June 24, 2014 
LAGOS to SAGRES (30km)
Hotel Navigator €40/$54 - One Bedroom Apartment - Ocean side

We packed at our leisure and shortly after noon, we walked the 15 minutes to the bus station. Promptly at 12:45 the half empty bus departed. 

It was a local bus that made thirteen stops along the way. 30 kilometers and an hour later, we rolled into Sagres where we had reserved an "Apart Hotel", Hotel Navigator. Navigator is a bit tattered but turned out to be a perfect choice. We already spotted the 3-story building perched not far from beach access and bluff.

  
June 25 to July 6, 2014 - SAGRES

Sagres is a sparcely populated village 150 feet above the Atlantic with a fort, a fishing port and 1939 official residents. There seems to be a ton of vacation homes. There is a large enough transient population to support a nice size InterMarche supermarket as well as four other smaller markets.
  
From our 2nd level room balcony, we have a view of the Atlantic and the imposing steep cliffs at Ponta de Sagres. The temperature hovers around 19C/66 F and often, a hefty wind blows. We're not complaining, this is heaven. 

We initially had booked only 3 nights with plans to work our way up the coast to other ocean-side towns. We decided to stay a long while in sleepy Sagres instead. 

Our kitchen had small but adequate fridge, a 2-burner stove top, an oven and a microwave. We prepared all our meals (except one) and loved it. Soon, we found a favorite vegetable vendor at the local mercado. 
 
We explored the hiking trails on the bluffs.
 
We hiked the 13 kilometers (round trip) to Cabo de São Vincente, Europe's most southwestern point. At the less-than-helpful Tourist information we had been told that we had to follow the main road, that only locals and fishing men knew the trails. Soon after we left town, we let dirt trails dictate our route. For the better part of our route, we found ourselves following the craggy coastline atop dizzying and spectacular cliffs. At few spots we had little choice but to walk on the road. Tonel Beach and beautiful cove attracts scores of tourists and soon thereafter, we were able to find trails again which afforded us fantastic views over the stunning rugged cliffs of the Algarve. We enjoyed our picnic sandwiches in the shade of Belichi Fort. A wedding was taking place inside. 

We crossed the road and made our way to the cliff-tops on the opposite side of the point. This side appeared void of trails and the surface was rough sharp rocks but vegetation flourished. Seagulls made a noisy spectacle around a nesting area on large detached rock formations in front of the coast here. 
 
 
Concession stands lined the last 200 meter before the lighthouse on Cabo de São Vincente. One had a sign certifying this as the last chance to get bratwurst before reaching the Americas.

The view over the cliffs and coastline from the tip was even more spectacular. We spent an hour or so before heading "home" along the main road. Thanks to the cooling wind, neither Dave or I discovered the nasty sun burn on our calves until we got back. 

Most days, we sat on our balcony and watched the fishing boats return at the end of their day. Yeah, 13 days went by fast.