Lagos on the Algarve

We travelled down to Lagos on Saturday. The last time we were in Lagos Karol was pregnant with Debi, so whilst we know it will have changed a bit we thought it would be a good place to put our feet up for a few days after the hectic ‘city’ visits that we’ve been engaged in recently. We were also influenced by one of our neighbours telling us about this amazing site at Lagos, so we decided to check it out for ourselves. It really is a spectacular site – although significantly more expensive than the ones we’ve been on so far, it does have a lot more facilities and they are really well maintained. The pool is open but not heated so I don’t think we’ll be going in that, but there’s a nice bar, a small shop and daily entertainment – pilates, dancing, guided walks and something mysteriously called the Portuguese class; I’ll let you know when I find out too! (Grant, they are Portuguese language classes! K) The site is also full of British people, the first one where the Brits have outnumbered other Europeans. Many of them look like they live here, or at least winter here, as their setups look pretty permanent, along with their tans. When we arrived our neighbours – also Brits – were having a rather noisy party which seemed to involve most of the people around us – let’s hope they invite us to the next one or we’ll have to complain! The site is in fact adjacent to a small village called Espiche, about the same size as Scriven, a couple of km outside of Lagos itself. We popped into the village last night for dinner at a bar/restaurant called the Grapevine. Imagine our surprise to discover that it’s run by a South African from Durban! We had a lovely SA meal complete with a malva pudding dessert and Dom Pedro and Amarula to finish! Turns out he moved here a couple of years ago, and being the same age as me (but looking much older) we seemed to hit it off. Anyway, we’re booked back in on Wednesday evening for the quiz! Sunday turned out wet – very wet with a lot of wind to blow everything about. We decided on a drive into Lagos, and for old times sake to find the hotel we’d stayed at back in 84. Karol reminds me that it was the first 4 star hotel she’d ever stayed in! We found the hotel in the sat nav and followed the directions -only to find that the place is now derelict, covered in graffiti, and somewhat forlorn, as you can see from the photo.

We didn’t stick around as you can imagine. We did try a walk on the prom but frankly it was blowing so much we gave it up as a bad job and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the caravan and on FaceTime chatting to the kids as it was Mother’s Day.

Monday was a better day if still a little inclement, so we finished our few housekeeping chores and had a lazy day on site, but in the evening walked down to the local beach at Luz a couple of miles away for some dinner. We ended up in a beachside restaurant called Paraiso with lovely views across out to sea. Armed with a very passable bottle of white, we had a very pleasant single course, during which we were entertained by a couple on the next table who were trying to get the waiter to light one of the space heaters as they were cold. The service was a bit pedestrian, and the chap on the next table was getting a bit hot under the collar (but not from the space heater!) and kept looking to us for support of his position; we agreed it was chilly and smiled which seemed to pacify him somewhat. He eventually did get his heater, but I then overheard him saying to the waiter that he wasn’t paying for his meal, as it hadn’t been up to scratch. They settled on paying for the drinks, and then, as they were leaving engaged us in conversation, and asked if we’d mind if they joined us and ordered a drink for them as he’d burnt his bridges with the establishment! We agreed, and spent the next 45 minutes avoiding the dagger eyes of the waiters, as they served the four of us through gritted teeth! The guy introduced himself as Hans Christian….. no, sorry not Andersen but something unpronounceable. They are Fins, and we had a very interesting conversation about Vikings, and how they thought that Fins were all bloody miserable! He also explained that he was a very angry man who easily loses his temper, and uses his fists. Needless to say I insisted on paying for the drinks! His wife was lovely, and realising they were starting to outstay their welcome, proceeded to usher him out of the door. We followed not far behind and shot off home! However, we have learnt quite a bit about Scandinavia which should stand us in good stead for a future trip!

Tuesday was a lovely day, and we spent the day on the beach at Luz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday we drove to Sagres, the most westerly point on the Algarve. It’s a lively drive through a national park, with mimosa trees either side of the road. What a beautiful place Sagres is! It has probably the best beach I’ve ever been on, beautiful soft sand with hardly a stone, no sea weed, no rubbish – perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even better was the fact that there was no one there! We walked the whole area – along cliff tops with spectacular views, on one of the three fabulous beaches, on into downtown Sagres for a spot of lunch, and then a leisurely drive back, as we were booked into the Grapevine that evening for the quiz. Leo, the South African had host teamed us up with a couple also from the campsite called Jim and Cathy who are yearly regulars so know quite a few of the locals. The place was packed, mostly with the local Welsh residents (no, we have no idea either!) who were all very welcoming. I’ll gloss over our performance in the quiz (Jim was useless if that’s any excuse) but we had a pleasant evening nevertheless, and got to know our fellow team mates in the process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday we drove to Alvor where there’s an estuary which has been renovated to encourage wildlife. There’s a boardwalk there which we walked, trying valiantly to identify the many varieties of birds and frankly failing miserably. I did manage to photo a couple though, and have attached some snaps for any reader to give us their expert opinion! The area is used by migratory birds as a stopping off point en route to and from sub Saharan Africa and is a beautiful area sheltered by the sand dunes.