Portugal Day Seven: Sunrise Kayak and Lagos Food Tour

Our third day in Lagos and seventh day overall started with an extremely early morning. Our big activity was a sunrise kayak tour, so we had a lot to do before sunrise! Amy got up at about 4:45 a.m. and started making breakfast. The kids and I woke up at 5 a.m. Both kids understood that the timeline was such that we couldn’t mess around too much and got moving without a fuss.

Our Uber picked us up at 5:55 so we could get to Lagoa at about 6:30 and hit the ocean at 7. In retrospect, given our activities with two day trips to the Lagoa area, it might have made more sense to stay in Lagoa and then maybe make a day trip to Lagos. But, live and learn.

The tour was about two hours. Our guide, Caio had a background in geology, spoke about five languages, and was really friendly. We used two-person ocean kayaks, Harper & I in one and Amy & Cole in the other.

The main destination was Benagil Cave (not technically a cave because it is open at the top, but I forget what Caio told us it was called). It is a beautiful rock formation with an open ceiling and an entrance from the ocean onto a beach within the cave. Environmentally, the amount of tourism it gets is not sustainable.

When we were there in the morning, with just a few kayaks, the impact was fairly minimal and it was a great time to enjoy the site. But, when we had been hiking the day before, we were able to see the area from the cliffs above. The crowds of pontoons and jet skis and what have you were overwhelming. Technically I think tours are supposed to have permits but that rule is either ignored or they are getting as close as they can without violating the letter of the law.

But the morning set up was great. We basically had the place all to ourselves. To make landfall in the cave, Caio had us come in one kayak at a time so he could help us out. Harper and I got to the beach without incident. Amy and Cole came in hot with a wave at their back, running over Caio and dumping the kayak. They got wet, but nobody got hurt, and none of the gear was lost. So it ended up just being a funny little incident.

After about 20 minutes in the cave, we headed out and explored some other caves and rock formations in the area. After we got back, climbed up to the parking lot, stowed the gear and whatnot, it was breakfast time. Rather than getting an Uber right away, Caio took us into Lagoa in the cargo van and dropped us off at a breakfast place he recommended. Once again, a Waffle House would have been just the thing for my dumb American palate, but the place had artisanal toast and whatnot.

After we got back to Lagos and the Airbnb, I caught a nap. The rest of the family went out for supplies. Remembering how well it hit the spot during our boat tour in Lisbon, they brought back Bugles! I was so happy. After quite a bit of downtime – early mornings create a lot of extra time in the day – we went on a food tour in Lagos.

Our tour guide was Juan. He’d been doing this for about five years and said that he’d been doing lunch and dinner 6x per week. He made a lot of jokes about his wife. In our group were two groups of Canadians – one with four teachers from Ottawa and one group of four from Toronto. The teachers were just having the best time. It very much felt like they were taking advantage of being away from the responsibilities of home to cut loose.

The group from Toronto was a pair of friends and their two daughters. Very Kate & Allie! Apparently they figure out where Pearl Jam will be performing out of the country and make a destination of it every year. This time, it was Lisbon. Rounding out our group was David from Bristol, England.

Our first stop was Matobiche where we had fish soup, green wine, chorizo, and octopus salad. The fish soup was so good!

Our next stop was Cervejaria Ferradura, a small bar with a giant, horseshoe shaped bar top dominating the room (“ferradura” means “horseshoe.”) It was run by, as Juan put it, “the grumpy lady.” One member of our group got in trouble with “the grumpy lady” for using too many napkins. It was hot in there, but of all the places, probably my favorite ambiance. Here we had Sagres, razor clams, and bifanhas. (Best bifanhas yet, with mustard and hot sauce.) While we were there, a group of on duty cops came and had some beers. At the end of the meal, we capped it off with a shot of “moonshine.” It was supposedly 120 proof and tasted like vodka.

 

Our third stop was the “Imperio” which, I thought, was a little touristy. But, what are you going to do? Lagos is a tourist town. To eat, we had green beans tempura. They were good. Juan told us these were influenced by the Portuguese / Japanese connection during Portugal’s imperial period in the 16^th century. I always take these tidbits with a grain of salt, but it seems plausible anyway. Those were paired with white wine.

At the end of the day, if you ply the people on the food tours with enough booze, we’ll probably end up happy no matter what the food is like. We were all getting pretty full at this point, and our last stop was for dessert at a place where I neglected to take note of the name. (Possibly the alcohol contributed to this oversight!) Dessert was an almond tart, I believe.

As we were walking through Lagos during the food tour, the kids and I started joking about the “ATM Cash Zone” in Mountain Dew commercial tones – “EXTREME CASH!” Laughing about how it would be funny if the ATM just releases your savings at high velocity and you had to capture it before it blew away.

It was a good day. We capped it off with yet more Cobra Kai and then bed.
The full series:

• • Day One: Travel to Lisbon
  • Day Two: Lisbon Street Art and Sunset Sail
  • Day Three: National Tile Museum, Tropical Botanical Garden, and Food & Fado Tour
  • Day Four: Travel to Lagos
  • Day Five: Catamaran from Lagos
  • Day Six: Seven Hanging Gardens Trail & Caso Do Prego
  • Day Seven: Sunrise Kayak and Lagos Food Tour (You are here.)
  • Day Eight: Back to Lisbon and Return Home