Arrived in Albufeira + a day in Lagos

We'd pre-booked a direct train from Aveiro to Albufeira, so with no changes in either Porto or Lisbon, it was worth the early morning alarm! After a quick taxi ride to the station we were (promptly) on our way at 6.20 a.m. - arriving in Albufeira 5 hours later - after stopping at only 4 or 5 other places, we were just 25 minutes late. Our journey southwards was quite interesting for the first couple of hours, but after we'd passed by Porto and Lisbon it then became a landscape that was pretty dull - no more coastal views, just miles of arid ground as we travelled down through the centre of the country. I caught up on my down-loaded Netflix shows & Trevor (lucky man) slept for at least 4 1/2 of the 5 hours!
We exited the train into the searing heat of the Algarve - happy to see Tina, the property manager of our "home" for the next 5 weeks, who was at the station waiting to pick us up and deliver us to the apartment. We spent the day settling in before re-acquainting ourselves with Albufeira - by taking a short evening stroll around the Old Town.
Less than a 5 minute walk from our apartment, the Old Town consists of traditional, cobbled Portuguese streets and plazas - this area is the heart of Albufeira. Lined with shops and every possible type of restaurant, these pretty streets wind their way up, down and around - often ending at the beach. There are 2 beaches in town.....Praia dos Pescadores (Fisherman's beach) which is situated in front of a large square, where events and concerts are held. Praia de Peneco, is right at the bottom of Albufeira's main street - Rua 5 de Outubro - and can be found by going straight through a tunnel in the cliffs. Both beaches have a selection of cafés & restaurants to service them - many are open all day and into the early morning hours. These beaches are large - and in summer, packed - but space can be found by walking a little further away from the centre of town, where beaches come in every size......from small, private coves to long expansive stretches - all with golden coloured sand. Towering above these beaches are high cliffs - their colours ranging from orange through to red. The cliff tops are often covered in pine trees making the whole effect dramatic & stunning.
Arriving a couple of weeks earlier than last year, we've found Albufeira even busier than ever - it too is experiencing the rise of tourism in Portugal. Due to the reliability of hot sunny weather, beautiful scenery, friendly locals and (for now) cheaper prices than most people find "at home," the Algarve has long been a popular tourist spot.......but we never believed that the crowds could get bigger! Anyone visiting Albufeira should be aware that it's the largest and liveliest town along this coastline - and August is high season!
When planning this adventure, we decided to build on our experiences and knowledge from last year and that Albufeira would be the only town in Portugal to which we'd return and repeat a stay. We were here for 5 weeks last year, and although it can seem "over the top" at first sight, we also learned that there's a lot to love about it. Centrally located, it's a good place for day-trips to explore the area. Although the train station is a few miles out of town and necessitates a local bus to get there, the bus-station is only a 1km walk from our apartment, so we can easily access the trains. Other local destinations can also be made from this bus-station.
This apartment is literally steps to the old town, restaurants, cafés, shops and beaches. Despite that some streets can be loud at night, our street is not. Our large balcony looks out over the roof-tops onto yet another quiet street......all this makes for pleasant evenings and good sleeping conditions! In fairness, although the crowds can be boisterous we've never seen trouble of any kind - it's just a lot of people (at this time of year, mainly families) having fun.......but there is a lot of them!
Our first week was spent rediscovering old favourites and finding new ones. For "starters," we were happy to be re-united with "Bluey" - the shopping cart that we bought last year. After purchasing a few different types and colours of these handy accessories - and leaving them behind when we move on - it was nice to find an old favourite! On the first day we quickly put him to good use and visited a local supermarket to (once again) stock up on provisions......travelling lightly does involve a lot of "letting go" and leaving things behind.
We also revisited 2 lovely ladies in the local tourist office - one actually remembered us, which was nice. Last year they were very helpful in planning our various day-trips....after finding out that we liked quieter, more traditional places and that we did not like organized group tours. Thanks to their help, we've acquired some handy time-tables and sorted through a few options.
After a few days acclimatizing ourselves to the blazing sun and hot temperatures, we were ready for our first "outing" - we chose Lagos, a place that we intended to visit last year - but, unfortunately, did not get to. Lagos can be reached by local bus or train - we opted for the bus as it seemed the easiest option.......this was to be our first mistake of the day. At a distance of 60km from Albufeira, the bus journey is scheduled to take a little less an 1 1/2 hours - with about 5 stops along the way.....on this day it took an hour longer. Without the fun & distractions of our extended bus trip from Aveiro to Costa Nova (see earlier blog), it was a boring and long journey due to heavy traffic. A couple of our stops were in other towns, so this entailed bumper to bumper entrances and exits. The bus also got stuck in a hold up, behind a long line of cars that were turning into a very popular water park - kudos to the adults who were taking their families there........when we did manage to get past the entrance - it looked like a crowded version of hell to us! I think that it was at this point that we decided we would definitely be taking the train home.
