Welcome to the Algarve
We stopped at a small bakery for some breakfast before getting on a 4 hour bus to the Algarve! Our ultimate destination is Lagos, a beautiful costal town in a region of southern Portugal called Algarve. After a very long, winding walk through a sleepy town filled with content vacationers exploring little shops or having an afternoon espresso.
Finally, we reached our hostel, a beautiful Portuguese villa called "Sweet Thing" Hostel which we booked through Airbnb. It was the perfect little vacation get away. We had our own comfortable room, nautically decorated, and a nice spacious bathroom. The hostel had a very open floorpan, with a welcoming living room, pool table area, and a large kitchen and eating space, which all had views of the outdoor terrace and pool. Each morning we would slowly wake up, stroll around the terrace for a bit before indulging in the free breakfast offered and sipping on our coffee on the patio outside while we waited for the neighbor's cat to make an appearance. Once we had finished, we would pack some snacks, sunscreen, towels, a paddle game and head out for the beach. About 5 to 10 minutes walking from our place, a hiking trail beginning at Praia de Porto de Mos which is a beautiful wide beach, complete with a cafe and restrooms. Great cliffs create a striking contrast to the water and beach. From the restaurant a trail begins, and climbs quickly upward. The soil is a rusty red clay and many beautiful cacti, flowers, trees, and other plants line the trail. From above, the turquoise waters look pristine; this was truly one of the most beautiful hiking trials I have had the pleasure to hike.
The trail dips up and down, stopping at beaches, taking twisted paths under tickets of bushes or trees whilst another path is engraved over the yellow cliffs. The coast of Portugal has an interesting makeup of dry rock and soil adorned with desert plants and just a bit further, luscious green plants and flowers. The view never disappointed. Our first night, we spent three hours on this hiking trail, stunned by the beauty of the grottos and the sun setting over the emerald waters. We traversed this trail almost every day of our 10 day stay, even running it a couple of times. One of our favorite stop was Praia do Canavial, which was one of the first stops. This beach was usually quite barren and the path from Praia de Mos was gorgeous. It passed a beautiful garden tended by a resort, under a nature made tunnel of vines, and a slow decline around a clay turret which featured a spiral staircase carved in. As you turn the corner, you're rewarded with a breathtaking view of the beach. Once you have descended the steps, you enter a small patch of forest with weeds taller reaching high above you and you make your way across wooden boards to reach another set of stairs. Here, you have reached the home stretch and watch and the beach open up to you, small waves crashing into the shore. Depending on the tides, on the far end of the beach lies another smaller beach and low tide. You can slip through a small cave entrance before it opens back up onto your own private beach.
At Praia do Canavial we spent a couple of days exploring, playing our paddle game before jumping into the frigid waters. (In late May, the waters are still quite cold). After a long hike back up, we continued on our way across the hiking trail, following the crashing waves. The next segment of trail highlights the grottos area. Beaches come and go with the tide, so depending on the time of day you're exploring, you can get some great views of the grottos down below which are only really accessible by boat. The area was gorgeous; the views of the grottos was fantastic and the nature around you is just as beautiful.
As you continue down this path, the next beach you reach is called Praia do Barranco do Martinho, an absolutely stunning beach that takes quite a bit of effort to reach. We came here on our very last day and it was such a grand finish to our Portuguese adventure as it was the most beautiful beach we had visited. It had been recommended by our kayak tour guide. An easier way to get to this beach if driving, is to drive to Ponte de Piedade and then take the trail to the right for about 5/10 minutes before you reach a viewpoint and then descend. We dedicated ourselves to this beach on our last day. We came at about ten in the morning and didn't leave until about 7. We lounged about for some time, testing the waters, playing our own music because we had the entire beach to ourselves. We played our paddle game intermittently for hours taking breaks to jump into the waves and enjoy the sun. We had stopped by the Porto de Mos restaurant to pick up sandwiches earlier and brought a bottle of green wine with us (green wine is basically carbonated white wine). We had a perfect beach day, listening to music and the ocean simultaneously, running around in the sand, splashing around in the water, and enjoying spending time with each other.
A bit further is Ponte da Piedade, a lookout area that offers beautiful scenic views of the grottos. Further is Praia da Balança which is a quaint secluded beach, a frequent stop for kayaking tours. A few days earlier we had booked a tour with Kayaking Tours Lagos which took us along the coastline and through cathedral caves and the open ocean. We had a wonderful time exploring the coves and bobbing over the great waves. This is a great way to explore the coastline as well.
Praia da Balança is a common stop for kayaking tours, which we visited on our tour as well and later found our way to the long difficult hike down from the hiking path. We clambered our way down narrow crevices and smaller drop offs amazed that anyone else had made their way down. Not only was the trail steep and slippery, but we spent a couple of days actually searching for the trail head before we delightedly found our way down. Of course with the drudgery of a long hiking path and a difficult descend comes with the pleasure of having a barren beach area.
