"Lagos we stumbled Across!"
A while ago I decided it would be a great idea to go on a holiday to Portugal. B was keen but also had his mind set in 'Reality' mode.
We had just purchased our apartment and were running out of money fast. But I live in Nikki mode, the place where everything is easy and works out ALWAYS.
So it was time for me to make some cunning manoeuvers and set our holiday to Portugal in place (which was me just using B's credit card to book our flights). Once B had realised this trip WAS happening it was time to get planning where to go in Portugal.
When looking online for sights to see and places to stay in Portugal, Lisbon always shows up as number one and the Algarve's as number two. But for me anywhere where there is sun, sand and surf is top priority.
Within the Algarve's we decided to stay somewhere central so that it would be easy to make daytrips to beaches and towns. To make my decision I looked on google maps and decided Lagos would be the best place to stay.
With little knowledge of the town and beaches that surrounded it we booked 3 nights at a reasonably cheap place. And that was that, until...
We arrived and were pretty much blown away! Lagos is a great little town and our accommodation topped off our first impression of the Algarve's.
Thinking that it was basic and would just be a room with kitchen and a shared bathroom, upon arrival we were pleasantly surprised. We had a room with kitchen, private bathroom and a patio outside.
The accommodation was located just outside of Lagos - about a 25 minute walk to the centre, but to make up for this it was a house with apartments, a private pool, private off-street parking and a 5 minute walk to an almost private white sand, bright blue ocean beach (a private beach in European standards -and this was our first point of call for the day).
For two days we spent our time heading to surf beaches around the coast. We went for walks and stumbled across amazing restaurants sitting on top of cliffs, overlooking the ocean and beaches below.
We also headed out to Sagres to watch the sunset which is the most south-western point of Europe and makes you feel like you are at end of the world.
On our last night in Lagos we decided that we did not want to leave … why would you want to leave a place that has idyllic beaches, delicious food, great wine and amazing sunsets while keeping the amount of tourists relatvely small?
We couldn't find a reason, and that was when we decided to cancel Porto and stay another two nights in the Algarve's.
Our second accommodation was just as good as the first except this time it was a 15 minute walk to the city centre, a 10-15 minute walk to the beach, a balcony, and a shared bathroom which we had to ourselves.
From here we decided to explore the city of Lagos. This city is tiny but amazing. There is a fortress built around it so you get a bit lost when trying to enter it.
Here we had some interesting experiences, guys would follow you on the street and whisper in your ears things like 'Smokey eyes' 'coke' 'hash' 'weed' and then show you their produce - this was on the main eating streets.
We also enjoyed some of the best Indian food we had had in Europe and visited the Indian restaurant twice (fittingly the name is "The tasty Indian").
We also stumbled across a kayak tour which takes you in and around all the caves in Lagos - so for us we decided it would be fun to do. (N.B: you can swim through some of these caves when the tides are low you just have to watch out for kayaks and boats).
For us the Algarve's were amazing and we would definitely like to visit again. It is a place where you feel at home, especially if you come from New Zealand as it has so many similarities.
The surf beaches, the golden sand, great food, great bars, activities, and the friendly people make this place what it is - A breath-taking kickass journey you must make!