Buga: 02.06.2019
After our hike in the mountains, we went to a beach near Lagos and were warmly greeted by our new English neighbors. After a nice conversation, we went into the water. Unfortunately, Rob stepped on something poisonous that caused his foot to swell. Luckily, the swelling went away quickly after he soaked it in hot water.
After the sun disappeared behind the ship masts in the Lagos harbor, we fell exhausted into bed.
The next morning, we visited Lagos. As you wander through the streets, you rarely see a place without souvenir shops. However, there were also some stores that are typical for this area. We were fascinated by the many shops offering products made of cork. This region has many cork oak trees, so this business opportunity makes sense. You could buy wallets, bags, caps, and much more made of cork. Since the city didn't have much else to offer, our visit was relatively short and we continued towards Sagres on the same day.
Here, we stayed close to a steep cliff and a super surfer hotspot. We spent half of the following day in the water. I caught more waves on my bodyboard than most surfers, and Rob didn't miss a good wave on his surfboard either. Later that day, we visited a fortress at the tip of Sagres. After reading about 300 times on information boards that this is a strategically good position for artillery, we decided to enjoy the great view of the rocky Algarve instead.
From Sagres, we continued north along the coastal area through the nature park. We stopped at four different beautiful beaches until we reached Setúbal.
This city is small but nice. Fish is grilled everywhere, and the locals sit comfortably in front of the restaurants, chatting and enjoying their food. We also sat in a café and tried the sweet Portuguese pastry called Nata, which we unfortunately hadn't tasted before. It tastes amazing! We also visited the harbor, but didn't stay there for long. There were spiders everywhere on the railings and in the air. They move by flying with their spider threads.
After exploring the city, we parked near a beach near Lisbon to visit the capital of Portugal the next day.