Two feet in The Algarve
Architecture that awes, serene scenery… and a sinister past – Neil Geraghty visits Lagos
Low season in southern Europe can be hit and miss affair weather wise, but when you’re walking barefoot along a threemile long beach in November with just six other people for company, the feeling of relaxed escapism is hard to beat. I’m visiting Lagos in the Algarve but when I touch down in Faro’s windswept airport a couple of days beforehand, an escape to the sun doesn’t seem such a good idea. I’ve flown into the tail end of an Atlantic storm which is whiplashing Portugal along its southern flank.
Bedraggled palm trees set against leaden skies are not the most welcoming sight when I arrive in Lagos but at least my hotel, the Iberostar Selection Lagos, raises my spirits.
The recently refurbished resort resembles the stern of a luxury cruise ship and the light-flooded interiors are decorated in a palette of muted blues, greys and nautical stripes. Elsewhere, maritime inspired art dotted around the hotel adds a cheerful “life on the ocean wave” feel to the decor.
A bottle of chilled cava awaits me in my spacious suite and after I’ve unpacked I pop open the bottle and steel myself for a blustery aperitif on the balcony.
I needn’t have worried. The storm has blown over to reveal a crimson sunset against a speckled mackerel sky. The view is magnificent. At the end of a bay fringed by a golden beach lies Lagos Old Town, a picturesque jumble of whitewashed houses and Baroque church towers beyond which I can see the famous red cliffs of the Algarve’s rugged south western tip. It’s an enticing view and I can’t wait to get out and explore.
After breakfast I stroll down to Duna Beach, located across a railway track to the rear of the resort. I’m expecting an overdeveloped strip of bars so
I’m pleasantly surprised to find a wide swathe of pristine heathland that has recently been restored as a nature reserve. A six kilometre raised boardwalk meanders through the reserve and has several shelters with information panels that describe the rich flora and fauna of the sand dunes. From the boardwalk, paths lead down to the beach which out of season is an empty expanse of pristine golden sand speckled with cockles and razor shells washed up by the surf.
The friendly receptionists at Iberostar are always happy to arrange excursions and after the walk I hop into a taxi for a wine tasting at Quinta do Francês, a vineyard set in rolling hills outside the ancient fortified town of Silves.
The vineyard is owned by Frenchman
Patrick Agostini and his Portuguese wife Fatima, who have combined their countries’ wine traditions by blending five traditional French and Portuguese grape varieties. The result is a velvety smooth wine with hints of pepper and a lingering chocolate finish, perfect for an al fresco wine tasting on the Quinta’s picturesque tiled patio.
Back in the hotel I head down to the restaurant for dinner. Meals at the resort consist of an extensive buffet and chefs’ stations where two or three chefs are always at hand to rustle up stir fries and barbequed fish. It’s a great place to try local cuisine and at the buffet I help myself to generous portion of coxinhas, delicately spiced chicken pasties that originated in Brazil but have been embraced by the Portuguese.
The next morning I stroll down the beach to Lagos Old Town which in the low season is blissfully free of tourist crowds. The sleepy cobbled streets and picturesque squares belie the fact that Lagos was once an important Portuguese port.
It also has a more sinister history as it was here that the colonial African slave trade started in the 1440s. The site of the slave market, which was the largest in Europe, is now home to a thoughtprovoking
museum that addresses in depth this dark side of Portuguese history.
From the medieval city walls a footpath leads up the hillside and joins another newly constructed boardwalk that stretches several miles towards Ponta de Piedade, a rocky headland topped by a lighthouse built in 1913.
Along the boardwalk several miradors have been constructed which have sweeping views over the cliffs where some of Portugal’s most famous beaches lie tucked away in picturesque coves. In the summer these are packed with day trippers but on this sunny November afternoon they are completely empty. At Praia do Camilo I walk down 250 steps to the beach where the cliffs splinter into arches, caves and offshore stacks. I kick off my shoes and take a paddle in the crystal clear Atlantic where the only company I have is a lone seagull swooping down over the waves.
Attheendofabay fringed by a golden beach lies Lagos Old Town
Easyjet operates year-round flights from Glasgow to Faro. Prices start from £22.99pp ( one-way inc taxes based on two people on the same booking).
Room prices at Iberostar Selection Lagos Algarve start from £95 for a double room. www.iberostar.com/en/ hotels