Algarve Trip with Esn (26-27-28/09/14)

The Meia Praia

The trip was organized by Esn and for three days we were heading down to Algarve to the town of Lagos with two full buses of erasmus students We left Coimbra around 6 am and after a 6 hour bus drive, stopping occasionally for coffee an toilet breaks, we eventually arrived in Lagos at noon. Right before reaching the town, we made a quick stop to gather food and stuff for the lunches and dinners that weren't included in the trip's price. Once we reached our hotel, Clube Marina Park (which had some really nice apartments), we were divided into groups of or own choice; so I was going to stay with my friends Simona, Jurgis, Michal, Gabriela, Sebastiano, Jordana and Lorenza. After having unpacked and chosen our beds, we were set and ready to head to the beach. We reached the beach called Meia Praia, or Half Beach, though unlike the name suggests it is very big.

A street in Lagos

The sun was out and the water looked very nice and calm. After a quick refreshing swim, the water was quite chilly but not as cold as in Northern Portugal, we sunbathed for a while and then walked along the surf till the end of the beach, where the small port was located. It was then time to head back home and start cooking. We made an easy pasta with tomato sauce which everyone enjoyed and then we were ready to leave for the party in the town of Portimão. The party was set on a beach bar and was really great, we came back home at 4 

am and the next morning we were up at 8 am and ready to head to the city centre and then the beach.

The Praia do Camilo

We passed through the main gate that was once the main gate of the castle, and headed to see the Igreja de Santo Antonio, a very nice baroque church with a beautiful interior gilded woodcarving, and also inside is located the municipal museum with various roman sculptures and medieval azulejos. 

Then we saw the Igreja Paroquial, or the main church of the town, baroque too and quite unappealing inside, and right across the square we saw the Mercado de Escravos or Slave Market, deemed to be the oldest in Europe, built in 1444. After walking through the old town streets, we started heading towards the beach. 

The Praia Dona Ana full of Erasmus

We passed by the Praia da Dona Ana, a really nice beach, the type of beach would come up to mind when thinking about the Algarve. We took several pics and walked along the top of the cliff with awesome views of the ocean and rocks jutting out of the water. We then reached Ponta da Piedade or Mercy Point, with beautiful natural rock arches and wonderful waters. 

However there wasn't an actual beach to be able to lay down at, so we decided to turn back a little and reached the Praia do Camilo, a small and quite secluded beach where we cliff dived, swam and sunbathed for a while. 

The group

We then headed back towards the town and stopped at Praia da Dona Ana again, where eventually, after having woken up, all the other erasmus went to. We hanged there for a while and then headed home to take a shower before dinner. The dinner took place at the port, and the restaurant was filled with just us erasmus students, dishes were great and we had beerand wine all night long, the waiters continued to bring us beer and after a while we had too much. 

Sagres lighthouse and beer bootle

After dinner, there was going to be a party, but we were too tired from the few hours of sleep the night before, so we just opted to head home and chill with the leftover beer. The morning after we had to wait for every apartment to be ready so in the meantime we went to relax at the pool. Then around lunchtime we left and headed for Sagres, the south westernmost point in Europe, the view and cliffs there were amazing and the ocean did seem infinite from that point. After a quick walk around it was then time to go and we got back in the bus and left for Coimbra

The Cape St. Vincent