Blogs from Lagos, Algarve, Portugal, Europe - page 14

Where do I begin, and where does it end! So few questions, so many answers. I concluded my stay in Dingle after all, and what a week. The blessed weather had reached Ireland, with clear skies, perfect temperatures...I ended up spending a week in the region afterwards hiking and doing whatnot. But it had to end, and Kerry county finally receded as I sat on the train to Dublin in a stupor that I was heading back to that city after being in Dingle Peninsula for such a time. I reached Dublin and headed southbound on another train to a place called Greystones where I was to meet Jenny, whose family was our neighbors some time back. Before I got out of the train station I noticed someone standing outside with a bike with searching eyes. ... read more

Whether or not Lagos is actually on the Mediterranean is debatable since it's completely dependent on the direction of the current, but it felt like the perfect Mediterranean vacation. Thankfully, the sun and the temperature really decided to cooperate for the first time since we'd left Ireland, and we got a much-needed couple of days to relax on the beach. Lagos wouldn't be much without the beach traffic, but it's perfect if all you want to do is enjoy some beautiful scenery and read a book on the sand. The only thing we did that wasn't lounging related was to take a little boat tour further down the coast. I nice man who didn't speak any English took us out in his fishing boat and showed us the grottos along the shore. I've never had ... read more

Went shopping in Lisbon. Got some pants that fit Zac. Doesnºt happen often . Actually, neither does being in Lisbon. And Sof got some cool clothes. That does happen often. Well, the getting clothes part. I did write something cool here but Sof deleted it. Dammit. Dammit all the way to cool clothes heaven. Right, our holiday. Yes, clothes are cool in Lisbon. We had heaps of fun shopping and easily made a day of it. And the tile museum. THE TILE MUSEUM!!! WOW!!! HIghtlight of the trip for Sof.... so many tiles..... Zacºs highlight of the trip came a few hours later when we discovered the famous Belem custard tarts. He hasnt been the same since. (who would have thought of putting cinnamon AND icing sugar on a custard tart simultaneously ?!?!?!?!) Thursday we ... read more

We entered Portugal to be greeted by a different landscape to that of Spain, whilst most of Spain was very dry, rocky, and sparse, Portugal was quite different with more rolling hills, green pastures and many farm animals. The southern coast of Portugal is an area known as the Algarve and is filled with little fishing villages and coastal resorts. We passed through several small towns before settling in to stay in Lagos, which I would imagine would be very pleasant in summer. It was by no means cold, even in December, but in summer due to the sea breezes it would not be as hot as some parts of Spain. There are some nice beaches in Lagos and loads of restaurants, it wouldn’t be a bad place to spend a week’s holiday in the warmer ... read more

A Beautiful Sunny Day Ends Our Stay in Lagos More Grottos and Beaches Today we got up and decided to head back to the cliffs. Thanks to the rain on Friday we had ended our cliff experience about half way early, therefore; today was our day to finish that leg of our adventure. After the mile or so walk back to where we ended our last hike we started walking/climbing the trails along the cliffs. Shortly after out trail hiking started we found the precarious steps down to the little grotto that was a nude beach. We decided to head on down despite the possibility of nakedness. After about ten minutes we reached the bottom and thankfully there were no naked Brits lying about (they tend to be pasty and usually not the prettiest naked ... read more