While in Portugal I took the chance to spend some time at the most South Westerly point of Europe in the small town of Sagres. I was only there for the morning, and all I was carrying with me was a small day pack. Despite this, when getting off the bus I was pounced upon by a local guest house owner who attempted to try and convince me that I needed a ‘room’ to stay in. Despite my protests she insisted I must have that room! I protested some more and she insisted some more until that is mentioned the town of Lagos. At which she seem to take offence and turned on me…

“Lagos, you stay in Lagos?!? Go away, go back, go away….”

And with a motioning of the arms waving me away she wandered off. A few minutes later it became somewhat clearer why she took offence at the mention of Lagos. Sagres is the much poorer relative. While still not the peak tourist season Lagos was busy and full of people, locals and tourists. Sagres was different… A stange eiry ghost town feel existed. Run down for no reason… Maybe it gets busier later in the summer but in early July you could hear a pin drop and watch the tumbleweeds drift by.

However, the reason for going there wasn’t to visit the town but to stand on the most South Westerly tip of europe, visit the Fortaleza and to get some photos. Away from the town the scenery is stunning so have a look at some of the photos in the gallery on pages seven, and eight.

Take a look at the clouds drifting over the sea:

or the cannons ready to defend:

or just look out to sea standing beside the flag of Portugal:

For more on Sagres have a look at sagres.net. Despite the other world feel of the town the coastline is amazing and there’s always something nice about standing at the corner of a country.

One of the great things about the Algarve coastline is that not only can you go for beach walks but also take long hikes over the clifftops. One of those walks is between the town of Lagos and the small fishing village of Salema. Doing so means some fantastic views over the coastline and the chance to stop off along the way in the many towns, or visit the numerous beaches for a cooling dip!

After leaving Lagos you pass the beach of Dona Ana and head on to the lighthouse at the headland. Once there you start the walk towards Porto de Mos which involves some death defying climbs up and down the cliff edge which has seen a series of steps cut into the land.

Once you’ve arrived in Porto de Mos a walk along the beach is a must before taking the gentle climb to the top of a hill over looking the town of Luz. Here is a good chance to stop and admire the view before a near vertical descent into the town itself. Thankfully its a path used regularly so there are many foot holes cut into the ground.

Luz has plenty of places to stop off for a drink and food or even a picnic on the beach. It’s also a good place to stop if you wanted to split the walk from Lagos to Salema over a couple of days as buses run regularly back to Lagos. If you carry on then the town of Burgau is next. Most of this stretch of the walk is over reasonably flat ground with a bit of a climb before entering Burgau itself. Once again another beach is avaliable should a refreshing dip be needed.

After you set off again you head through a new development of apartments that seems to have been abandoned creating something of a ghost town feel. Mercifully that only lasts for a couple of minutes before you’re back on the clifftops again for perhaps the longest stretch of walk, though there are a few secluded bays along the way for a rest. All these bays offer some great views. There are also ruins of buildings from days long since past that offer some good photo opportunities.

The final stretch of the Hike is sadly along the road down into Salema. Thankfully it’s only for about 10 minutes and you soon find your self in the village, where depending on the time of day you can stop for some lunch or dinner before catching the bus back into Lagos. The entire walk could take anything from 4 hours to all day but well worth the effort. The total distance is about 16km.

There are more photos in the gallery, and for this hike check out pages five, six and seven

One of the most impressive features of Lagos is its impressive coastline, especially just a few minutes west of the town where you can find the Grottos. The grottos are impressive rock formations, much like the 12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road in Australia.

There are a couple of options to view them and the surround area. The first is to take a walk along the clifftop where you’ll soon find yourself approaching a lighthouse on the headline. Either side of that are some magnificant views.

A second option is to take one of the many boat tours on offer from along side the waterfront promenade or by the Fortaleza which is found next to Praia Da Batata.

Or, if you want the best of both worlds walk to the headland taking in the scenery from the top of the cliffs. Once at the lighthouse there are some steps down to the water where you can get on a boat for a tour from the water.

Page Three and Page Four of the Portugal galley have a number of photos taken from the cliff top. Watch out for the friendly seagulls while you’re enjoying the view too!

So your in Southern Portugal and feel like taking a walk along the beach. Now from Sagres to Lagos most of the beaches are small bays, but thankfully waiting just the other side of Lagos just past the marina is a vast expanse of sand – The beach of Meia Praia. Popular with bathers, walkers and those out for a run.

Meia Priaia stretches for about 4km from Lagos to the town of Alvor (you can’t actually get to the town itsef due to an estuary that cuts the beach in half with noway across) so you can get a nice few hours walking, swimming and relaxing going from Lagos and back again.

The first part of the walk takes you past various resorts so watch out for the tourists playing in the water! Once you’ve past those your left with about 2km of beach to yourself except for the odd person fishing, those also taking a walk and the odd nudist lurking in the dunes towards the back of the beach. I say lurking as the dunes seem to mean that they have a beach towel laid out but rather than lie on it the prefered action seems to be to pace up and down besides it as though guarding something. Sit down and Relax!!

Once you’ve reached the estuary stopping you from reaching Alvor there are some fantastic views, and at low tide you can walk out onto the sand. Back towards Lagos is also an impessive sight too.

There are a number of photos taken along the beach in the Portugal Gallery and a couple in this posting. The first is a panoramic image taken looking back along the beach towards Lagos. The second is taken looking the other way with a yacht in the estuary with Alvor in the background.

Check out the map link associated with this post for a nice satellite view from the beach.

Over the past few weeks i’ve been in a sunny Portugal aka Europe’s Constructions Site (only joking, but I was thinking of starting a new gallery called “Crane’s of the Algarve”).

It’s just a holiday, but it has left me even more eager to get on the road again after spending a few days on a beach popular with backpackers. Just laying there listening to some of the travel stories….

I’ve started uploading some images to the Gallery and i’ll continue adding them over the next few days, and then feature a few of them on the front page with a bit of background on the image.