Our day started with a guided morning walk through the streets of the old quarter of Lisbon, Alfama. We were taken through the small winding and hilly streets to see the Pantheon and then up to Sao Jorge castle. The combination of the fierce heat and steep inclines made the going tough, but the quality scenery made up for it.
A friend from Mick's work had highly recommended visiting Sao Jorge castle. She claimed that this was the best castle she had ever seen. Given she is from the UK, she has seen a lot of castles in her time, and was considered a reliable castle connoisseur. While the castle was "nice", Mick wasn't convinced that it warranted the rave review. Damo thought Sao Jorge 'gave good castle'.
We explored the castle ramparts despite the heat, climbing the walls and looking over Lisbon. The view was amazing. After the castle we had a quick lunch before taking the tram back down the hill to the plaza near the hotel.
That night we had our first group dinner with our guide Delia and the whole group. We sat with two kiwis who were very entertaining (Darryl has many similar expressions and mannerisms to Mick's mum, which helps abate homesickness a bit) and close by were two wacky Canadian 'chicas' with the most beautiful hair we had ever seen on a female head (it turns out that when we arrive in a new town and only have 30 minutes to get ready for dinner, Mick and Damo jump in the shower while Robbie and Maureen spend the time blow drying their hair).
After dinner we meandered back from the Bairro Alto to the hotel, stopping along the way to have a shot of cherry liqueur from a chocolate cup. Known as 'cotiñas' it was delicious. Thanks Delia!
The next day we left Lisbon to head to the coastal town of Lagos, first stopping in the town of Evora to explore this quaint town, see the Roman ruins of the Temple of Diana, and visit the grisly Chapel of Bones. It was a hot day and after wandering the narrow streets we settled down to a lunch of pork scallopine served with rice, potatoes and the obligatory fried egg (it seems a meal isn't complete in Portugal unless it is topped with this additional ingredient).
We arrived in Lagos and headed to the hotel, only 3 mins walk from the bus stop. Our room overlooked the bus stop, but luckily wasn't noisy. The group explored the nearby old town and split for dinner as some people wanted seafood, and others tapas. Mick was keen for a steak, so we went to a restaurant called Henrique along with Americans Arielle, Anthony and David. We all had nice meals if a little pricey, before heading back to the hotel bar for a nightcap.
During the night Mick got sick from the delicious steak and unfortunately didn't get a lot of sleep. He did however get well acquainted with the bidet.
The next morning the group went for a hike along the Algarve coastline. The word 'hike' had instilled a little fear into us, but luckily the walk was not very challenging. We started by visiting the local fish and fruit market to get supplies for the trek. The fish market had an amazing variety of fish that we had never seen before including the 'pespada' or scabbard fish, a thin silvery critter almost 2 metres long. These specimens were mostly rolled up, but when extended were quite impressive.
What was less impressive however, was the smell of the markets and Mick, an avid fish hater, didn't find the experience pleasurable at all. Thankfully we shortly moved on and began the hike proper.
The views of the rocky coast were fantastic and we were all soon snapping away with our cameras. At the end of the trek some people split to go to the lighthouse, while some headed back the hotel. We descended with a few others to some of the small beaches below to have a swim. It was quite a hot day but we were surprised (read shocked) at the temperature of the water. It was freezing! The Atlantic numbed us down but it was a relief from the inescapable heat. We stopped off at a number of beaches on the way back to the old town.
We found a little tapas place and sat down to a meal of caprese salad, cheese with honey and almonds, piri piri chicken, and some amazing lamb. Unfortunately the meal didn't agree with Mick who had to be reacquainted with Bob the Bidet, and then have a siesta when we got back to the hotel. Damo joined some of the group on the hotel roof terrace, drinking wine by the pool. Mick was very jealous, but Damo did get sunburnt feet which took some of the shine off the afternoon.
We had another group dinner that night, but Mick was still sick, so he stayed at the hotel eating bread while Damo had tapas. After dinner some of us went to a bar to have the most amazing mojitos, dubbed the 'mojito bandido' by their discoverers Oendrilla and Ash. The bartender took a great amount of care creating these perfect drinks, and each one came out with a red napkin around the glass much like a bandana - hence 'mojito bandido'. Again, Mick was jealous.
The following day we went for a boat trip to see the coast from the water, with the Canadians, and the Kiwis. We went on the first morning trip which meant that we didn't have too many other boats out on the water with us.
As we sailed around we visited grottoes, caves and pinnacles and we were reminded of the caves of Kleftiko in Greece. After a pleasant hour and a half on the water we made our way back to the hotel to checkout and head to the bus stop for a long ride over the border to Seville. The scenery as we passed stunning, and in some areas reminded us of home (we even saw a bush fire and water bombing helicopter).
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