A weekend in Albufeira & Lagos revisited

After hearing about a couple of beaches that are a few km out of town, our interest was tweaked. We researched the timetables for a local bus to take us there, but as it was a Sunday, there were very few - so off we set, on foot, to find the closest beach - Praia dos Arrifes. We frequently walk the 2.5 km to the Marina, so we decided that a further 2.4 km was do-able.......and we knew that there would be a beach-side café there to welcome us! Onwards past the Marina we walked, and after only a couple of minor "skirmishes" with each other over directions, we found the way. This part of the journey was on a flat, dusty road - with not much to see, but then the scenery changed and the remainder was a tough uphill climb - but with lovely houses all around, the views were a lot better. At the very top of the hill we saw the ocean....and then we got to go downhill over the other side of the cliffs to the beach. With some nice-looking properties lining the road-side, there are a couple of car-parks before reaching Praia dos Arrifes - which although not very big - is pretty stunning! With spectacular rock formations and impressive views across the bay - the small beach was, on this Sunday, busy but not packed. The beach café has place of honour - being slightly elevated and facing the lovely ocean views. Many families had reserved their tables for Sunday lunch, so we only managed to get a standing place - with a high-top table to place our drinks. Worth the walk? ......definitely - but it would have been nice to sit down before walking back to town!
On another more leisurely day, we included a visit to Albufeira Municipal Archaeological Museum - proving that there actually is more to this town than fun in the sun! When excavations were being done - a well, filled with 16th century rubble was discovered......so a museum, covering the town's history, was built over it. Entrance fee is €1 - except for children, students, teachers and seniors.......so kudos to whatever "grant" or organization funds this museum and thr on-going excavations.
Covering a span of over 8,000 years this small, but attractive display, is housed on top of the cliffs in a modernized Municipal building, in the Old Town.
Artifacts are separated into rooms containing the more ancient - Roman to Islamic - with one other room displaying items from the 16th century. Printed sheets, in several European languages, are readily available in every room, and exhibits are numbered so that understanding is made easy. Highlights include a Roman mosaic and other artifacts from Roman villas + a silo from the Islamic period, and Moorish graves. Lintels, corbels, coats of arms and a stone wash-basin - all from the main church of Albufeira - are displayed in the "modern" (16th century) room. There's also a cannon from The Age of Discoveries.
A gallery on the second floor hosts temporary exhibitions - the current one is of photographs from the 1930's though to the early 1970's. With some small, but interesting changes in the Old Town, we saw photos of dusty tracks from the '40's, where there are now streets + pictures, dating to the late 1950's, when fishing boats were still pulled onto what is now "Fisherman's Beach." Cliff Richards is featured, entertaining both locals and visitors, in quite a few photographs from the 1960's - 1970's.......somewhat of a local hero - he helped establish Albufueira's popularity by buying a house and a vineyard close by.....he even has a street in town - "Rua Sir Cliff Richard" - named after him!
A few weeks ago we visited Lagos but as it was on a Monday when some places of interest were closed, we decided on a return visit to see what we'd missed. It's a really nice town, so to go again was no hardship.
Having spent quite a bit of time now using the local buses - and studying the time-tables and routes, we've found that we don't always have to start our journey by making the uphill walk to the bus terminal. The circular "Orange" line, which passes the train-station, can also be picked up elsewhere around the perimeter of the town.....but strangely enough not from the Old Town itself. Without questioning the logic of this we decided to give it a try.....we were - much to our surprise - successful! Instead of the usual 25 minute, uphill "slog" to the bus station we took a more leisurely 15 minute walk through a lovely (and flat) local park and caught the appropriate bus to get our train.
With 1/2 hour to spare before the train arrived we took advantage of one of the 2 cafés outside Albufeira train station and had breakfast - hot & strong milky coffees with one of the best ham & cheese toasties that we've had so far.......a bargain at €4.
