Over a year on.. I thought I’d write briefly about my 10 days in the Algarve and Lisbon. It’s just hit Spring here in Australia, but only just, and I’m craving the beach.. (Drafting this post I was in Central West NSW, over 5 hours from the coast). Maybe writing this will be close enough for now.
Flying from Birmingham International to Faro Airport, it was easy to buy tickets and catch public transport (a bus to Faro, then a train) to my hostel in Lagos. After checking in, I immediately set out for the beach, just a 10 minute walk away. I was so happy to have taken my camera; looking down on the beach from atop the weathered, golden, limestone cliffs was like a postcard, or one of those Windows desktop photos… the scenes you dream of. In the height of summer, sand burning the bottom of my feet and my fair skin… the water was icy. So cold that I couldn’t stand it for more than a few minutes at a time. At the beaches in Sydney, the water is cold but once you’re in for a few minutes you get used to it. I guess because there are decent waves, you’re moving about with them and warming your body up. But this Atlantic Ocean….something else.
I spent a lazy week in Lagos, exploring the Ponta da Piedade walking along the coast, wandering through second-hand English language bookshops, cafes, cocktail bars and even the Benagil Caves. To get to Benagil Caves, there was a local bus, and then Uber was the only option (without hiring a car) down to the beach. You can only get into the cave by the sea, so my friend and I hired a paddleboard, but there was such a queue to get in, it wasn’t as tranquil as a lot of photos would lead you to believe. Too popular due to Instagram these days, I guess. There’s nothing to do once you’re in the cave, just marvel at the natural structure – there’s a hole at the top so the sun gets in and after about 20 minutes we were ready to leave and paddle back to the beach.
It’s a beautiful thing to be lying there on the sand, soaking in the sun when someone walks past selling beers from an esky. Thank you very much. That’s livin’ Barry. After much relaxation, it was on to Lisbon. Coffee stop Number 1 featured an old Portuguese man named Philipe, who used to work in the travel industry. He told many stories of Portugal, Europe and the world, and bought us a beer to say welcome!
From Lisbon, a day trip to Sintra was fantastic; and although the line out the front of Pena Palace was almost a deterrent – it was worth it in the end. Built in 1938 by King Ferdinand II, I can’t even describe how outrageous and over the top it was, styles of the Renaissance and the Moors often described as a fairy tale, I found it like an incredible mix between Disney and Salvador Dali. The inside and outside was covered, as was the rest of Lisbon, in colourful ceramic tiles (azulejos). I didn’t make it to Porto unfortunately, but I would have loved to have visited São Bento Station; the tiles covering it’s walls tell the story of Portugal.
We also did a pastel de nata making class through AirBnB experiences – it was really fun! Our pastry chef showed us how to make the pastry from scratch. Those layers of butter are a piece of art in themselves… and although the domestic ovens in our classroom kitchen weren’t equipped to go the full 300°C+ that’s typically required to brown the top so perfectly, our pastel de natas were still pretty damn good. We drank port and coffee with them. Superb!
There sure is nothing like a cold, grey, rainy day to make you miss the summer sun, sipping on espressos and snacking on Portuguese tarts by the beach..For now, I’m lucky to live close by to Sweet Belem and Honeymoon Cafe, in Petersham, Sydney’s own ‘Little Portugal’. Plenty of pastel de natas – yum!
CARMEN TOM 