This was both a visit to a friend, Kelly M, who lives in Lagos, as well as a scouting trip for a rental for a move to Portugal. Kelly M is not the Kelly I’ve traveled with for years, but we also worked together. She recently retired and moved to Lagos.

I flew into the Faro airport and she picked me up. We wandered through the Faro Old Town, visited Igrega do Carmo and Capela dos Ossos (chapel of bones), and the Old Town Walls, before driving west to her apartment in Lagos.

Lagos

I wanted to get a feel for living there, so we did a lot of everyday things including visiting several grocery stores. They have an Aldi! Yeah. I visited the local bank, where I had previously opened an account online to get my debit card, and did lots of local walks. BTW, the Portuguese bank charged me 23 euro for my card, crazy.

Kelly isn’t far from the Porto Mas beach with access to the cliff walks. I really enjoyed the walks both east and west along the Fisherman’s Trail. Lots of hills and amazing views. We walked out to Ponta da Piedade one day, too.

Lagos has a great Old Town. We walked all over the cobblestone streets. There are several great squares, with statues and churches and other historical sites.

One afternoon we visited the Museu Municipal Dr. Jose Formosinho and Mercado de Escravos (the old slave market). A combination entrance ticket is available. There are two floors in the market about the slave trade. Lagos is where the first enslaved Africans arrived in Portugal in 1444. The museum is in the old church, and contains great artifacts and exhibits about local history and some beautiful artwork.

There are weekday and Saturday markets downtown. We visited the Municipal Mercado for some baked goods, fresh produce and more. There is a large fresh fish market on the first floor.

Outside Lagos

We drove to the southwestern most point in continental Europe and visited the cape of San Vincent, or Cabo de Sao Vicente. Beautiful, beautiful views. Unfortunately, the Farol or lighthouse was closed that day. The lighthouse contains a small museum about Sagres’s maritime history. We also stopped at the Beliche Fort, also closed, but I definitely plan on returning for a visit.

We visited a few other towns including the boardwalk and beach at Luz.

Another day we drove over to Salema to walk along the beach and see the dinosaur footprints there in the rocks.

We went to the Portimao Marina my last day in town for a boat tour of the coast out to Benagil Cave. We didn’t stop for a visit but the port town of Carvoeiro reminded me of Cinque Terre; it only has a few permanent residents and is mostly full of tourists.

Restaurants

• Pinocchio – Lagos. This is Kelly’s favorite gelato in Portugal.
• Arte Bianca – Sagres. Rated some of the best pizza in Europe. We visited after the lighthouse at Cabo de Sao Vicente. We shared a fig pizza that was delicous.
• Restaurante o Antonio – Lagos. I had the bacalhau, in garlic butter, and vegetables.
• Odeon – Lagos. Great breakfast.
• Amorizade – Lagos. This lovely restaurant is just across the street from her apartment. The menu varies day to day based on what is fresh and available. Fantastic food.
• Campimar – Lagos. A great location on the beach. We didn’t eat just split a bottle of wine as we enjoyed the afternoon on their back patio by the beach, then ordered a cheese tray.
• The Collab Bar – Lagos. Good selection of craft beers on tap and in cans.
• Mania Beer – Lagos. A new(ish) brewery in town, no tap room but you can order online and stop by to pick up. We found their beer at the Wednesday market. I had their Pale Ale, N125, which was excellent. Kelly had their porter and said it was delicious.
• Palacio Da China – Lagos. Kelly took me to the local Chinese place and I had some great Singapore noodles.

** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **