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Published: March 30th 2019
Took our flight to Lisbon and Faro Portugal today. It was about 4 hours in total and our driver, Alexendre was waiting for us at the airport He was the landlord at the apartment we will be staying at for the week. It was supposed to be about 45 min drive but I guess he didn't want to pay for the tolls and so it turned into a 1.5-hour commute. Ugh ( I was sitting in the back seat, so not fun).
The apartment was huge, on the 4th floor with 2 balconies overlooking the city/marina of Lagos (pronounced Lagoshh). 3 bedrooms and lots of sitting space so all was well for the Allinson's. There is a community center beside the apartment (with a CrossFit and local gym) and a grocery store Pingo Doce, with a cafe just a few mins walk over the bridge- I did some work here and we made daily trips for food and wine). Lots of wildlife in the grass/river area that also was out front, so nice to watch them in the mornings.
The city center was about 15 min walk, the beach another 5 or 6 on top of that...but well worth
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Waiting for flightit. Sean and I explored the beaches the first day and followed the paths through the manmade tunnels that connected the beaches until we couldn't go any farther. Truly beautiful. To think the kids missed this. We walked back through the old town, stopped for lunch for some authentic Portuguese chicken, discovered some shops and a bakery, of course, for a pasta de nata!
We extended our stay for 10 nights and decided we would split our time between Lagos and Albufeira, for two reasons. 1. Lagos seems pretty but doesn't look like there is much to see/do and 2. Lindsay arrives on the 27th and needs to be in Albufeira for a speaking conference with Taylor and then will be joining us for a few weeks of our trip. So we thought we would try that city for a bit seeing as it is more touristy and perhaps more things to see and do. Not that we need any more excitement, but Sean would prefer an outdoor workout area ( there is not one here to be found) and there happens to be a cool one in Albufeira! Works for me.
Lagos Marina is my favourite part
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Look what time our flight is at! LOL of the city- I love looking at the water/boats and we did just that every day from our favourite Happy Hour spot, The Marina Bar. 2 Euro drinks and a full pour!!! It is an English pub and the staff all speak English (they don't even try Portuguese). They serve a fresh tasty scone as well.
The Marina has about 10 restaurants and is lively with lots of Britts. The average age of tourists here seems to be 60 years old. It reminds me of Florida actually, just a different feel. It is quiet, things shut down somewhat early and not much nightlife- not that I am complaining....right up my alley!
Most days were spent working (kids on school, Sean and I on our business), taking walks to town/beach or workouts at the gym. The CrossFit was inside the leisure center, but we never made it to a class as it only had 2 times per day available. For $5 a day you could use the leisure gym (which had everything we needed, even 2 rowers and a ski erg). Sarah and Sean went one day ( while I did my own thing outside) and then Sean and
I went another day together to get our lifts in. I made it back one other time, but we found it was easier to just do stuff outside or on the patio for Sean, most days!
The second last day Sean and Hayden walked all the way to the end of the beach to the lookout point ( about a 60 min walk)- The plan was for Sarah and I to meet them with snacks, with hopes to try and walk back on the beach all the way through the tunnels. Sarah and I took an Uber to the grocery store about 3/4 the way, then walked to meet them along the way back. There were two cool spots to look out from, but unfortunately we were not able to walk through the tunnels (as there were none) and then when we finally made it to the spot where Sean and I ended up on Day 1, the tide was too high and we would have had to swim around the peak ( and we were not prepared for that). There was a big rock on the edge of the beach, where we saw a guy fishing from (more
like a homeless man actually). What was more interesting was his cat that followed him along the beach to the rock, waited for the tide to flow back out and then leaped up the tall rock to his owner. I guess he gets lots of fish and this makes the jump through the water worth it. The kids went up top of the rock, but didn't want to bug the cat. (pictures are below) Not only did this guy have a trusty cat, he also had a dog on the beach waiting for him too. He was very cute and enjoyed Sarah and Haydens pets. I think maybe this guy just lies in the caves here, fishes for his food and chills out? Just my guess.
A fun day, exploring the other side of the town, having beers on the beach and getting in my 20, 000 plus steps. Even with the Uber ride! On our way back through town, we once again stopped in at the Chicken restaurant so that Hayden and Sarah could try the Portuguese chicken.
I enjoyed finding some fun signs throughout the town and cool graffiti. Mostly names of restaurants but some others
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The bridge to Marina, Charlie was here everyday looking for money! too!
Sean and I had a nice steak dinner out one evening, and then took the kids out for Fish and Chips on our last night to The Marina Bar ( seemed fitting since we had so many happy hours here, that we should eat here at least once.)
We are leaving for Albufeira today ( Alexendre is driving us again). Hopefully, the 30 min drive doesn't take much longer with him? lol
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