Pieces of Portugal – Part 13- Lagos

Lagos is a very beautiful, old coastal town in the middle of the Algarve region. We took yet another morning tour, this time with Arturo. He gave us the history of the town as we walked up and down the narrow, Medieval streets. We met Arturo outside the walls of the old castle. I know, right?! Another castle in Portugal. 🙂

Arturo grew up in Lagos and still lives there today. So this was his personal history too. It was fascinating.

The only parts that remain of this castle are the outside walls. The old city of Lagos is behind these walls.

Lagos is an old fishermen’s town. Originally, most of the inhabitants were connected to the fishing industry. Not so much any more though. It is becoming gentrified and is now place for a lot of people of all kinds of backgrounds who like to work remotely from home. There are also a lot of B & B’s there too. it is a cute, quaint and charming town wit a rich, diverse history.

These small, tiny houses were some of the original houses, with traditional designs, with the low roofs and the simple designs on top of the buildings.

Once again, the streets were beautifully decorated depicting the lifestyles of the region.

Everything has a story. These door knockers represent the home of a wealthy married couple. There is a knocker for the man and a knocker for the woman. Even the knocks had their own meanings. Often times you could tell who was knocking and the message they were sending by the knocks and codes that were being used.

This is an old water station. The little house contained fresh water for people to drink and to use. It came in very handy during the hot summer months. Today, it is just a beautifully decorated reminder of the past. The gate behind it opens up the world between the old city and the new, modern city.

Arturo said his dad helped construct it in 1932.

These little round windows at the top of the house also indicates a very traditional building style, particularly for the wealthy.

Since graffiti is a big problem all over Portugal, more and more cities and town are encouraging street art through street art festivals to try to clean up the graffiti problem. This is nice. I like it and I like the idea behind it.

But I still prefer the “old” street art. I think it has a lot more personality and character. 🙂

This is one of the oldest churches in Lagos, and like so many other old churches, is still in use today. One of the fun facts Arturo shared with us is that most churches in Portugal have the Saints and other statues outside on the tops of the churches. You can see the spaces for them. But in Lagos, most of the churches do not. When Napoleon and his soldiers invaded the area, they stole a lot of the statues, as well as many other things. So as a way of saying “no more”, the people of Lagos left the statues off the churches when they were rebuilt after the terrible earthquake of 1755.

This building is one of the original buildings that is still owned by the same family in the town square. The green tiles, and the design of the railings are French, back from the Napoleonic days. The family lives above and their store is on the ground level.

Wine anyone? How thirsty are you?

Our tour ended at the old fish market, that is still thriving today.

Storks are all over the place and are protected. They were once endangered, but through Portugal’s protections, they are once again thriving. Portugal hosts the only known white storks in the world that nest on sea cliffs, particularly on the Alentejo and Algarve coasts.

This was only the beginning of our day. We were off galavanting around the area all day. I have lots more coming your way, just not today, not right now. Anticipation my friends, anticipation. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.