A Couple Days Travel in Lagos, Portugal

My original plan was to head south to Cadiz, Spain since I was already planning to head even further south from there later in the week but I quickly realized all accommodation was booked up for the days I needed it. So I had two options: travel in Cordoba, Spain or travel in Lagos, Portugal. I came up with these two options based on things I had heard from fellow travelers as well as some research done online about each town, etc. but opted for travel in Lagos, Portugal because I had some friends in Seville going that direction and I knew it would be much cooler than Cordoba which I was told gets almost no wind and can be hotter than Seville in August. So after managing to book a few nights and getting on the bus later that day (after missing the first one by only 2 minutes), I arrived in Lagos about 5 hours later.

Overlook of Lagos Coastline

I think it was worth it. This was the first view I had of the coastline on my first day down from the high cliffs towards the beach and you can tell that, even on a cloudy day, Lagos is a beautiful place to visit.

Hiking down to the beach

We hiked down to the beach in between two cliff faces and spent some time there but it was short lived due to poor weather that first day. And to answer anyone’s question, yes the beaches here are topless and no, I didn’t take any pictures.

View while standing on Beach

Anyone else want a chance for a free T-Shirt?

Other than the beach, bars, and restaurants, there isn’t much ‘sightseeing’ in Lagos as it is meant to be a beach destination with some wild nightlife (at least during tourist season). Perfect example was a friend of mine I met while here. Coined the ‘9 Deadly Sins’, he took the challenge of 9 shots of liquor in less than 5 seconds to get his badge of honor (aka a free T-shirt). Apparently he made it (without dying). I brought 3 T’s from home and decided I was in good supply…. Anyway, in Lagos, it is very typical to start your night here around 12pm to 1am and head home after 6 or 7am much as it is in Spain. The main difference I experienced though was that this town in August is made up almost entirely of tourists. Even many of the folks working here were from other countries.

One of many caves along the beach

Since I needed to head towards the southernmost point of Spain by the start of the week, I only booked 3 nights in Lagos. Probably a good idea too because I could use some rest from all the nights out. And seeing as how I had to take a 5 hour bus ride back to Seville in order to take a 3 ½ bus ride to the south of Spain, I knew I had to catch the first bus out of Lagos which unfortunately was at 6:15am. Well, my iPod (being my only alarm clock) was set to wake me up at 5:30, which I thought it had done. I quickly went down to the reception area to check out and return my keys for my deposit only to find my receptionist sleeping on the floor. Yes, you read that right… sprawled out right on the floor. At first I tried to gently wake him by calling to him and kicking his foot. Nothing. Literally after 5 full minutes you would have witnessed me pulling his leg up two feet off the ground, shaking it violently and yelling at him to wake up.

Street Nightlife in Lagos

Apparently that is what it took! I couldn’t leave without checking out. He actually thanked me graciously for waking him as he said he hadn’t slept in days and probably knew it wasn’t best to be sleeping on the job. Before calling me a cab he insisted we drink some coffee first. I told him I didn’t have time as I needed to make it to the station within 30 minutes. He asked what time my bus was departing which I told him 6:15. He looked at his watch and told me it was 4:25 in the morning. Time to ditch the iPod alarm…. We hung out for an hour more; he showed the stone sculptures he works on in his spare time (which were amazing), some Free Diving videos on You Tube and shortly after became FB friends. Talk about a crazy morning…