Algarve Coast (Portimao), Portugal - Silves, Lagos & Sagres - April 15

We actually arrived at this port early. We were off the ship 5 minutes before our 8:00 arrival time. Today, I had a private tour set up with ToursByLocals of Silves, Cabo de Sao Vicente, Sagres & Lagos. Today we were joined by Rick & Janie and Perla & Joe.

 sail in at sunrise

Miguel was waiting in the van and he jumped out as soon as he saw people start exiting the ship. He was holding a sign with my name and after introductions we piled in the van after the usual drama of who sits where. 

 Our first photo stop was at a great lookout from Miradouro Sta de Catarina. We had really perfect weather today. No jackets needed and no wind. It was nice not having to layer up so much.

On the way to Silves we stopped at the beautiful and famous Praia de Rocha Beach for beautiful views. We had a bit of time here to hike about the rocks. On the drive we saw tons of Storks. Many on nests with young ones and others we saw flying with nesting materials. They are protected so no matter where they build their nests they can’t be removed.

Our next photo stop was to see the Castle from a distance.

Then we drove on to tour the Medieval Moorish castle which was extremely well preserved. The Castle has 10 towers and was the residence of the governors, their military contingents and their administrative staff. The cisterns (Aljibe) made it possible to supply water to the people during periods of siege. We were able to go down into the cistern. We also saw the Cisterna dos Caes “Cistern of Dogs” which got its name from the stray dogs that were thrown into it in the middle of the last century. We also saw the Palatial Houses built of taipa with foundations of dressed sandstone blocks.

 going down into the cistern

After touring the Castle, a bathroom break and me getting a quick magnet before walking back to the van we then drove on to Lagos where the old slave market still stands (no longer in use!). Lagos was home to Prince Henry the Navigator and it became important during Portugal’s 15^th century era of exploration. It’s a lovely seaside town.

Here Miguel left us to tour around the square while he found a place to park the van. He wasn’t very clear on what we were supposed to do and it took him a while to find a parking place. We weren’t sure which building was the old slave market, but we did go inside the Santa Maria church and did some shopping while we waited. He finally returned and he showed us the oldest slave market in Europe and took us to the church of Santo Antonio. He didn’t tell us that the church was also a very nice museum so for the 3 of us that chose to go inside, we spent more time than expected. It was a beautiful church and an interesting museum. 

We figured he would get the van and come pick us up, but he wanted us to walk back for the sites. One couple stayed behind to be picked up and the rest of us walked on up for a great view of another castle and fishing village that now does boat tours. There were beautiful views of the colorful ocean and sail boats glided by. The water was too cold for many to be in the water, but many were enjoying a sunny warm day on the beach.

 driving to lunch

We then headed to Sagres which is the most south-westerly point in Europe and once thought to be geographically the actual 'End of The World'. We were all hungry and Miguel took us directly to our lunch stop on the beach at Restaurant Raposo. Portugal is known for its’ Sardines. Four ordered those, I had a gilled smoked ham & cheese sandwich and two others had a pork dish. Everyone seemed pleased with their orders.

 lunch seaside

 the lamps are made of octopus traps

 sardines

 my panini

 pork dish

 sardines

 the aftermath of the sardines

 Unfortunately, we were running out of time and we still needed to see Cape St. Vicente and the lighthouse at the “end of the world”. Off we went past more views of the rugged coastline of dramatic headlands, sea cliffs and crags. I took off to pick up my token magnet and the others soaked in the views.

We were running a bit late and we had a 50 - minute drive back to the port. All aboard was at 4:30 and we made it by 4:20. Phew! Our tour guide was nice, but he was soft spoken so even in a small van if you were in the 2^nd or 3^rd row you couldn’t hear him well or at all. He tried to speak up when asked, but he wasn’t able to do it more than a few words. A microphone might have helped. He also could have given more guidance on the tour. While yes, it’s a private tour and we can choose what to do and for how long, we don’t know how long things should take to see everything he planned and him moving us along would have saved us the rush at the end. None-the-less, we enjoyed the day having seen lots and just enjoying the lovely weather and the beautiful scenery and of course the great company of friends. 

 sail away

We freshened up and went down to dinner and got caught up on everyone’s tours the past 2 days. 

The entertainment tonight was Tommy Proulx, a sax player. He was enjoyable, but the cough thing I finally caught had me drained and I couldn’t wait to get back to the cabin. We did get to set the clock back another hour tonight. We have a few more time changes over the next week to get us caught up for when we arrive back in Florida. Now for 6 Sea Days before we hit Bermuda and then 2 days back to Ft. Lauderdale.