ALONG THE COAST FROM LAGOS TO LUZ: DAY 6

The next day we tackled another of the walks from our book. To do this we first took the local bus into the nearby town of Lagos (pronounced Lahgosh). This is the largest town in the Western region of the Algarve. Lagos became the administrative centre of the Algarve until it was very badly damaged in the earthquake of 1755, an earthquake that destroyed much of Southern Portugal. Re-established, it remains a working fishing port and market centre as well as a thriving resort.

The front at Lagos

To prove that at least one of us was actually there

An orange tree and Bird of Paradise flowers

Our first port of call was the local Regional Museum. According to the guide book this features, among other things, busts of the Roman Emperor Galiano, Visigothic stone coffins, jars containing misshapen foetuses(!), models of Algarvian chimneys, stuffed goats and some frightening surgical instruments. On the way out you pass into the Ingreja (Church) of Santo Antonio built in 1715. After I had taken a few photographs I was strongly reminded of the no photograph signs that I had not seen, by a rather severe attendant.

Inside the Igreja de Santo Antonio

Next stop was the local market where fishing was still clearly a dominant activity for the local population. Some fish we could recognize, many were strangers. They came in all shapes and sizes, friendly looking and ferocious.

Sardines and Horse Mackerel

Cuttlefish and Squid

Scabbard fish -these looked as if they were made of aluminium

A nice selection

A colourful abundance of vegetables and fruits

We had lunch, grilled sardines for one and grilled horse mackerel for the other. As the guidebook said, the Portuguese sardine in Portugal is much larger and more succulent than the version we all know from those in the tins we buy. Plenty of bones to challenge the diner.

We then set off to follow the coastline back to Luz. These photographs are fairly typical of the more rugged cliffs that dominate the Western region of the Algarve.

You can get to some grottos if you climb down about a million steps

The beach at Porto de Mos, the largest cove West of Lagos

The town of Luz from the cliffs above