Arriving in Lagos, our bus woes were quickly forgotten - it's a lovely town, with a great "vibe." Situated on the western Algarve, Lagos blends traditional Portuguese culture, beautiful beaches and scenery - it has a charming historic centre and a modern Marina area. The historic centre is surrounded by ancient Moorish walls, that were constructed during the 16th century when it was the residence of the governors of the Algarve.
We quickly realized our second (and thankfully last) mistake of the day - it was Monday and all historical museums were closed. Although there is a lot of history here, the town of Lagos has lots of other things to keep a visitor's interest - especially on a first visit of only a 1 day-trip. So - after first locating the train-station for our journey home - we set off to walk around and enjoy what this town had to offer.
We walked along the Avenida dos Descobrimentos (Avenue of Discoveries), a lovely, long promenade that runs right alongside the river. One side is full of shops and restaurants that look across to the river and the pretty harbour estuary. The other side follows the river Bensafrim as it empties out into the ocean. The middle section by the river, has a few market-style booths selling local handicrafts, and a small boat that shuttles people over to the entrance of a large stretch of beach. This beach, Meia Praia, extends 4km from Lagos, and is the largest in the region......it's an expansive area, with plenty of towel space for everyone!
Lagos has 3 other beaches within walking distance. Praia do Pinhão & Praia Dona Ana are lovely small, crystal clear beaches that are surrounded by sandstone cliffs. We ended our river-side walk at the Praia de Batata, which is right at the mouth of the estuary, and is overlooked by the 17th century Forte da Ponta da Bandeira......which on this & other Mondays was closed!
After spending some time admiring this pretty little beach we crossed the road and passed through St. Gonçalo's gate in order to enter the historic old town. Complete with a watchtower on either side, this gate is right beside the Governors' Castle and next to the Praça Infante Dom Henrique. A statue of Prince Henry (The Navigator), looking out to sea, dominates the centre of this square and commemorates his contribution to Portugal's Age of Discovery.
Making our way through lovely narrow winding streets, we found Gil Eanes square - a perfect place to sit and watch the world go by. Gil Eanes, a native of Lagos, was a household servant and shield-bearer of Henry The Navigator.....we also (not surprisingly) found a café bearing his name! All tables there are shaded, which provided a welcome relief on this hot day when temperatures were well over 30C. Enjoying our beers, we listened to a few of the many musicians who regularly play in this square.
The Old Town of Lagos has many winding, cobbled streets which are interesting places to stroll. Around almost every corner there is a little something new to see - perhaps a small square, a lovely old building + cafés, restaurants and shops are plentiful - it's a very pleasant way to spend some time. The pace of this town is relaxed - well suited to laid-back travellers - and although we were not there at night, it doesn't seem to have the atmosphere of a "party destination."
We did, I admit, get a little lost in our wandering - but found ourselves in a nice park outside the city walls. With hardly anyone else around, it turned out to be a great way to see the perimeter of the old walls, which we followed around until we found another "gate" back into the town.
Arriving back at the statue of Prince Henry we did find one building that was open to us - the Igreja da Santa Maria. Dating back to the 15th & 16th centuries, the church was restored in the 18th century after a fire - the 16th century entrance was, fortunately, preserved. Like the rest of this square, the setting is lovely. We did find the inside of the church very pale - although there's a bit of a strange mural behind the altar, depicting a battle between orange and purple angels!
At the end of our day in Lagos, we made our way back down the promenade and over the pedestrian bridge to the marina. The train station is located - handily - on a street just behind it. We only had time to take a quick look around at the many boats moored there. With a lot of mid-rise, modern apartments, a grocery store, access to a long beach & streets filled with restaurants, it's a self-contained area and could, for some, be a destination in itself.
Our train journey home took just over an hour and cost us less than 1/2 the price of the bus ride there. As we exited the station in Albufeira we did our good deed for the day by helping two young women from Munich. After a couple of days in Lagos they'd arrived for a 4 day stay in Albufeira, but hadn't realized the train-station's distance of 6km from town. We informed them of the 1/2 hour circular bus route, which would take them to the bus terminal where they could either get a taxi or walk the further km or so into town.........certainly a much cheaper option than a tax-ride from the train station. Once at the bus-station they started the walk to town, but changed their minds once they saw the hills in front of them. Last seen they had back-tracked to the front of the bus-station to get a cab - waving to us older folk who, without the problem of dragging a large suitcase, walked home!