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.