Lagos is all about the beaches, sea, and outdoor activities, although there are some historic sites and a few churches of note. Because it sits close to the southwestern tip of Portugal, it was a major fortress site in its Roman and Moorish (and other) days, but the major earthquake of 1755 and subsequent tsunami pretty much destroyed most of the city. They rebuilt it and there are just a few of the original walls.

I’ve had amazing weather. Sunny. 70 during the day in the sun. Little/no wind. No rain. Although the minute the sun sets it gets cold. OK, I know it’s all relative … but when I wake up the apt is quite cold (there’s no central heat and it was 49 in the wee hours – and the apartments are made to remain cool, not to retain heat). My clothes, which I left to dry on a rack on the balcony, were cold and wet from the morning dew. Oops. I had to move them to the other balcony to catch the day’s sun.

I don’t think I can complain. I’ve taken long walks on cliff roads by the beach.

The walk back on the regular road took me about a half hour. But I took a few hours to wind may way through the hilly paths. A few times I was a bit freaked out but I’m showing this as proof that amazing sea views are a good motivator for me to walk close to the edge.I read somewhere that Portugal has the attitude if you’re stupid enough to do it, you pay for your own consequences. No wonder I have a slightly worried, fearful and perplexed look on my face. Meantime they have a ton of signs like this all over the place. I walked past three beaches (Batata, Dona Ana, and Camilo) on my way to a point, Ponta da Piedade. Where there are amazing coves and grottoes, as well as a lighthouse. There were several places where perhaps to save the rocks, they’ve erected a lot of boardwalks. But the well marked trails are evidence that people go off-path frequently.That was my first afternoon in town! On my second day I had a very slow start and concentrated on the town area. I crossed the Bensafrim River to get to the port and marina side of town. It’s also the side of a very long (3 miles) and easily accessible beach, Meia Praia, which extends several miles past Lagos to the next town and crosses another river further east.(Good thing I just got a pedicure. And yes, the water is cold though I saw surfers in wet suits in the water. And a few crazy people running in wearing only a bathing suit — well it was just one guy.)

The old town has whitewashed streets, a fish market, churches and quite a few bars and restaurants. More than some of the other Portuguese towns I’ve been in.

The next day I took a boat ride out from the port to the same Ponta da Piedade area. The views are slightly different from the water. For one thing, they take you into most of the grottoes. There were actually a few (out of the 8) that we couldn’t go inside because the water was getting choppy or was too high.All in all, an enjoyable trip out. The captain had a few comments of note — he pointed out areas that have been named because they resemble an animal, for example. He said one area used to have more beach, but after the tornado Hercules 6 years ago, much was lost and destroyed.

After the boat trip, I went for another long hike to the beaches. (I took the boat trip with an Italian guy who was also new into town. It was good practice for my Italian as we also got a coffee and beer pre/post the boat ride. He had a lot to say about the current state of Italian economics and taxation). Anyway I walked out further so I could be on a western facing beach where I could see a sunset.

It’s about 40 minutes’ walk from Lagos and called Praia Porta de Mois. But I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post — which I can write on my long bus rides to Malaga. I’m leaving Portugal and heading to Spain!