Winter Day Trips from Praia da Luz/Lagos

To be totally honest, December is mid-winter here in the Algarve and many activities of interest to teenagers will not be operating.

However, some ideas (Most of these will require a car):

1) History:

The extreme south-west of the Algarve region of Portugal/Iberian Peninsula was critical to the Portuguese Voyages of discovery that opened up the route around the Cape for Europeans. You should visit the Fort at Sagres built by Prince Henry the Navigator as well as the lighthouse at nearby Cape St. Vincent, the most South Westerly point in Europe.

In Praia da Luz, itself, there are still some small ruins visible of a villa dating back to Roman Times.

8km from Praia da Luz is the town of Lagos where I live. In my opinion it is one of the few towns in the Algarve that retains its Portuguese ambiance and has not yet been taken over totally by tourism, It is a historic city. Recent archaeological findings suggest the the town was settled by the Phoenicians.

See the following entry in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos,_Portugal

Another historic place to visit is Silves, which was a key center during the period of Moorsih rule.

See the following entry in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silves

2) Geographic

1) Explore the beaches up the West Coast of the Algarve between Vila de Bispo/Sagres and Aljezur. A spectacular coastline with hidden beaches and many that are world-renowned surfing beaches.

2) Visit Monchique mountain, the town of Monchique and Caldas de Monchique. This dominates the region geographically and there are great views.

3) Entertainment

For something different and if they are open...(their site is not very clear.) Zoomarine about 40kms from Luz maybe worth a visit, They offer interactive sessions with Dolphins.

See: http://www.zoomarine.pt

If you want to go further afield, Tavira, Castro Marim and Alcoutim in the East Algarve, about 75-120 minutes drive from Luz may be worth visiting from a historic point of view.

Seville to Granada and return by bus.

I really wouldn't do Seville to Granada return in a day by bus.

The buses are generally fine, but the heat (except late Oct to March) and 3 hrs each way would do it for me. Also there are other things to see in Granada such as the Cathedral with the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella and the Manuel Lorca Museum.

From memory, Granada bus station is a ways from the Alhambra, which in itself is a 400m stiff climb up from the old centre.

Furthermore, if you go at a busy time of year, you should book tickets in advance and you are allotted a time when you can go in.

You should check this out more on the Granada forum.

You can see the relevant page on the Granada City official tourism website here.

http://www.granadatur.com/en/city-guide/monuments/alhambra/how-to-get-tickets/

Weather in September in Lagos & Marina Park

The Marina Park, Lagos website has a page here with distances and a map:

http://www.marinapark.net/eng/localization.htm

Be aware the times quoted are based on having a car.

The is a fairly steep hill up from the Marina Roundabout to the Marina Park.

Most Restaurants and bars should be still open in tehh first week of September.

Weather Underground showing a long range forecast for cooler weather for Lagos next week:

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Lagos,%20Portugal&wuSelect=WEATHER

Average Mean max. daytime temp. for Lagos for 1st week of September is 24 °C. (Source: Weather Underground.)

Lisbon Oriente - Evora - Train

The following is the current timetable for trains from Lisbon Gare Oriente Station to Evora.(Click to enlarge!)



Portuguese Railways web site: http://www.cp.pt

Lagos - Pharmacies / Chemists

The following is a list of pharmacies/chemists in the town of Lagos, Algarve, Portugal (August 2009):

Farmácia Silva
Rua 25 de Abril, 9
8600-763 Lagos (São Sebastião)
Tel. 282762859

Farmácia Neves
Rua da Porta Pequena, 3
8600-727 Lagos (São Sebastião)
Tel. 282769966

Farmácia A Lacobrigense
Rua Prof. Joaquim Alberto Taquim, 8
8600-760 Lagos (São Sebastião)
Tel. 282762901

Farmácia Telo
Rua Henrique Correia da Silva, 1 - 3
8600-597 Lagos (Santa Maria)
Tel. 282760556

Farmácia Ribeiro Lopes
Rua Garrett, 22
8600-740 Lagos (São Sebastião)
Tel. 282762830

The following is a link to the list of duty pharmacies on the website of the Camara Municipal de Lagos:

http://www.cm-lagos.pt/portal_autarquico/lagos/v_pt-PT/farmacias_servico/

Porto - Cabo Verde - Ryanair

An interesting article about development of low-cost airlines serving Portugal here:

http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2009/08/24/low-cost-carrier-revolution-transforms-portugal/page1


Off particular interest is the following quote:

"One interesting development is that Ryanair is known to have sounded out the potential for operating from Porto to Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), the West African island nation that was a Portuguese dependency until the mid-1970s and which has become very popular with European tourists during the last five years."

