Lagos, Portugal

I looked down at the massive Atlantic Ocean and held my breath as I jumped off a sailboat and into the frigid water.  The ice-cold temperature literally took my breath away, but the sensation of jumping into the middle of the ocean with massive cliffs and caves in the background was exhilarating.  Typically, I did not think about the consequences of jumping into the water on a cold, cloudy day without a towel and a cave tour upcoming, but I was content to have leapt into the same waters that the Europeans considered the end of the world before 1492.  As I glanced to the shore on our way back to the dock, I saw a small Portuguese beach town littered with fishing boats, and I eventually set foot on the dock ready to explore another foreign country filled with picturesque landscapes and laid back living.

Shortly after jumping in with Alli.

On the sailboat.

Still freezing but ready for our cave tour.

Cave tour.

I woke up on Saturday morning with the unfortunate sight of large clouds and rain in the forecast.  Nevertheless, our guides promised a wonderful day, and we blindly accepted their promise.  The bus driver took us to the same cliffs that we had toured by boat the night before, but this time we were able to climb and watch the waves crash from above.  After taking pictures from every possible angle for thirty minutes, we spent the rest of the afternoon kicking a soccer ball in the sand and taking in the beautiful Portuguese coast.  As the weather forecast had it, it did rain later in the day and we scurried for cover underneath a tiny roof.  As much as we would have liked a warm, sunny day, it is interesting how, regardless of how much planning goes into a trip, the weather aspect is never certain and it often dictated our plans.  One thing the rain could not inhibit, however, was NahNahBah Cafe.  With one of the best fifty burgers in the world, the wait to make it inside the door was enough to convince me of its title.  Our ravenous appetites inevitably led us to a Thai Restaurant, but we ended up working through the mass of meat and bread the next evening.



This is one of the sections that we boated through the evening before.

On Sunday, we had the option to explore Lagos, the small beach town in which we were staying, or take a bus to an exclusive beach on the western coast of Portugal.  Naturally, we chose the western coast and we sleepily bussed down a narrow dirt road until we hit a beautiful cove surrounded by jagged cliffs.  Nestled between the cliffs on the north and south side and the crashing waves to the west, we laid out our towels for a nice day of relaxation.  It was short-lived, however, as the wind immediately kicked up and people began running for cover.  I would have rather protected myself behind the masterfully engineered sand fortress that I had just constructed, but the ensuing “hurricane” destroyed my perceived indestructible wall.  Again, we bolted to the only roof in sight and cuddled up for another afternoon of cloudy beach.  Fortunately, it cleared up within an hour and I hiked with some friends to an even smaller cove hidden underneath a massive rock face that surrounded it on all sides.  Eventually, we trekked back to the bus destined for Lagos before the upcoming eight hour trip back to Granada. 

The small cove that we hiked to.

NahNahBah Cafe.

               Regardless of the weather, Lagos, Portugal was an incredible experience.  There is something about watching the sun set beneath the Atlantic while standing on the exact cliff that was believed to be the literal end of the world.  I stood over the turbulent waters picturing Christopher Columbus conquering the infinite ocean and, immediately, my mind shot back to Friday evening when seven of us sat on a little boat and gazed at the mass of water that eventually led to my homeland.  Seventeen days of smooth sailing stood between me and the Americas; that or a quick visit to four more countries before boarding today’s traveling marvel, an airplane headed for California in four short weeks!



This was considered the last piece of land before the end of the world during Columbus' time.