nah Bah, where everyone (thankfully!) spoke English. It amazes me that businesses can make a living simply by having an English-speaking staff in a non-English speaking country. After dinner, we checked out a few of the bars on the map DS provided us, where the bartenders also all spoke English. Then we went to Joe's Garage, another bar, for a party DS organized. My friends & I left the rest of the group to their party; we were all exhausted & wanted to get some rest before day 2 of our adventure.
Day 1 photos here.
The next morning, we met in the lobby & headed to the harbor for our Bom Dia ("Good Day") 2-hour cruise. The boat took us along the shoreline & anchored at Ponta da Piedade, where we took turns riding in a small motorboat through the coves. We all screamed like girls (well, we were mostly girls) every time the boat turned; I felt like I was going to fall overboard. Our guide would stop the motor inside each of the coves, tell us its name & give us a chance to take photos before moving on. After our group returned to the bigger boat, we were allowed to jump off the side into the ocean, which I did. When all the groups had seen the coves, we headed back to the harbor & enjoyed the last of the free sangria.
After the sailboat cruise, we met up with the rest of the group (the sailboat cruise cost extra) for lunch at another beach, Meia Praia. Unlike most of Lagos' beaches, this one was free of cliffs & hidden underwater rocks. I swam for a bit then fell asleep on my towel until it was time to leave.
That evening, we boarded the bus again & headed for Cabo San Vicente, which is the southwesternmost point in Europe. The spot is named for Saint Vincent, a martyred Spanish priest. Like in Lagos, Cabo's buildings were all destroyed by the Lisbon earthquake; the lighthouse is built on the ruins of a 16th century Franciscan convent. According to some, Cabo San Vincente was considered the end of the world before explorers headed west & discovered the Americas. As we sat on the cliffs, watching the sun set on the ocean, I tried to imagine the horizon as the end of a cube-shaped earth. I thought of the explorers that dared to sail past the assumed edge of the earth, but I couldn't fully imagine either concept. The sunset against the ocean was inarguably the most beautiful I have ever seen.
After watching the sunset, we returned the the center for another dinner at the Nah Nah Bah. DS had organized another party, but I was too tired to go to the bar, so a friend & I decided to head back to the hotel. It wasn't until we got a bit lost that I fully realized that, for the first time, I was in a country where I couldn't speak the language at all. It's an incredibly frightening feeling to realize that, if you need help, you're at the mercy of anyone that can speak English. Luckily, we were only one street away from where we needed to be, & we returned to the hotel safely. That feeling of insecurity, however, is something that I will bear in mind in all future travels.
Day 2 photos here.
Today was our 3rd & final day in Portugal. A friend & I spent the morning at the "hidden" beach, which looked completely different at low tide. After lunch, we explored the center a bit, but most of the stores had already closed for the day. Around 5:00 PM, we boarded the bus & headed home to Sevilla. It was an incredible weekend in Lagos, & I'm sorry to see it end. I never imagined that one day, I would be lying on a Portuguese beach, working on my tan in October. I have to say, though, that I am happy to be back in Sevilla, where I can somewhat speak the language & can navigate the city. But I'm sure that after a few days of classes, I'll be daydreaming of the beautiful beaches of Lagos...
Day 3 photos here.
Nos vemos, Le <3.
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