Lagos -- somente surpreendendo

If leaving Barcelona was bittersweet, leaving Lisbon for me, was not. I was ready to hit the road, upon recomendation from two friends, to Lagos in the Algarave of Southern Portugal.

My expectations were high. I was hoping for an escape from the cities I had seen so far, ready for some hot weather, and a break from the ordeal of travelling. The plan was to take some R&R for a few days.

When traveling, the lows can seem like unscalable, cold, dark canyons. This makes the highs feel like you are soaring like an eagle, in beautiful blue skies, on an warm updraft, without any effort at all. No matter what you do, how hard you try... to plan, to feel comfortable where you are at... things just don´t work out. On the other hand, things do tend to work out, at least for me. When they do work out, there is no rhyme or reason, just blind luck or circumstance.

Concerning our arrival and concenquential stay in Lagos -- where I was looking for a shimmer of a good experience -- I found a vein of pure gold, blinding me with the reflection of the hot, yellow sun. It began the second we stepped off the train from Lisbon with the view of the Atlantic in the background. As usual, we had no real idea of how to get where we wanted to go, but we had something that travellers have, call it luck if you want.

A man asks us when we exit our first train from Lisbon, `Lagos?´ we nod, he hands us a map. Once on the next train we were certian would take us to our destination, the man reappears and wants to know if we have accomidation. We did have a reservation, somewhere. After checking out the rest of the passengers on the train, the man returns (determining us to be good tourist prey) and asks us the same quesion, then gives us his deal. It was too good to pass up, so we miss out on our 10€ deposit and head with this new man.

Manuel. Of all the people I have met, there is a special place in my memories for him. He took us in, Dan and myself, and made it his mission that Lagos would be something to remember. If you ever, ever go to Lagos (which you must) please ask me for his number. As far as accomidating us, he did -- in spectacular fashion for backpackers. It is so nice, and refreshing, to learn about a place you are visiting -- in english no less -- from someone who really appreciates people and the world.

Being from the USA, you are sometimes apprehensive to state your home, not for shame -- for I love the states -- but for how people will accept and treat you (blame this on whatever you want). Manuel and Marie his wife, just like chatting it up with us. They travel the world themselves... through the people that pass through their apartments. Manuel, that man. Like I said before, having good accomidation makes things much better... this was just the beginning.

Our roomates for the first couple days were two Canadian ladies. We enjoyed their company to the fullest. We talked in english, reflected on our travel experiences, playied cribbage and hung out at the beach and roof of our apartment. A very appreciated and fun time, I assure you.

Lagos is a town of 40,000 in the offseason, 400,000 during the summer. Luckily we were here during the off season. This does not mean that Lagos is not a place to behold, just that there are less people and things are cheaper.

The landscapes and beaches are amazing. Pillars of limestone petruding from the surf fill the seascape. The weather, windy but warm. The people, english, portuguese, canadians, americans, italians, germans, spanish, french, tourists -- and everyone is happy, friendly and speaks english.

We have found lots to do, relax on the beach, swim in the fridged water of the Atlantic, browse the small shops, bike around, take lots of pictures, go boating, and surfing. The place is amazing. My travel guide book says you will come for two days and stay two weeks. Well, we planned four days and will spent two weeks, not too far off.