Respite in Sagres, and Adventures of Traveling to Lisbon

Sagres, in the Algarve, Portugal's westernmost coastal city, and nearest town to Cape St. Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente  the southwesternmost point of the European mainland), jumping off point for Henry the Navigator and other explorers during Portugal's reign as world naval power. We came for a day and ended up staying three because the town was such a haven after some of the heavily touristed places we'd just been.

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Bacalao, the salted dried cod, an everyday staple

Looking toward Cape St. Vincent at sunset

I took a walk through the high plain near our hotel.

Sagres Fortress was the only hot tourist spot. Couldn't believe the cheesy vendors allowed along the road leading to it.

Yes, he did.

These huge yucca blooms, dried and falling over this time of year.

One needed a looooong fishing line.

Chimneys are architectural fun and this area is know for them.

Barnacles for an appetizer, not a favorite.

So we planned to take a more scenic small road to Lisbon, but experienced car trouble, overheating, while climbing a hill about an hour outside of Sagres, two hours from Lisbon. Long story short, back down the hill to Aljezur, where were called Avis' version of AAA. Took the guy forever to find us, tinkered with the car, couldn't find a problem, sent us on our way with him following. Same thing happened again while climbing the mountain, overheating, so mechanic called for a tow truck. Good thing we had snacks and water with us.

Removed all our luggage from rental car, but had to reload it because we ended up riding in the tow truck (fun, up high!) and that was the only place to stow our stuff while we got a ride to the next town north. There we sat at a gas station and awaited a taxi, which drove us all the way back to Lago, about an hour EAST of Sagres, where we got a new rental car. We finally got to Lisbon, three hours later, a long day.

Praia de Marinha: Portuguese Navy Beach

Dear friend Erin Carney said Marinha Beach was a must-see, so we stopped in on our way from Albufeira to Sagres. So glad we did!!

Fun to see this cat colony shelter, very clever.

There's someone swimming near that last arch. I was envious of the kayakers.

The beach was a very popular tourboat site, also lots of vendors of fruits, beer, t-shirts, beach toys.

It's a long way down a lot of steps to the beach, no other way to get there.

Guzzle and Nuzzle in Albufeira, Portugal

 We read that Albufeira, once a small fishing village, is the most-visited town in Portugal's South Atlantic-facing Algarve region because of its beauty, beaches, and amenities, and we thought we'd give it a try since it was also pretty cheap. Turns out it's the Algarve capital of British and German "guzzle and nuzzle" tourists, those looking to drink alot and hang with their loves in bars all day long.

We really lucked out when our hotel turned out to be on the (much) quieter side of town and quite a bit up the hill, away from the downtown bars, t-shirt shops, and hucksters, plus we had a lovely view from our room.

Afternoon, sunrise, cloudy day, full moon...

Yup, our hotel's up there. Yay!

Escalators, elevators, and steps all are available for getting down to the beach.

There's still a working marina in Albufeira, but it's actually on the next beach over.

Our lively little hotel

My Finnish cousin, Olli, recommended a dinner place for us 9 km away, the Vila Joya. I made a reservation, and received a reply informing me dinner was 185 Euros per person before wine. Even at $1.20/Euro, that was too steep for us, so instead we found a great place at the end of the road beyond Vila Joya, good food, service, and a lovely beach. We liked so well we returned our second night.

My first prawns of this trip...enormous!!

Glorious sunset

Stopped at a beach recommended for a look-see our second night, Sao Raphael, so glad we did!

Last note - Portuguese post offices sell books and CDs, a very good idea, I thought! I browsed while I waited my turn to buy stamps (you have to take a number and wait your turn).

Liked these icons.