Oh.My.God. That’s all I have to say. When most college students think of going on a girl’s trip they think of Paris, Greece, or even Prague. Don’t get me wrong, all those places sound amazing, but I wanted a different kind of trip. My friend Emmy and I scoured the worldwide web and found Lagos, a small town in the Algarve region of Portugal. Without even second guessing it, we booked our flights and started to plan (or lack there of) our adventure!!!
We (Kyleigh, Emmy, and I) arrived late Thursday night and planned to spend the next two days at the beach. We woke up Friday and went to the Marina de Lagos for our scheduled boat tour, only to find out upon arrival that it was cancelled due to rough seas. So, instead, we headed over to the little town and just wandered until we got hungry.
After we ate lunch we headed over to Praia do Camilo: a tiny beach at the bottom of 78976 million stairs surrounded by cliffs. On our way down the stairs we were like "lol how in the world are we going to get back up?!?!!"
Trying not to think about the stairs of doom we would have to take on our way home, we searched for a spot on the teeny-tiny beach. There was a small path through a cave that led to an even smaller beach, and when I say small, I really mean it. Butttt lucky for us there was absolutely no one on what we now call "our beach." Being with some of my best friends on this "private beach" just singing and dancing to our favorite songs will forever be one of my most cherished memories.
Saturday we went back to the Marina for our rescheduled boat tour. The tour took us all along the cliffy coast, through bright blue grottos and into hidden caves. I honestly didn't even know places like that existed. After our tour we walked through the town again and headed to an ancient Roman ruin beach we saw from our boat tour. We were so stoked and thought we were the smartest people to find this little hidden beach! Our taxi took us down this longggg road and dropped us off at the beach only for us to look down the cliff and see NO BEACH. The tide had come in and completely took over the beach :/ We stood there for a good 10 minutes not wanting to accept defeat, but eventually dragged all our stuff to the next closest beach, Praia Dona Ana. This beach was much bigger and crowded, but we were able to find a spot to lay out towels. Now, let me tell you a secret. I'm deathly afraid of swimming in the ocean. I'll go into my hips and that's about it. Don't ask why cause I don't even know. When Kyleigh said she found another empty beach around a cliff that was only accesibly by swimming, I pushed my fear to the side, closed my eyes and SOMEHOW made it to the beach. Sure, I was screaming "I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK IM GONNA DIE" the entire duration of the swim, but I made it. Like the 12 year olds we are, we built sand castles and decorated them with shells. Emmy's Spongebob pineapple house was scarily accurate (@Emmy who are you.) The swim back to the main beach was a lot less scary than the way there. I like to think it's because I conquered my fear, but really the tide just went out.
Our AirBnB host left us paddles that we played with on the beach. Emmy named the game "Paddle Paddle" and we sucked. If Paddle Paddle ever became an Olympic sport we would come in dead last. From 300+ people on the beach when we got there, we were the last ones to leave when the sun set.
On our last day we planned to explore Lagos a bit more, but ended up taking an Uber to Faros (the airport town) and waste time until our flight. I had the beginning symptoms of the flu and couldn't even think of doing anything except sitting and sleeping, so Sunday was a bit rough. We got dropped off on the towns isthmus filled with beach resorts and restaurants; it reminded us a bit of the Jersey Shore...but the good parts. Our Uber recommended a good local beach restaurant and we plunked ourselves there for 5 hours until we finally went to the airport and flew home.
All in all, even though short, this was one of my favourite trips I've every taken. The mix of relaxation and exploration as well as the spontaneity and mystery of the destination, made for an amazing trip. If you ever have the chance to visit Lagos you should take the opportunity and grab it.
-C.
