Jo’s Monday walk : Loving Lagos

It’s not often that I venture to the western end of the Algarve but, when I do, the city of Lagos is a particular favourite of mine. I knew that my daughter loved it too, from a fleeting visit about 10 years ago.  What better excuse did I need for a bit of footloose and fancy free?

The old side of town is a warren of twisting and turning switchback streets, with fleeting glimpses of interest as you whizz around a harepin bend.  Lisa commented that she was glad not to be in the driving seat, but we put our faith in my valiant other half, and eventually we found parking, way up beyond the castle walls.  I had not realised that they were so extensive.  Following our noses led us to an interesting wall or two of graffiti.

Truth be known, these days some of Lagos is a little bit tacky with touristy shops and restaurants- a victim of its own success and having some of the Algarve’s most inviting beaches.  But I can overlook a street or two that resembles Albufeira because this is a very engaging place.  It has history and beautiful churches, and it has character in spades, if you go looking.

Peeping between the narrow streets, the spires of several churches catch the eye.  I knew Santo Antonio by reputation, but was a little disappointed not to be able to share the astounding architecture and elaborately gilded wood with you.  Photographs were forbidden, but I did manage to find a link.  On the main square, Santa Maria was much less elaborate, but still beautiful.

Lagos has a history stretching back over 2000 years.  Originally a Celtic settlement, it was colonised by the Romans (as Lacobriga), valuable to them for its fine harbour.  When the Moors arrived in the 8th century, they added fortifications of castle and walls, and established trading with North Africa.  Henry the Navigator made Lagos the centre of Portuguese maritime explorations in the 15th century, the caravels venturing further and further south along the west coast of Africa, hoping to find a route to India.  In 1434 Gil Eanes succeeded in rounding the cape but sadly, within 10 years, the slave trade was established.  Lagos has the dubious distinction of having Europe’s first slave market.  Prince Henry received one fifth of the selling price of each slave, helping him to fund further expeditions.

With the death of Henry, Lagos continued to receive shipments of goods and slaves but its role was gradually eclipsed by the rising star of Lisbon.  A string of forts was constructed along the coast to defend from pirates and neighbouring Spain.  Among them, Ponta da Bandeira Fort, which sits so picturesquely on the headland.  From 1576 to 1755, Lagos was capital of the Algarve, but the earthquake of 1755 destroyed much of the old town.  Some of the castle walls remain but many of the current buildings date from 17th century.

Knowing my tendency to linger by the sea, I was allowed only the merest glimpse of the fort before being whisked away to lunch.  The lure of white sangria just about did the trick.  Over lunch we discussed ‘where next’ and Lisa made it a mission to find for me the landmark ‘green building’ which appears in many images of Lagos.  We were, of course, permitted to dawdle by the odd shop.  Ingenious use is being made of cork these days- everything from tiny purses to sandals, with jewellery and even clever fans.  Eye catching balustrades and tumbles of flowers were duly noted.

Lisa was following Google maps (isn’t technology a wonderful thing?) in a haphazard sort of way.  There were simply too many distractions.  Crossing Praça Gil Eanes I could see just a snippet of Ribeira Bensafrim, the river that pours out into the ocean.  We climbed gently and found ourselves in a square looking at a very colourful building, which proved to be the living science centre. ( Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos)

A restaurant terrace looked out onto the marina and busy river.  No sign of the desired ‘green building’ but, as we retraced our steps downhill, there it was in all its glory.  How had we missed it?  ‘Azulejos e postais‘- Tiles and postcards, as it is now known, on Praça de Luis Camoes.

Close up the tiles were very beautiful, and the owner was delighted to discuss the restoration of his building.  Mission accomplished, it remained to find our way back uphill to where we left the car.  I hope you loved Lagos too, and enjoyed our ramble together.

I’m back in the UK now, so hopefully ‘normal’ service will resume, but I may be a while catching up.  Thanks so much for your loyalty, and for staying with me.  Once again I have a bumper bundle of walks to share, so do please find time to visit these lovely folk.  And if you’d like to share a walk with me, just follow the logo.  Many thanks!

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Everybody should see this place once in their lifetime, so thanks, Lady Lee :

Santorini

While nobody does spectacular better than Debbie :

Slow and exposed walk along the Thames

Drake treated me to the warm glow of Autumn in a place that I love :

Colorful Autumn

And Elaine took me to her pretty home patch, too :

Early November walk by the canal

While Jill took me to a place that I’ve long wanted to visit :

Come explore Cadiz with me

And Cadyluck Leedy took me to an area that I don’t know at all!

Jo’s Monday Walk : Dinan, France

Liesbet has some spectacular photos, taken between house sits :

Southern Utah’s National Parks

And Violet takes me waterfalling

Inglis Falls

I did think Silly Back Lane an odd place name, but then I looked again.  Cheers, Jude!