Given Ryanair's increase in operations to the Canaries Islands this would make sense as Cape Verde is only a further 60 minutes flight and has much more potential for growth than the Canaries.

My thanks as always to Sergio Bastos at http://www.lowcostportugal.net for this information.

Boarding Point for Portimão to Canaries

The Navera Armas vessel docks at the Porto Comercial de Portimão. There is no street address.

Google Maps reference here (Marker J):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Porto,&sll=37.130829,-8.536377&sspn=0.030588,0.077162&ie=UTF8&radius=2.13&rq=1&ev=p&ll=37.135756,-8.536291&spn=0.030586,0.077162&t=h&z=14&iwloc=J

You may have to zoom in to see the exact spot (Marker J).

Airport transfer from Lisbon to Evora.

Lisbon to Evora is 132km.

Transfer companies have to send a driver to Evora with the pax and usually run back empty.(2hr40mins not 1hr10mins)

To do the run in the time stated they have to use Toll Motorways which add to the cost.

The price of fuel is climbing again. 95 is now approaching €1.35 here in Portugal.

Unfortunately, prices are what they are!

There are no direct buses to Evora from Lisbon Airport.

Your best bet would be to:

1) Take the Aeroshuttle a/k/a Route No. 96 Carris Bus from the Lisbon Airport Arrivals Concourse to the Sete Rios bus station. (Every 20 minutes or so.)

2) Then take a Rede Expressos bus from there to Evora. There are in the order of 15+ buses a day to Evora with a transit time of +. 1hr 45min.

Timetable here: http://www.rede-expressos.pt

Earthquakes in Portugal - Comments

Usually, quakes have to be over 5 on the Richter scale to really be noticeable. I was in Estoril in 1969 when the last big earthquake hit Portugal and that was very noticeable at 7,9 on the Richter scale. Our poor new little Portuguese Podengo puppy, (fox terrier size), got the blame from my father, who woke up thinking the puppy was shaking the bed.

Luckily, the epicenter was deep down in the earth's mantle, so although there was a lot of superficial damage and unfortunately, a few deaths, it was nothing like the 1755 quake.

The following page from the Portuguese Met. Institute shows how frequent small tremors are, particularly in the Southern half of Portugal. However, most are of low impact so we don't feel them.

http://www.meteo.pt/pt/sismologia/actividade/

Seismic activity is high in this region because the southern part of Portugal lies just to the North of the boundary between the Eurasian Tectonic Plate and the African Tectonic Plate.

As regards according blame for last week's cliff face collapses near Albufeira, I don't think anyone can be blamed except people who ignore warnings. Apparently, according to press reports, Albufeira Camara had sealed the area with red "Police Type" tape and warning signs making it clear the area was dangerous. Unfortunately, if that was the case, and people ignored the warnings, you can't blame anyone except themselves.

The coastline worldwide is a dynamic feature and needs to be treated with respect. Cliffs collapse with or without earthquakes, tides rise quickly in areas such as the Bristol Channel and off Newfoundland and people get cut off.

Scooter Rentals - Lagos

There are at least two:

Luis

Sidecar 32

Side Car 32 - Motociclos de Aluguer, Lda.

R. St Casa Misericórdia

8600-621 LAGOS

email: filipe_bolota@hotmail.com

Tel: 282798383

He usually has scooters available at Luzcar just behind the Repsol Service Station on the Avenida.

Motorent

Lagos

Rua Victor Costa Silva

Ed. Vasco da Gama

Loja 8/B

8600-764 Lagos

Just behind Adega da Marina

(+351)282769716