We were ready to get back to hunkering down in a “quiet” town and doing a lot of nothing. We noticed an uptick in “revenge tourism” in the large cities as the COVID-19 pandemic wound down (Madrid and Lisbon were overwhelmed with sightseers). We chose the town of Lagos, which was not yet on the tourist hit list. With the town being empty, we snagged a modern Airbnb with little damage to the budget. In Europe, we had been focused on booking centrally-located places (on the cheap) with mixed results. In Lagos, we landed a centrally-located, multi-story townhouse with a modern kitchen and a “proper” washing machine. We took the top floor, the kids took the middle and we hung out on the bottom! We had oodles of space. This set the stage for a fantastic week of us “living our best life”.
Things did not get off to a great start. Getting here was a nightmare because railway workers were engaged in rolling strikes. Fortunately, trains were running on our arrival day, but since the previous day’s service was canceled, they were uncomfortably crowded. We stood in between the carriages for the duration carrying our luggage. The kids took the hit and crouched in a window well underneath the baggage rack. It made me long for the years when train travel with an unlimited Eurail pass was enjoyable. We disembarked and then walked two kilometres to our accommodation. Somehow we got turned around in the meandering alleyways and it took double the time to locate it. Those first couple of hours getting the lay of the land always seem the hardest. But upon arrival there were no concerns as the kids were ecstatic to have separate beds and their own bathroom. They unpacked, hung all their clean clothes and then washed everything else. We went grocery shopping at Pingo Doce (which we stumbled across in our rambling route to the Airbnb), filling the pantry with cereal, juice, eggs and milk. We really made it our home.
Our next 7 days were impacted by the train strikes. Our idea of exploring the surrounding area with our train pass was scrapped. Instead, we went to Pingo Doce each day to buy food to cook at home. There were restaurants but I think we were at the “not going to another restaurant” stage of our European leg. Eggs for breakfast and pasta for diner was the norm. We made an event of finding a fish monger at the local market and cooking a fancy dinner with the spices from the “Airbnb pantry”.
Other than cooking, we spent all our time enjoying the coastline. It was a very simple, stress-free week. There was a long beach with the 3km Meia Praia boardwalk that I would run in the morning. I would be out the door at 6am, and then Paige would run the same route when I returned. We’d eat breakfast and then homeschool the children in earnest. By 10am each day, we’d have the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted. And every day it was pretty much the same, we’d head off to the sea. Five minutes from our door and we could visit the iconic rock formations along the Algarve. Since it was early June, we had the beaches to ourselves (at least the water part – the water seemed cold for most). Our kids didn’t mind, and they brought buckets, caught crabs, got pinched by crabs and their tans got deeper.
Another perk of the quiet tourist season was that the Slide & Splash water park in neighbouring Estombar was also empty. Yes, we once again went to a water park. And yes, we loved it. With the trains down, we hired a driver to take us which cost more than park admission. In Canada, we normally last 2 hours at our local park. Here we spent the entire day, even persevering through a massive rainstorm. The only head-scratcher at the park was that employees would randomly bring animals out that you could “pet” (reptiles, tropical birds and falcons). I still don’t know how that aligned with a water park experience.
Up next we meet up with friends in the Douro valley. And so ends our time with some of the best beaches in the world.
Where we stayed:
- Airbnb – Casa das Conchas: Splurged, excellent facilities
By the numbers:
- People on the beach: Maybe 10 – got ourselves our own beach
- Crabs caught: 15 – was a daily activity
- Pinched fingers: 1 – when Julie was putting one back delicately
- Taxis taken due to rail strike: 3 – that rail pass is killing me
Ciao for now
Mike
Family Travel Countdown 