Siblyback Lake

But then Woolly made me sad all over again :

Jo’s-Monday-Walk-Wk43_Gibraltar-Bunker

There’s something so distinctive about French windows and shutters.  And about Tobias; style :

Beynac, Part One

Beynac, Part Two

I’m really enjoying  Carol’s ‘close to home’ series, with their wonderful details.  Just look at these trees!

BYO Birdseed

Becky’s cheating a little bit with this one :

Glass, iron and steel at Kew

But on Friday morning I was sitting right here, waiting for the ferry to the Ilha.  Sunny memories :

A short stroll at Quatro Aguas

I have a gazillion photos to sort, including those from Lumiere in Durham last night.  Amazing stuff!  It’s forecast a damp week so it looks like I’ll have time to spare.  Whatever you get up to, I hope it’s a good week for you.  Take care!

 

 

 

103 comments

  2. Lagos has it all. No wonder you and your daughter love it! History, architecture, art, water, boats and a deep blue sky. And, warm weather. Yes, I like it as well! 🙂 Thanks for posting the link to my Utah National Parks experience, Jo! And, welcome back to England.

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  3. Welcome back Jo, I hope you are feeling well rested and ready to blog again? I did miss your posts, so it is lovely to have you back. I loved Lagos when I visited last year. We rented an Airbnb for a week and explored it well. Your photos brought some great memories…the green building is definitely a favourite. Lagos has a lot of history and you covered it well here 😄

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  4. Pingback: Sidford to Sidmouth – Travel with Intent

  7. We loved Lagos too, and your photos of it bring back wonderful memories and are a particularly lovely collection of the visual delights. I just love that last mural of the female form, which reminds me of one of my favorite artists Jim Dine. The clusters of flowers and the beautiful tiles are a winning combo!
    Peta

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    1. Hi Peta! So nice to hear from you, and thanks for the kind words. 🙂 🙂 It has become a bit too commercial in places but it’s no wonder, and you can always avoid them.

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  10. I can’t remember a thing about Lagos although I was there many years ago, and stayed a few days when we were touring. Just trying to remember when it would have been in the seventies so perhaps not surprising the memories have faded. Loved your photographs, and as always, they make me want to visit.

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  12. A lovely place, Jo. I realised long ago that I should visit this part of Europe much more often. But I have you to guide me if I never get there…I love their tiles, and that green house is a true beauty. Thank you for taking us!

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    1. It was a pleasure to have you along, Ann Christine. I know you would be smitten with the beauty of the Algarve. I’m still coming to terms with grey skies, but home is home, and there are friends to catch up with. 🙂 🙂

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      1. Oh my, I’ve already had my full hot water bottle allowance!
        We had those really bad snow episodes in January about 15 years ago – so the worst in 40 years sounds bad! I hope it doesn’t cause problems for outgoing flights 😉

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  15. Lagos looks so picturesque that I’m not surprised Lisa didn’t sound like she wanted to follow Google Maps all the way 😀 Sad to hear about the slave trade in the past, but good to hear the town is in a better place these days, and still with the wonderful architecture. Brilliant photos all round. Great diversity, everyone a winner 🙂

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    2. No cake but I’m meeting my lady friends for coffee in a little while so you never know. 🙂 🙂 It was a woodland walk and there is still quite a bit of Autumn colour about so I could almost say it’s good to be back.

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  18. What an idyllic town, Jo! 😀 I’ve fallen for it from your wonderful photos and description- the balustrades are lovely and I’d love to stand on one…the tumble of flowers so pretty. I’m glad you got to linger a tiny bit by the sea and found the iconic Green Building…the restoration must have been a labour of love! Welcome back to the UK – in perfect time to start the Christmas shopping!

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    1. Oh, don’t, Annika! I’m no shopper 🙂 🙂 I do love the carols (for the first 70 times I hear them) and pretty sparkly things but it soon wears off. I’ll be Algarve dreaming for a while, I fear 😦

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      1. Yes, moved just a few miles down the road, out of the town and towards the countryside. Loads of work to do, shouldn’t really be on here at all!
        Must be a bit of a shock coming back to England after all of that sunshine?

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  20. I’ve been to fearful of the ‘tacky’ element to explore Lagos, what a mistake that was. We’ll be heading that way in the New Year 😀
    And thank you so much for both links, wish we were both sitting waiting for the ferry today!

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    1. It did seem a little more tacky on the ‘main drag’, Becky, but there’s so much else to see. I could live there, I think- and that’s a high accolade when compared with Tavira. Drab and damp this morning but our walk leader has just announced ‘walk’s on’. Oh dear! Damp leaves here I come 🙂 🙂

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      1. Oh dear indeed – I’m avoiding the outside today and instead investigating new tea shops and art galleries
        But that’s a fabulous recommendation – we’ll head there within days of our return 😀

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