Soaring cliffs
Trip Start
May 08, 2010
1
45
66
Trip End
Jul 08, 2010
Where I stayed
Lagos, Algarve, Portugal
Friday, June 18, 2010
We headed out to do some sightseeing and geocaching in Evora- all the sights we'd chosen were close by. We visited the church of Sao Francisco which had the most elaborate chapels, and paid to see its most celebrated chapel, the Capella di Ossa, which is entirely decorated with human bones to remind us of our own mortality. We had a walk in the park and unsuccessfully searched for three geocaches, before heading back to the hotel for a shower and check out.
The drive south to the Algarve took some hours. We stopped first at Ponta da Piedade in Largos, had a look at the lighthouse and spectacular views over limestone cliffs, found a cache, then decided to take a boat ride around the cliffs and into the grottoes around. It was rather nice, especially after a long drive, though the wind was up and there was a bit of swell, but I managed to keep my camera dry. My favourite was a darker cave that we drove completely inside and the light glowed through the water. We saw numerous chimneys and arches and limestone formations that look like something. After this we drove to Sagres, saw the fort (and its cache) and then onto Cape St Vincent, the south-western point of Europe. The area draws on its past pirates as a tourism gimmick now. After dinner at the town of Vila do Bispo (we even managed to use the internet while we ate!), we decided to drive further to the town of Faro, which being bigger would have more choice of hotels that would be open late.
As we searched for a hotel, we were surprised by a different twist on the old hotel problem. This time we could find plenty of hotels, it's just that they were all full. We finally settled on a Best Western hotel, Hotel Dom Bernardo, the first we could find with vacancies, and got into our room well after midnight.
We decided to buy one decent meal a day, either lunch or dinner, and snack from our enormous food bag at other meals. We carry cereal etc. but haven't managed to find a 12V kettle yet. The meals we have ordered in Portugal are all along the same lines- a generous meat serve (often plain old roast, or far nicer, grilled, once it was deep fried), a serve of chips (usually french fries, but sometimes out of a packet!) AND plain white rice, and a little bit of salad. The exception was in Evora, where the owner has made an effort to add individual flair to the dishes, but retain the Portuguese flavour. We had roast black pork (a special pork fed only on fruit) in honey sauce, and a selection of three black pork sausages. The quality has varied widely and had nothing to do with price.
