After staying in the hustle and bustle environment of Lisbon, we made our trek to the popular beach town of Lagos. The time we booked our trip (my friend Jess and I), we were unable to find a sole form of transportation that headed directly to Lagos. We ended up taking three separate trains to make it to our destination. I was not looking forward to hauling our huge suitcases stuffed with belongings for the next 3 and 1/2 months on one on train let alone three separate trains. Somehow we did it, only with a few bumps in the road (missing our first Uber and people sitting in our assigned seats on the train), but nonetheless, in the end we were greeted by the warmth and beauty of Lagos.

This photo diary took me a bit longer to post due to me being way busier with school than expected and unfortunately getting sick recently, but it is finally here! Below you can find some of my go-to beach spots, recommended places to eat, along with some gorgeous views of what Lagos has to offer (a lot!) Read on for more. :)

All I can say about this place is.. WOW. We really had no idea how beautiful Lagos was going to be in person and it turned out to be an absolute dream. We were pleasantly surprised by how close our Airbnb actually was to the main coast of beaches. After about a 15 minute walk, we made it to the first beach and lookout point. It looked as if the ocean went on forever with extra clear, blue water. Close by and in the distance, you could see all of the incredible rock formations. It certainly was not like anything I had ever seen before. Looking down, the beaches were lively with people swimming, kayaking, and enjoying the views from their boats. For us, we thought September was a perfect time to go since the beaches weren't super crowded and the weather was still hot enough to lay out in the sun and get some color.

Beach essentials: sunnies, a good hat, and comfortable walking shoes! (Brand - Superga)

We didn't walk too far along the coast on our first day, as we wanted to head down to one of the beaches before it got too late. The one we decided to go to was Praia de Pinhão. Here we found a nice space in the shade to sit and enjoy the sound of the ocean. I collected some shells, while watching some brave cliff jumpers dive into the ocean. I thought I should probably leave that activity to the locals. The water was so cold, but felt amazing after being in the sun all day. We even found some new friends (beach dog and cat) that kept us company!

View from our Airbnb - perfect location!

The moment I was waiting for.. food! It had been a couple of days since we had a proper meal, so we decided to head back to town to find something to eat. Again, we were surprised by how close we were to the quaint, downtown area of Lagos. I was very impressed at the options there were to choose from. Everywhere we went the streets were filled with outside cafes and restaurants. Inspired by our mutual craving for lemonade, we ended up at a restaurant called Meu Limao. I instantly fell in love with this place and the food options on the menu. As you guessed, we order two limonadas and some tapas. We ordered our personal favorites, the bruschetta tomato and the batatas braves (potatoes served with some dipping sauces), along with a very delicious, vegan curry. It definitely was a great end to the day.

Famous snails by artist ROA, 2013 - Outside the restaurant The Garden

When we walked around the night before looking for a place to eat, we happened to walk past some very familiar street art we remembered seeing when researching Lagos. I had no idea that we were staying right down the street from it all. I went back the next morning to take some pictures of some of my favorites. I looked them up and found out that the Lagos street art scene is thriving. An association called LAC in Portugal (Laboratório de Actividades Criativas) organized a project known as ARTURb (Artistas Unidos em Residência) to bring well-known European street artists to Lagos to display and create their work. From this, many artists such as Add Fuel & Samina and ROA have been able to leave their own creative mark. My favorite was the ROA snails, right outside of the popular restaurant The Garden, located right under a beautiful, bright purple tree.

We carried on our day with plans to head back to the beaches. Knowing we would be hungry later in the day, we picked up some sandwiches in town. When we got back to the beaches, each one looked different than it did the day before. It was crazy to see how the time of day affected the tide so much as to change the appearance of each beach drastically. Instead of going down to a beach right away, we walked all the way to the end of the coast in search of one specific beach. After a couple of hours walking around, we gave up finding other cool beaches but the specific one we were looking for. We decided to head down to the popular Praia do Camilo. By this time, the sun was very hot and we were ready to jump in the water. The way down to the beach required a lot of stairs. By the time we got down, the beach was packed and we had trouble finding a good place to sit. When we finally sat down, we ate our sandwiches and went for a swim. The water felt amazing, but unfortunately our stay there was cut short as the tide crept closer to where we were sitting, getting our clothes, shoes, and backpack all wet. Thankfully, nothing was destroyed. Safe to safe Lagos was beautiful but not glamorous 100% of the time..

Here are some more views of our long hike along the coast. This was the one place where you looked down in awe at the various rock formations. This place felt very special to me, as if it was a hidden place not many have seen. It was quiet and serene, where you only heard the ocean splash against the rocks, with exception of a boat passing through every now and then. It was a bit scary as well; one misstep and you could literally become one with the ocean and rock formations-not in a good way.

As you can see from my caption above, Jess and I absolutely loved this restaurant located right down the street from us. It is called the Garden Bar and Grill (right by the ROA snails) and if you are in Lagos, this place is definitely recommended. On the first night, we actually tried eating there, but the restaurant was totally booked for the night. Surprised, we put our names in to eat there the next night and we were very happy with that choice. The ambience is not like any other. It is an open-air bar and restaurant filled with comfortable chairs and cute antiques scattered around, similar to the 'chill' sign photographed above. The food options are great and they have sangria by the pitcher. I mean, what is not to love? I ended up ordering a black bean burger and a delicious piece of chocolate cake for dessert. They even had blankets to hand out for each customer when the night got a bit chilly. We left there satisfied and full.

As I look back on our trip to Portugal, I wouldn't change a thing. It was our first trip by ourselves and we definitely accomplished and learned a lot, especially for not having a clear, thought-out plan most of the time. Traveling in a new country is so uncomfortable and frustrating at times, but so rewarding and fulfilling in the end. A quote I found appropriate in my travel journal states, "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go" - T.S. Elliot. I loved that quote when I read it and thought it fit so well with the sentiments of traveling. As they say in Portugal: obrigado! (thank you!)

x Kara

Lagos, Portugal