Portugal Paradise

Albufeira – Our home base for the Portugal trip. A strange mix of elderly British snowbirds and bachelor parties, we called this place home for a few days. In a swanky apartments complete with our own kitchen we enjoyed cooking our own dinner Friday night. Friday during the day we set off for the beach – a 3 minute walk down hill.  Portugal is gorgeous. Cliffs drop straight into the water and create little island rocks a hundred meters out from the beach. The sand was soft and warm and all my cares melted away as I watched a group of guys playing soccer on the beach (unfortunately one was wearing a man thong – note to all men: no one wants to see that). 

Rocky cliffs with striations of alternating orange, yellow, and white created a half moon sheltered beach where we enjoyed the warm sun and the sound of the ocean all Friday afternoon. Grumbling bellies and a setting sun signaled it was time to head back to the apartment and hit the grocery. We were so happy to be able to cook our own dinner -burgers, corn, green grapes and spaghetti with pesto. Can you tell we have American stomachs that are lacking some of our basic US food groups? 

Saturday we headed half an hour westward to Lagos. Lagos is quite possibly on of the most beautiful areas I have ever been. Rocky cliffs drop into a churning ocean. Nature-made arcs channel the heaving ocean into smaller bays. Bright blue in color and spraying white foam at your feet, the ocean is the loudest sound around here. Large rock formations are a hundred meters away standing formidably, like silent soldiers vigilantly protecting Portuguese shoreline. Sea birds nest on the top of these wind-ridden rocks and I have to think that if I was a bird this would totally be where I would have a nest. We climbed all over the cliffs and sat for a while just looking out into the mesmerizing blue ocean from our cliff-top perch. 

After Lagos we continued further west – to the END OF THE WORLD. Literally. We went to the most western point of the European continent where up until Columbus was considered considered the end of the world. Sheer cliff faces drop off hundreds of feet into a swirling, churning, angry looking Atlantic Ocean. Giant white sprays erupted up from the waves as they crashed into the cliffs. It was a truly amazing sight. I can understand how one could believe that was the end of the world. All of a sudden, Europe ends and all you can see forever is a deep blue horizon. We watched the sun set at the end of the world. Breath-taking. 

All weekend I got to joke around with Brittany, Kelsey, and Maggie. What fun we had. Everything we did we incorporated my favorite phrase of the weekend – Portugal Promise. You can Portugal Promise anything. For example: Maggie and I Portugal Promised each other that we would swim. Therefore Sunday morning after breakfast (when it was freezing outside) we donned our suits and cannonballed into the deep end of the hotel pool. BRRRR  “Refreshing!” as my dad would say. But we had to do it – we Portugal Promised! 

 

Sunday was the worst weather day but we didn’t let that get us down. After the dip in the pool we packed up and headed out for a few hours in Albufeira before heading back to Sevilla. Too chilly for the beach, we talked and window shopped to our hearts content. I got a Portugal patch to add to my growing collection. I am trying to collect a patch from every country I visit. By the end of my trip I hope to have them as a fun way to remember my trip to places. So far I have: Seville University, Paris, Portugal, and a European Union patch. I’ll keep you posted as the collection grows! 

I love and miss you all –At

I hope you enjoy the photos. I had so much fun taking them!  

Lagos -the most beautiful place we went on our trip. We got to hike around on these cliffs and take pictures. It was a great stop on our journey through southern Portugal.

Our lookout point.

I'm Queen of the World!

Our tootsies  :)

One of my favorite pictures. I thought this rope was a beautiful color in contrast with the rock and the ocean.

There were wild flowers abloom everywhere. Even if the ocean wasn't there this place would still be beautiful because of the carpet of yellow, pink, and white wild flowers.

The End of the World!

"I can see America!"  

Beach day #1 - Albufeira

Beach day #2 - Lagos

An outdoor escalator that takes townspeople and tourists down a hill. Ugh this age of technology should be dubbed the age of Obesity. Honestly, this is ridiculous.