After the hairdryer in face heat of Morocco, we were relieved to be welcomed to Portugal with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20s.
We landed in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal and booked an awesome hotel called the Old Town Hostel.
Our first afternoon we decided to get an overview of the city so we walked to a nearby lookout where we had to blink twice to make sure we were in the right city. Looking towards the harbour, you could be mistaken for thinking you were in San Francisco thanks to their Golden Gate Bridge replica – or we had diverted to Brazil thanks to their own Christ the Redeemer statue (but more on that later)!
We made our way after to The Rua Augusta Arch – a triumphal arch-like stone on the Praça do Comércio (Commercial Square). This arch was built to commemorate the city’s reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake.
The Praça do Comércio is the largest of Lisbon’s mighty plaza and before the great earthquake of 1755, Commercial Square was the seat of power for the Portuguese royalty for around 200 years. In those times it was named Terreiro do Paço (The Palace’s Square).
Day two we joined a free walking tour to learn about the city’s history. We visited the old Jewish and Moorish neighbourhoods, various lookouts, and discovered their version of the Golden Gate Bridge – called the 25 de Abril Bridge (25th of April bridge), was installed by and originally named for their dictator Salazar, but was changed to 25 de Abril Bridge after he was removed from power. (Yes JK Rowling also used his name for the founder of Slytherin house).
The Christ the Redeemer statue was a gift from Brazil to Portugal for not taking part in WWII (on a side note – Brazilians speak Portugese and their first King was Portugese).
That night we visited a local restaurant to watch some Fado – music from the soul.
The next day we hired a scooter and rode along the coastline through Belem, past Cascai and Guincho Beach, before heading inland up to Sintra to see the beautiful and colourful Palace de Pena (Pena Palace) and medieval Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors).
Both sites were unique and nearly a century apart in their creation. The Castle of the Moores was built in the 8th and 9th centuries and was an important strategic point during the Reconquista. After the fall of Lisbon in 1147, the castle was taken by Christian forces.
In a major contrast and only 450 metres further up the hill of Sintra, the Pena Palace is really something else! It’s modern in comparison, colourful, intricate, elaborate and a national monument which constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world.
Day four in Portugal and we hired a car to drive down to Lagos. Lagos is a beautiful beach town in southern Portugal and a popular spot for holiday makers.
When we arrived we made our way to Praia Dona Ana beach for an afternoon of swimming, sunbaking and admiring the surrounding sea cliffs and coves.
Our hostel had a rooftop terrace where we enjoyed a cheap beer, cheese platter and the sunset.
The next day we booked the sea kayaking tour, which we cannot recommend enough. We spent around two hours paddling on the most beautiful blue water through sea caves and crevasses along the Portugal coastline.
We stopped at a secluded beach for a swim and to admire the nearby rock formations and cliffs, before being lazily towed back to the starting point.
After a nice lunch in town, we wandered along the harbour and made our way back to the beach. This time we visited Camilo beach, which was once named in the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world.
It was up there with the sea cliffs, blue water and pebble sand, but being from Australia we can be a little biased – our beaches really do put theirs to shame.
Another beautiful sunset was the perfect end to our Portugal adventures.
Our last day in Portugal we stopped at the lighthouse for one last glimpse of the southern coastline, before driving back to Lisbon for our flight to Valencia.
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