*Except Days 70 and 71 in Gibraltar from the previous post
November 25, 2025
Last year when we announced to our large family our proposed 100 Days in Europe, we invited and encouraged all of our friends and family to find a way to join us at some point. We were amazed and flattered that we had so many takers on our offer. The biggest surprise was getting our Humboldt family to join us. They chose Portugal and here we are.
A little over a week ago the Humboldt contingent arrived after “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” delivered them in Lagos where we had arrived only a few hours earlier. After almost 24 hours of continuous travel, they were bedraggled, in need of showers, and a bed, but the lure of discussing the “adventures” of the “planes, trains, and automobiles, and catching up face-to-face for the first time in more than two months kept us gabbing until the US travelers melted into their beds.
Exploring around Lagos was at the top of everyone’s list, so we headed towards Praia Luz, a beach less than two kilometers down from our house. It was one of the 300 days a year that Portugal is known for…sunny, pleasantly warm, with a gentle breeze, and small restaurants lining the beach with inviting umbrellas and great smelling food.
With a crowd of thirteen, finding seating together, without prior reservations, should be a problem. But as we have discovered, outdoor seating, which we generally prefer, is very conducive to a little creative movement of tables and chairs. Although we often split up, we are always pleased when our crowd is able to sit together in the warm Portugal sun, try to pick out a few Portuguese phrases from the wait staff or fellow diners, share our meals family style…as we are, indeed, a family.
Scenes from our first day in Lagos. Shopping along the beach shops was a favorite.
Although we are all family, either by blood or marriage, we can split into three subgroups. The Hills: that’s me, my husband Nick, and my nephew, Skylar…not a Hill, but now that I am a Hill, he has Hill rights. Our largest subgroup is the Murphys: Nick’s daughter Ellen, her husband Ryan, their daughter Sofia (20) and her boyfriend Gage (20) both at College of the Redwoods in Humboldt County, and their son Ethan (17) and his girlfriend Emelia (16), both seniors at Eureka High School. And our youngest contingency is the Douglas family: Nick’s daughter Mary, her husband David, their son Rohnan (13), and their daughter Lena (9).
So, we are diverse, with an age span of 64 years and a similarly diverse idea of where to go and what to do. In our week so far, it has been seamless as we negotiate group activities or just as easily split into splinter groups and head towards exploring, or tasting, or shopping.
Our strongest common interest is food. We are all foodies of the first order. Early in the planning process for this trip, we started a Google spreadsheet where we could all add ideas of what we want to do and see in Portugal. The very first thing on the list was food: pastel de nata, a pastry shell filled with a rich sweetened custard which is purported to be divine. It lives up to the hype. We are on a mission to find the ultimate pastel de nata. Several, so far, are in contention.
The beaches around Lagos are framed by stunning limestone and sandstone cliffs of many colors, pockmarked with small and large holes holding fossils and rocks. Our first day on the beach at Luz, I couldn’t keep my camera lens from the striations of colors reminding me of the painted desert of Arizona and the layers of the Grand Canyon. The long, reddish sandy beaches were lapped by a gentle, deep blue Atlantic Ocean, far more pacific than our Pacific.
Our most adventurous communicator is Gage, Sophia’s boyfriend, who has consistently initiated conversations with Portuguese waiters and shop staff. For a 20-year-old young man who spent his childhood in the shelter of Shelter Cove in Humboldt County, and is generally a soft, and gentle soul, he shows amazing bravery and is well-received by the locals.
Eating eats up a good deal of our day in either planning where to eat, what to eat, where to shop, who will shop, who will cook, and how we will get our next meal. It is the perfect vacation chore.
A close second to eating is cleaning…that comes in many forms. There is the obvious clean up from making and eating a meal that takes person-power to make happen. Then on the personal hygiene side, there are thirteen showers which requires not only a lot of hot water, but many towels, and creative scheduling. But add towels to the daily laundering of clothes and no functioning dryer, and there are clothes covering most surfaces both in and outdoors.
The most valuable commodity on this trip, so far, is hot water. Although the pool was nicely heated for our arrival, it wasn’t the answer to showers and laundry. But we are resilient and have allowed our obsession with trying all foods Portuguese distract us from the hot water blues.