Our first aim in Lagos was to take the tourist trolley to the Ponta da Piedade (Mercy Point) - which we did. Despite the fact that we are not fond of "tours" it seemed to be the best way to make the journey to the most southerly end of Lagos Bay. Research had told us of its varying distances from town (3-5km), so we figured that we would get off the trolley, view the cliffs and walk back to town. It was soon apparent that would not be the case........the route winds up, through and around the outskirts of town before entering a single dirt-road to the headland.......even for anyone who enjoys walking.....it's a tough hike - either there or back - especially on a hot day.
Although the Western Algarve has many towering cliffs that have been eroded and shaped by the constant battering of the sea, the Ponta da Piedade is considered the finest - with towering pillars, natural grottos and tunnels carved into the headland. One thing we seemed to have missed in our research is that this scenic "must" is best viewed from the water (or did I skim over that information, due to my inability to board any kind of boat without feeling seasick?!). We saw the top of the cliffs, which were impressive, and we would have liked to explore further - but - the trolley driver was going for lunch when he got back to town - meaning that we would either have to spend 2 1/2 hours at this spot or make the hike back to town after having seen enough of it.......so...on this hot 35C day, we swallowed our disappointment (telling ourselves that we can't always see everything) and stayed on the bone-rattling trolley. We managed to get off as soon as we we could, vowing that "next time" we'd pay more attention to our research and plan accordingly!
The remainder of the day we spent enjoying the town - listening to live musicians when we sat in the shady squares. We wandered the labyrinth of the Old Town, browsing streets and shops - finding charming cafés everywhere & on one street the "Padaria Central" - the most amazing bakery. With its big old doors and cavernous interior, this bakery has been supplying Lagos with bread, cakes and coffee since 1926. Apparently it's great for a (stand up) breakfast - there are no seats.
We planned on visiting more "sights" - but we were, once again, caught up with just wandering and enjoying the town's atmosphere. Like other towns in the Algarve, September is still busy - but Lagos doesn't have anything close to the more boisterous vibe that we've become accustomed to in Albufeira - it's a place more suited to the "laid-back" type of visitor.
We did visit Mercado de Escravos - The Slave Museum, which is housed in an historic building in "Prince Henry" square. The building was built in the 17th century to house the Overseer's office, later becoming the Custom's House. The Museum traces the history of slavery in Lagos and the Algarve from the arrival of the first slaves in the mid 15th century.
On the first floor, explanations are given in Portuguese and English, detailing the lives of the slaves as they were baptized and integrated into European society. Most were "kept" and put to work in Portuguese households and businesses - others were transported to the Portuguese colony of Brazil. The terrible suffering of the slaves is described as families were separated and divided into groups of men, women and children.
To reach another part of the Museum, we went back outside and through a side door to the second floor. With written quotes along the walls, there are also "tablets" that display manacles, weapons, maps and information regarding the history, growth and architecture of Lagos - both as a port and a slave Market.
Making our way to the train-station, we walked back along the river promenade and over the pedestrian bridge to the Marina area - taking a last look at some of the lovely boats that are docked there.
The train home was quite busy, but pretty quiet for the first 15 minutes or so........until after one stop, when we were pulling out of the station, we heard a loud bang and the train stopped again, abruptly, to allow another passenger to board. After a bit of thumping around in the baggage car behind us, things seemed to settle down, but only for a short time. A deep-voiced man, who seemed to have a lot to shout about, was obviously banging around back there. Another passenger and the ticket collector kept visiting him.......at that point voices were raised even higher, but then he was once again left alone to continue his shouting. Knowing very little Portuguese, we had no idea what was going on - but knew there was no imminent danger - other passengers were finding this situation very amusing. About 10 minutes from Albufeira, there were a couple of more bangs and then silence.......was he off the train or passed-out? We'll never know.......to us his deep throated shouting sounded like a cross between "Oscar the Grouch" and "The Cookie Monster" demanding his "cookies".......just another mystery of public transportation in Portugal!