An Elephant, the Titanic and an Iceberg

Today was one of our favourite days yet. We made it to the beach and we did a private boat tour around Lagos. Through caves, grottos and around the main beaches during low tide. Most of these areas are inaccessible during high tide (so there is about a 3 – 4 hour window). Some beaches pretty much disappear during high tide. So we started with the tour at 11:30 with a fisherman/tour guide named Miguel who has been giving tours since he was 16. He starts his day at 1 AM fishing for octopus, heads home around 7 to “give his daughter and wife a kiss” before starting the tours for a few hours after that. He is turning 40 next month and didn’t look a day over 30. We get in what looked like a 14 foot aluminum boat, asked if we were safe, to which he nodded and say “of course” and we were off.

Our Tour Guide Miguel and us

We passed by a bunch of kayakers and other boats along the way, all waving to us with the look of people wishing they had chosen the boat. The waves were minimal but a two hour kayak in even the calmest of waters is a tough workout. Many of the rock formations we were seeing were given names by the fishermen over the years and our guide was proud to point out that his grandfather even named one in the early 1900s. We passed along a bunch of the beaches which were all surrounded by 100 + feet rock walls and we went into a bunch of grottos which were so cool to see. The water level rises at least 8 – 10 feet while we were in them so we cant even imagine them once the high tide is in. Our son had a blast on the boat and our daughter slept the entire trip probably being soothed by the rocking of the boat strapped into a carrier with dad. Miguel was very informative and we liked the fact it was a private tour. For 20 Euros it was money well spent. Some pics from the tour that simply do not do the views any justice.

After the boat tour we got out at Praia de Batata one of the main beaches in Lagos and walked through to an area where some of the large cliffs provided shade and some privacy for us. The water was pretty cold at first but we all reluctantly got in. With only 10 people or so on the semi private beach it was pretty peaceful and very relaxing. We had bought a large blanket for 5 euros the day before and this thing was perfect for all of us and a great souvenir. The beach was perfect.

After the beach we took a few pics at an old fort beside the beach, took in the views on our last day in Lagos and headed back home for our siesta.

We could not figure out what to eat for dinner so we stopped by a take out piri piri spot, brought it back to our hotel and chilled out, packed for the move to Albufeira the next day and got some rest. We loved Lagos and will probably be recommending this place to anyone that will listen. It was affordable, beautiful, the food was awesome and the beaches are some of the best we have ever seen. With kids it was great, without kids it seemed like it could be a great place to relax, surf or party so it has something for everyone and a nice bonus is that Lagos is only 2.5 hours away from Lisbon so an easy drive if you are ever in Lisbon looking for a relaxing getaway.

The Garden was our favourite place to eat, the tour was our favourite activity and Praia de Batata was our favourite beach (although Praia De Camilo looked amazing from a distance).  Off to Albufeira for a few days at PortoBay Feisa Resort.