On one of our first days, we took a “free” walking tour of Lagos. Nick and I swear by these tours which are not “free” but rather pay as you see fit. Our guide, Brodie, was Australian who had landed in Lagos twenty or so years ago, and stayed. In his young 50s, he is clearly a nomad who has stayed close to beaches all his life. He did his homework and informed us of some basic history of Portugal and specifically of Lagos. It was hard to hear that Lagos, as a port, was part of the slave trade and had a town square where slaves were auctioned off. It is the history we cringe from, but need to know.
After the tour, we walked along the beach at the foot of Lagos which is the start of the spectacular rock formations of the Costa D’Oriro, the Gold Coast. For me, it was like going home to Three Arch Bay with the water playing in and out of rock formations. However, these rocks were far more colorful and a little wilder.
The Douglas family splintered off for a speed boat ride along the coast. Yet another perfect day of blue skies and ocean, the optimal setting for the playful dolphins that rode the wake of their boat. Their sh*t-eating grins as they came in the door was the ultimate testament of the experience.
The mountain town of Monchique attracted the Murphy clan’s attention and they headed off in an Uber to explore the town about an hour away from Lagos. Much like Thiers and Gibraltar, Monchique is a vertical town with plenty of small shops filled with pottery, honey, and small cafés. Once again, the sh*t-eating grins defined their experience.
Nick, Skylar, and I took a couple of splinter trips. Curious about Faro, the second largest city in Portugal and about an hour east of Lagos, we chose one of our few gray days to explore the city. As usual, we headed to the old town where we could explore the old churches, see the architecture, and hobble around on the cobblestone streets.
As we passed a poster announcing a Fado concert, I lamented that we hadn’t even heard the Portuguese music yet. Looking at the times on the poster, I assumed we were too early or too late. However, there was a concert starting in three minutes and we were standing outside the venue. Once again, we lucked out! It was not a concert so much as a half hour presentation of Fado music and its origins. The 12-string round guitar was expertly played by our presenter who’s “day job” is a marine biologist.
Wandering through the old town that had heavy Moorish influences, we were also enthralled with graffiti. Most of it, I considered “art” and I appreciated how the artists had made their statements.
On our way back from Faro, we decided to take the longer road back through neighboring Albufeira, a smaller, more compact version of Lagos. We didn’t stop, but enjoyed the vibe.
We (the Hill clan) also did our own boat tour of the Ponta da Piedade, Point of Mercy, and the magnificent colorful limestone/sandstone cliffs sculpted by the wind and the ocean over the millennia.
Our one hour boat ride on the stunningly photogenic Ponta da Piedade.
Grottos, arches, towers, windows, and every shape that you can imagine, particularly if you let your creativity loose, something our guide had done, “See the elephant? That’s the trunk…” “See the tiny head and big body? Like a certain president?” “See the Titanic with its iceberg?” “See the…” He had most formations named, eliciting giggles from us all. Like all of our other family groups, the three of us came back to our Airbnb with sh*t-eating grins on our faces.
As our nine days in Lagos came to a close, it was time to gather belongings, tidy up the Airbnb, and figure out the scheduling for the ride back to Lisbon. Originally, Nick, Skylar, and I were going to drive to Lisbon while the Humboldt clan took the train. However, in hearing the stories of navigating “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” to get to Lagos, it was decided that another car, just for luggage would be rented which Ryan would drive. And to ensure that all of the luggage would fit, Nick and I would take the train with the others, and Skylar would drive our vehicle to allow more luggage space.
Aside from the Uber driver (not his error) taking us to the wrong destination at 7:30 am as we worried whether we would make the 7:45 am train; and Skylar’s navigation system futzing out on him just as he was about to hit Lisbon; and the fact that we had eleven folks to navigate from the train to the crowded Lisbon metro system including figuring out the ticket system; and arriving at the Airbnb with a very hungry crew (including teenagers) who had skipped breakfast to make the train and it was now 2:30 pm; and that Lisbon is filled with tiny streets, including the one where our two drivers, Ryan and Skylar, had to navigate to drop off our luggage; we were thrilled that we had landed safely, with all of our luggage, cars, and drivers.
It is time to start the Lisbon adventure.
©2025 Wendy Platt Hill
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