Well, we are finally on the road again! Our trip started off smoothly enough. No problem getting an Uber to the Knoxville airport, and we were there in plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely dinner before heading to our gate. A short flight to Dulles, a long walk to our new departure gate, and we didn’t have too long to wait until our plane to Lisbon began to board.
I made a tactical mistake planning for this overnight flight. I reasoned if I was really tired, I would be able to sleep on the plane. I didn’t count on a screaming baby one row up and one seat over keeping me awake all night. Not to mention being smacked on the shoulder or leg by every passing passenger and steward. I should have napped during the day as much as possible before we left.
Oh well, part of the learning process.
There was a fairly long wait to get our passports checked in Lisbon, and we had uncharacteristic difficulty getting our eSIMs to work, so by the time we got our bag and got a Bolt to the bus station, we really only had abut fifteen minutes before we were on our Flixbus for Lagos.
The bus had wifi, so I was able to straighten out our phone problems on the ride in time to admire the Portuguese countryside. When we arrived in Lagos, we had no trouble calling a Bolt to take us to our AirBnB.
The owner met us there and gave us the tour – a very quick tour, since the place was rather small – and we were on our own.
The unit was very clean, but the bedroom was upstairs. We decided to just leave our suitcases downstairs, which saved some hassle but further restricted our living space. Not a big deal, since we would be spending most of our time out and about anyway.
We had time to go out and find a nice restaurant, Guanabana, a Mexican place just around the corner. Felt a little guilty eating Mexican food in Portugal, but it had been about ten hours since our last meal and it was close. The food was delicious, the beer somewhat gagnastic, but a spicy margarita took care of the bitter aftertaste.
There was also a close convenience store, so we were able to pick up some supplies for breakfast before going back to our room to sleep deeply after a 30+ hour day.
We only had two full days, so the next morning we were up and out and feeling surprisingly good despite the long travel day. We strolled around the city, getting the lay of the land and working our way towards the marina. We made a big loop back to the city, and checked out the Municipal Mercado, always a favorite activity for me.
Next we decided to walk along the waterfront and see where that takes us. Where it took us was to a beach called the “Praia des Estudiantes” or Student’s Beach, surrounded by crumbling cliffs.
There were actually several beaches, each separated by the cliffs. There were small entrances and passageways connecting them.
Instead of walking back the way we came in the sand, we climbed some stairs out of the beach area and were rewarded with a great lunch spot, with a sea view and tapas.
A leisurely stroll back to our apartment to rest up a bit, and we were out again to look for dinner. Since we had Mexican the previous night, and Spanish tapas for lunch, we had our eyes set on an authentic Portuguese meal. However, when we arrived at 5pm ready to eat, we found out they didn’t open for dinner until 6:15.
Oh well, looks like Indian food then. That’s life in Europe!
All in all, a full day and a good time in Lagos. Tomorrow, we plan on a trip out to the Ponto Piedade, the western-most point in Lagos and home of miles of walkways along the seacoast.
More to come – for more pictures and videos from Lagos, check out the travel photos page.
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