The hiking path splits quite a number of ways and gives hikers the freedom to explore the coastline. James and I found plenty of beaches that had no name and we just small patches of sand and rock lined with caves and tall cliffs. Many kayak companies take their tours right past these places to the famous cathedral coves right by Ponte de Piedade, but the hiking trail is totally worth it, plus you get the bonus of enjoying your time at all of the beaches.
The next beach is Praia dos Pinheiros, but more commonly referred to as the nude beach. There's a couple of different paths leading down to the beach and of course we found the one that was out of use due to safety hazards. Old wooden boards, eroding sand, and steep drops left us wondering how anyone not well equipped made it down. Exhausted, we were greeted with the old, happy, (and barren) locals of the nude beach. We found our own little cove with striking views and relaxed before continuing onwards.
From here, Praia Camilo sits below a long set of stairs that unveil the beauty of the beach. This is one on Lagos' most popular beach, particularly because there's a restaurant and a parking lot for convenience. The seclusion aspect doesn't quite exist, but the beach is still dazzling. A stone tunnel leads to another part of Camilo beach. The restaurant has gorgeous terrace views and a nice atmosphere. Unfortunately, from here, the hiking trail is closed onwards but parts can still be accessed from Praia Dona Ana (another one of Lagos' most popular beaches. We took the road to Dona Ana, a massively wide beach equipped with a board walk. Our hostel keeper informed us that they had added sand to the beach, making it a huge spot for tourists. Dona Ana is about the magnitude of Praia de Porto de Mos, which is much longer than Dona Ana, but not as wide. However, the number of people and the lack of caves to explore left me rather unimpressed. The beaches closer to Ponte de Piedade and beyond were much more charming.
Praia Dona Ana is located fairly close to the city center in Lagos. Leading up to Praia Dona Ana are a string of smaller beaches, some connected to each other and low tide. The closest to the city center is Praia Batata (literally Potato Beach.) Then comes Praia dos Estudantes, also a smaller beach like Praia Batata, but is composed of two separate beaches. A stone tunnel links these two beaches. We loved visiting this beach at sundown when we would explore the string of beaches closer to the city center. The sun is still radiating, but the heat is so much more tolerable making the whole atmosphere so much more comfortable. Watching the dying sun at the beach is one of my favorite parts or exploring the area. The slow tread to evening light drapes everything in a melancholy, yet warm, embrace that makes the entire coastline more charismatic and soft. The dynamic relationship between the course red rock and the pristine blue of the ocean is lulled and the two harmonize, it's a really beautiful golden hour.
After Praia dos Estudantes comes Praia do Pinhão: a truly quaint beach, however just as lovely if not more than Praia dos Estudantes. It's also separated into two different beaches and secluded in the evening. Lastly, further down the road lies Praia Dona Ana finishing the string of beaches. While the beaches further down the coast are much more alluring, these smaller beaches (excluding Dona Ana) are usually quaint, secluded, and quite beautiful if you're looking for something closer to town. Overall, I would highly suggest the beaches after Ponte de Piedade, but these beaches should also be given a visit. What we did? Most of the beaches are actually connected if you're fortunate to be visiting around low tide and are still willing to get your feet wet. Once or twice you may have to take the stairs to visit the connecting beach, but we really enjoyed wading around to try and find the next beach and visiting the string of beaches this way! Of course, for Praia Dona Ana, you will have to follow the road/ path to find the beach, there's no easier connection.
The city center was also a beautiful area, filled with mosaic and tiled buildings and the same cobbled streets that adorned Lisbon. I had heard that Lagos was more of a tourist destination, but I was happily surprised when it was much more charming than I had been expecting. Closer to the boardwalk there are many tourist shops etc, a place we tried to avoid. The boardwalk is also filled with different booths selling clothes, beach accessories, and many people selling grotto and boat tours. Further from the boardwalk and beach area, the town has many beautiful areas and charming streets. There are always people outside, playing music, sipping espressos and chatting, enjoying the early summer breeze. Further along there are also nicer shops and boutiques to visit.
By far our favorite restaurant was on the outskirts of the city center, a small yet beautifully and traditionally decorated Portuguese restaurant. The owner only spoke Portuguese (which was a perfect time for me to practice) and served us with many traditional appetizers, such as Portuguese dipping sauces for our bread, grilled sardines, and slivers of bread topped with a fish paste. Along with our meal, we decided to order a bottle of green wine, which is made only in Portugal. The green hue and subtle carbonation was delightful and it's safe to say I have found a new favorite kind of wine. We had roasted lamb as well as a penne vodka. The food was remarkable and the Portuguese waiter was so kind and lenient with my broken Portuguese.
Further from the boardwalk, the town is picturesque, with beautifully colored facades and the typical cobble stone streets. The locals carry about their daily life, fruit stands lure you in, bakeries offering deals for their sweet treats including the famous Pastel de Nata (a little cream pastry). It's a beautiful place in the algae
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