Day 18 Move to the Algarve Region

Weather was beautiful today, sunny and high around 20C.   

We left the Pousada in Alcacer do sal and today is the day to move to the Algarve and the town of Lagos for two weeks.    

Along the drive today, we diverted and went on a side trip to the Troia Peninsula.   It is a stretch of sand bar coastline, about 20mins drive west of Alcacer do sal.   We stopped at the Comporta Beach first.  This is a beautiful beach, mostly deserted when we got there, although what looked like a high school class of young people that were surfing were just packing up their surfboards to leave.   The coastline by Comporta Beach is basically undeveloped, no condos, no hotels, no buildings, a lot of nothing but beach.

The beach stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions, with rolling dune hills protecting the inland side.   

We then drove up the Troia Peninsula, along another amazing looking coastal section with a fitting name of the Coasta de Gale.   

We got to the end of the Troia peninsula, where just before you get to the end there is a golf course (with associated 5 star resort).  At the end of the peninsula there are a lot of villas and several large hotels and a marina.   They all look fancy, but not particularly Portuguese and there is nothing in the way of a town or local businesses.  So kind of stale older resort looking.   You could have dropped these buildings in Whistler or Mount Tremblant and they would probably blend in.   We went to a cafe for a quick sandwich and coffee.   Not many people around.   We looked at the beach that is near the end of the peninsula, very nice.   This was a quick stop.   We did not look at the marina, from where you can get a ferry to the town of Setubal across the bay.  There are also some archaeological roman ruins on the Troia peninsula,  but we did not have time to search them out and visit.   

There are some very high end property developments on the Troia and near Comporta, reportedly for the ultra wealthy, that are under development, supposedly the choice of Madonna, the princesses of Monaco and others.   

Link to article about Comporta area

We had contemplated staying on the Troia Peninsula previously, because it looked so nice and peaceful, but on seeing it, the beauty holds up but other than the golf course and beach there would not be much else to offer, such as in the way of restaurants, etc.   You either eat in your condo, your hotel or drive 20mins back to Comporta.   Comporta might be a reasonable option as somewhere to stay if visiting this area as it has a small town, restaurants, we passed by a winery, and the beautiful beach.   

We then departed this area for Lagos.  We arrived late afternoon to meet our contact for the accomodations we had booked for the next two weeks.   It was in the apartment complex called Adega.  We had booked this apartment through Ideal Homes Portugal, whom we found through watching Youtube videos about Portugal.   The Adega complex opened in 2022, so very new, spanky and fancy.   A bit of a splurge for two weeks.

These two weeks we would slow down our pace, relax more, hoping for better weather, trips to beaches, some town visits, walking around Lagos and getting to know the place.   We had visited Lagos twice before but only as a partial day trip for a few hours each time.  It is a popular seaside Algarve destination.   Popular for some people staying the winter, away from northern climates and for families vacationing in the summer.   This is quickly realized since as soon as we arrived in the town the increased amount of tourists was readily evident.

Below are some pics of our day and then condo and link to video of condo……

Comporta Beach one direction…..



Comporta Beach, the other direction….


View from condo balcony


Living room area, it is open concept living room and kitchen together

Wide angle view of living room kitchen & Living room




An arrival day would not be complete without a trip to the supermarket (about 2min drive or 5min walk from the condo) and supper, at the Pingo Doce (best value, good food, where locals go for lunch), lol





Here is a link to video of the condo ……….


https://youtu.be/6EJuN65xjPU







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