Fridays here the weekends calling and we are heading to our favourite London airport (read cheapest airport). We are determined to chase that last bit of European summer as the autumn hues have hit the trees lining our street. This time we are off to Lagos, Portugal for a long weekend of food, wine and hopefully some vitamin D!
It's our last trip for awhile as we settle in for the long winter in London and start saving some money for all the trips we want to do next year so we are hoping we can have a bit of down time and get out and do a few outdoorsy activities. We did pack our togs but I think that might be optimistic as the water temperature in the Atlantic is pretty cold even in the summer- might just be a quick dip.
It's our last trip for awhile as we settle in for the long winter in London and start saving some money for all the trips we want to do next year so we are hoping we can have a bit of down time and get out and do a few outdoorsy activities. We did pack our togs but I think that might be optimistic as the water temperature in the Atlantic is pretty cold even in the summer- might just be a quick dip.
Our first morning in Lagos portugal was not looking so promising on the Vitamin D side but we dragged ourselves out into the rain with the brolleys we had purchased in Croatia and are now determined to take them with us everywhere for the shear reason that I paid through the nose for mine. A dash through town we headed to the recommended go-to place for breaky where we had the place pretty much to ourselves. For three euros you get a massive fry up or for two you can get huge fluffy American style pancakes- bargain and good food, we would definitely be back there for breakfast.
When it seemed like the worst of the storm had passed we made our way back out into the streets of Lagos where a few other brave souls had emerged. We wandered around the old town checking out a few stops and the statues in the main square. Although not something to really boast about but a deep part of its history is the Mercado de Escravos or slave market which is one of the main squares along the water front. This was the first slave market in Europe built in 1444 which brought considerable wealth to the Portugese with demand so high that profits were being made at 700%!!
In the afternoon with the sun blazing down on us we took the coastal walk checking out the aftermath of the storm. There are several stunning little beaches and grottos hidden into the cliffs. However the morning storm had caused some severe erosion causing the normally clear blue water to turn a murky brown. There were still a few brave swimmers enjoying a swim but the churned up water cancelled our plans to go for a dive as the visibility would have been so poor.
In the afternoon with the sun blazing down on us we took the coastal walk checking out the aftermath of the storm. There are several stunning little beaches and grottos hidden into the cliffs. However the morning storm had caused some severe erosion causing the normally clear blue water to turn a murky brown. There were still a few brave swimmers enjoying a swim but the churned up water cancelled our plans to go for a dive as the visibility would have been so poor.
Back at our hostel the owner recommended a place for dinner but as we had made no booking we were told we had to be there at 6.10 on the dot. With a bit of time to kill we wandered up around the old town and found the restaurant a wee way off the main drag and waited for the doors to open. Unfortunately the neighbours to the restaurant sewer pipes drained out on to the narrow road. Whilst we were waiting they must have flushed the toilet and the stink of days old urine flushed down the road beside us. Luckily the restaurant owner seen us standing outside and let us in early so we could escape the stench and recover our appetite. |
Sure enough as our hostel owner had warned us all the tables had reserved signs on them but most people obviously book in for a little bit later and the waiter seated us away into the reserves corner table. We were luck has they only seated another two groups of people who turned up early them everyone else they had to turn away. We had also been warned that the servings were huge and to share a plate. As we had skipped lunch we decided to not heed this advice and order starters each and a main with which the waiter kind of smirked at. Within a few minutes we had our soup on the table and bottle of wine open. A very simple but tasty hot vegetable soup warmed us up before the main dishes arrived. As the waiter walked out with two giant serving platters of food I did a double take and immediately regretted ordering two mains. Jakes platter of mussels, prawns and clams was served in a mouth-watering sauce which we had heard one rich guy had once offered 10,000 euros of the chef for the recipe. It was pretty amazing and Jake was loving using his shells to scoop up as much possible having eaten most of the bread with his soup. The chef jokingly served our platters informing us that these were their half size portions. I had ordered prawn pasta and there must have been a whole packet of spaghetti on my plates with a generous helping of prawns cooked to perfection (although because I'm picky I did have to get rid of the pooper in most of them). Halfway through our meals the chef looked over and asked excitingly what we thought of the food which was a rather nice touch on the evening as he seemed to visibly get a kick from our reactions. Because we were so excited by our our food we forgot to take a photo of the plates but if you are ever on Lagos this is the place to go for a cheap but beautifully cooked dinner. We left the restaurant absolutely stuffed and fell into a deep food coma that night.
Lesson learnt- listen to advice given to you by locals!
Lesson learnt- listen to advice given to you by locals!
The next day started very much the same way. We woke to heavy rain on the courtyard outside our room. Our umbrellas were definitely coming in handy. After having a wander along the waterfront market stalls we walked to Meia Praia, a large open bay with white sand. Of course as soon as we got to the bay the raindrops began to fall so we took shelter in one of the beach front restaurants and watched the storm pass by. Soon after it began to swelter inside the restaurant so we decided to give the beach another go and tested the water with our toes. Surprisingly it wasn't as cold as we expected it to be considering it was the Atlantic and the beginning of Autumn. Of course we soon realised the storm had not passed and it was only a momentary break in the rain clouds as we turned back from the water and seen thick dark clouds rolling over the hills towards us. We made the mad dash up the beach managing to get pretty soaked in the process and fell back into the cafe shaking out the wet and trying to recover from a fit of laughter. I think Lagos really didn't want us to be swimming.
Early the next morning we walked to the bus stop to Seville where we would spend a night before heading back to London. As we entered the Spanish border our bus pulled over for a pit stop and we piled out for a coffee. Back on board the bus as we pulled out onto the motorway I realised I didn't have my wallet. There was no way to turn the bus around and after checking everywhere twice I was pretty sure it was gone. An absolute rookie mistake for me as I had all my cards in my wallet when normally when travelling Jake and I split up our cards into each others wallet and put some in our packs for exactly this scenario where a wallet gets lost or stolen. I was pretty annoyed with myself- seems bus rides and me don't go well with keeping stuff. The last time I lost/forgot something was on a bus ride in Chile where we had to change buses and I left our camera on board. I found solace in the fact I had taken most of the cash out of my wallet that morning on our walk to the bus as I had dreamt that we got mugged (No idea why- Lagos is super safe!) |
It was a pretty crappy start to our time in Spain. It soon improved however after we got lost in the parks of Seville and stumbled across a large festival celebrating international awareness with food and drink from all corners of the world. Although in Spain we both went for Brazilian and were served up huge helpings of meat and rice (and a tiny side of salad) and listened to some Brazilian drumming whilst we people watched and enjoyed the few glimpses of sunshine we got on our holiday.
The rest of the afternoon is Seville we wandered around the old buildings, checking out the mammoth Cathedral- a world heritage UNESCO site, the towering Bell tower or Giralda, and my favourite the more recently built Plaza de Espana complete with central fountain and moat where you could hire a rowboat and admire the architecture.