The Algarve

After our last day in Setúbal, which was finished off nicely with fish stew made for us by the American chef staying in the apartment, we headed to the southwestern Algarve to relax for a few days. We took a bus to Lagos and had a standard lunch of bread, cheese, and a variable fruit jam/paste, then walked around to find a hostel. Though there are at least a dozen in the small city, it proved rather difficult to find a hostel in the off season, though the place was swamped with British, German, and American tourists. After settling in, we walked to the beaches; turquoise waters, sandy cliffs topped with vegetation, eroded arches, and huge waves. This is Praia da Batata (Potato Beach):

And the rest are from Praia dos Estudantes (Students Beach):

Though the beaches are stunning, Lagos is, as I mentioned before, painfully touristy. Even though it's the winter season still, the main squares were completely swamped with tourist shops, hotels, restaurants, and signs advertising grotto tours. Also, the cheapest hostel was not that cheap, so we decided to move on. We took a bus to the tiny fishing-village-turned-tourist-town, Salema. It had a beautiful beach that served as a picnic site, then we followed a small path to a stunning cliffside hike above the ocean:

 After about 10 or 15 minutes hiking along the cliff, we came to a beach:

We hiked back, had an amazing dinner, and camped on the main beach in the town. We went to Sagres and Cape Sagres the next day when we realized that there was not much to do in Salema, especially in the winter, and camped again on the beach. Today, sick of the crowds and overly touristy vibe of the Southern Algarve, we headed back to Lisboa before heading to our next farm tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from our hostel window:

And tomorrow we head a little ways north to spend some time away from crowds. Back to WWOOFing for a while!