Lagos

I can´t believe I´m writing this blog post about our last trip. It feels like just yesterday that we were riding the bus to Granada and decided that Lagos was a must do on our travel list, and now it has come and passed. I must say that I have loved every single trip we have taken, but Lagos was special. Not only was Lagos our last trip, but it was the only trip we took (aside from our program excursions) where we had more than 4 people going. A group of 12 of us rented a house for the weekend, and set off on a 6 hour bus ride to one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

After six long hours of what I´m sure the strangers on the bus would describe as horrible, we arrived in Lagos, Portugal. Since none of us spoke Portuguese, we pulled out a trusty map and set off in hopes of actually finding this house we were renting. The walk to the main office alone was enough to make me fall in love with the city. I can´t picture a more perfect little beach town, complete with sailboats and crystal clear blue water. Even more wonderful than those was the 70 degree temperatures, which were more than welcome after the 99 degree heat we had the past week in Sevilla.

We found the main office and followed our housekeeping lady (yes, we didn´t even have to clean for ourselves this weekend) to our house. Walking into our house reminded me of the typical first entrance into a vacation home, where all of the little kids sprint to pick the best bedroom. Even though most of us are 20 or 21, nothing has changed. We reverted back to our roots and all sprinted up the stairs to check out the house. After the housekeeping lady finally calmed us down and said she would give us a tour, we realized we had both a pool and a patio complete with a giant table and outdoor chairs. It was truly heavenly. We quickly dropped our bags and headed to the beach for what was supposed to be the best day weather-wise.

After laying out for awhile, some of us decided to brave the water, and although it was absolutely freezing at first, it was definitely worth it. We swam through the rocks in crystal blue water, and got to see other parts of the beach that you can´t easily walk to. After swimming, it was back to laying in the sun. Most people headed back to the house pretty early, but I am the kind of person who likes to lay on the beach until there is literally no sun left. Luckily, Rachel wanted to stay out for as long as possible to, and by the time we made it back to the house, the rest of our crew was showered and ready to head to the grocery store.




We all chipped in to buy a ton of pasta and chicken, and went home to cook a huge meal for everyone. It was mostly nice to be able to sit out on a patio all together and eat a meal. We don´t get the opportunity often to all hang out in a house setting here, because we aren´t allowed to have friends over to our home stays.

Our fish bowl and huge straws

After dinner and what felt like 12 million dishes, we all got ready to explore the Lagos nightlife. All of our friends who had been to Lagos before said the nightlife was really fun, and we were all excited to go out together. What made it even better was the great location of our house, which literally wasn´t more than 2 minutes from any bar we went to. First we headed to the most famous bar in Lagos, which is famous for offering giant fish bowls that you drink with gigantic straws and split between 7 or 8 people. After heading from bar to bar, I really started to feel like I was back in America. The second bar we went to, called Three Monkeys, is famous for offering beer bongs. Needless to say the night led to some great memories and even better pictures.

The next morning, despite the cloudy skies, some of us headed back to the beach. Even though it started to drizzle, Jess and I decided we would stick it out and hope for the best. Just after everyone else deserted us to go back home and avoid the rain, the sun came back up and we were blessed with a few hours of perfect weather. We packed it up once we couldn´t stand our growling stomachs anymore, and headed into town to find some food. Once again feeling like I was in America, we found a restaurant that had BLTs. I can´t explain how happy I was to see a BLT again, after going almost 5 months without what is possibly one of my favorite foods. Needless to say, I loved Lagos even a little more after this.

We went home and sat out on our patio, where everyone was reading and (pretending to be) studying for our exams that start this week. We had all heard about a place called Nah Nah Bah, that is famous for offering one of the top 50 best burgers in the world, and decided we would go there for dinner. The restaurant did not disappoint, and I can say it is one of the best burgers I have ever had by far. We went back to our house and hung out together in the house all night, which is a luxury we are definitely not used to in Sevilla. A few of us went back to some of the bars, but most of our time was spent avoiding the rain.

The next day was the last day for most of our group, and we all woke up and went to breakfast together at a tiny hole in the wall place that offers breakfast American style, with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and even hashbrowns. I once again felt like I was eating in America, and it was a great way for half of our group to say goodbye to Lagos. After breakfast, 9 of them went to catch their bus back to Sevilla, while Marissa, Maggie, and I stayed behind for an extra day. Once everyone had gone, we hit the beach again for what was definitely the coldest day. I braved the cold anyway and laid out in my bathing suit, hoping to get a little more of a tan. Once we couldn´t take the cold anymore, we went back to the breakfast place (which offers breakfast all day long) because we just couldn´t get enough. After dinner (breakfast?) we headed back to the house and all watched a movie before passing out.

Our new puppy friend!

We woke up to our last day in Lagos and decided to take advantage of what little time we had left by heading back to the beach. The weather was perfect and we were heartbroken to have to head back to the house at noon to pack up and leave. We had even made a new puppy friend on the beach, which made it even harder for me to say goodbye. Reluctantly, we headed back to the house and packed up our bags and headed to the bus station. The 6 hour bus ride back may have started off boring, but it ended up with new British friends who moved to sit next to me after their friend vomited all over their original seats. I spent the last few hours explaining to them that bullocks and bloody hell simply aren´t real words, and they decided that their stereotypical American accent of a drawn out "Howdy" may have been a little unfair. 


All in all, I truly loved Portugal. Maybe it was the American food, which I have seriously missed for the past 5 months. Or maybe it was just being able to spend a weekend all together in a house. Whatever it was, it was a great way to end my European traveling, and I wish that I could sit on that beach forever. Unfortunately its back to reality, and we are starting the only two weeks of the semester where we have had to do school work. Lucky for us, they announced yet another strike yesterday, and classes are cancelled for the rest of the semester. Now if they would only cancel exams too...