Feb.24th Sun- Church was a little long as there was two baptisms. Started at 10:00 and got over at 11:30. But by then the sun was nice and warm just in time for a nice English breakfast in the sun. Back home for a little reading and siesta. Then a nice walk down the beach and a beer for Bill. I made fajitas as they were for dinner. A little walk after dinner in a warm evening. It was 74 today.
Feb. 25th- Mon.What a beautiful morning sunrise. Well the washing machine bandit struck again. Couldn’t get it to start, couldn’t get it to stop. What in the world. You would think two intelligent people could figure something like this out. Push buttons in and push start. Nope, don’t push any buttons in and push start? Got it after much frustration. By the time the load was ready to hang out it was 11:00! Talk about wasting half a day away! Geez. Got that done. Phew! A walk down to the Marina for coffee and apple pie, regular routine after that.
mine is still better tho
Feb. 26th Tues. Road trip day to Silves. This little town is about 40 minutes by bus past a lot of orange groves. We toured an old castle, did the farmer’s market. We stopped for lunch at a place that had chicken over a charcoal BBQ. Well, talk about a meal! Mixed salad, a half a chicken, a plate of fries, cokes, oranges with date cake for dessert. YUM. I bought another table cloth as I like it better than the one I had bought previously and it is larger. I made a new friend while sitting at the park for a spell. His name was Flokey. We were in a tile place and there was a man painting while we were there. I took his picture from the side rear. Then upon leaving I saw a sign that said no photos,photos $10.00. Ooops!
old fort/castle 
ruins 
painting tiles 
door knocker 
gate to old city 
here chick chick
Feb. 27th Wed. Second go with the washer, success. Morning walk for coffee and O.J. Burgers for lunch. Then I went to lay at the beach and read for a while, alone. Nice personal time. I think we are both feeling a little cramped now. No vehicle, no room to get away from each other. You get the drift. Well, only one more week here (actually moving to different residence thurs)then back to Malaga where there is more to do, and Eric and Lori will be joining us for the last three weeks. I believe plans are to rent a car for a couple of days and do a little traveling to Cordoba and Granada. Looking forward to that.
Feb. 28th Thurs Moving day. Next to the last one. We moved just to the other side of town. The new place is amazing! The best place so far. There is a large bedroom that looks out over to the ocean, a bath tub, two day beds in living room for lounging or watching t.v. a table that seats four, and a gas stove and oven!!! Hog heaven. The landlord is very nice and helpful. We got settled in and headed to a new grocery store. I wish we had had this place since we got to Albuferia. The beach is just ten minutes walk down two blocks to the escalator. We have had two days of really high wind and the big waves dropped a bunch of shells on the beach so we went shell picking. The vibe on this side of town is very different from the other side. More people hanging around and out on the side walks and streets. It’s going to be good over here.
Feb. 29th Fri.- Not a good start in the new place. We woke up to no internet and Bill’s phone stopped working. Funny, it’s the first of the month. Bill was very much upset over it all and was in a bad mood until we got at least the internet back up and running which required the landlord (Nelson) to come by and call the company. Then Bill used Nelson’s phone to try to call his carrier in Spain. No use. The guy on the other end of the phone was no help. So, we will have to wait til next week when we are back in Spain to get it all sorted out. This means Bill is left with no google maps and is left to rely on my skills of navigating. This makes him very uncomfortable. Why? I don’t know. So the say was rather strained to say the least.
March 1, 2019 Sat. Bill decided at 8:00 a.m. that we were going to take a road trip today to Lagos. A beautiful little harbor town with some rich history. The bus ride was just over an hour and a half. Not anything different to see along the way that we haven’t already seen.
Lagos is a town in southern Portugal’s Algarve region. It’s known for its walled old town, cliffs and Atlantic beaches. Steep wooden steps lead to the sandy cove of Praia do Camilo. The nearby cliffs of Ponta de Piedade offer sweeping headland views and a lighthouse. Igreja de Santo António, an ornate 18th-century church, sits across from the Castelo dos Governadores, a castle with a baroque facade and watchtowers. Area: 213 km²Population: 31,049 (2011)
We drug the malacon, did the farmer’s market, artisans market, slave market, marina, two churches, the marina, and a fort. And I bought one of the largest churros I have ever seen. With the thickest chocolate ever. Good thing I had all day to walk it off!
HUGE CHURROS….DIGGING IN!
Mercado de Escravos slave market
This unassuming building in Praca do Infante Dom Henrique has a tragic history. This building, (Mercado de Escravos) is widely believed to have been the first slave market in Europe.
In 1444 Prince Henry the Navigator set up a trading post in Arguin Bay, an island off the coast of Mauritania in West Africa. From here, that same year, slaves were shipped over to be sold in Lagos. The original building that stood here was built in that same year. Contemporary accounts tell of the abject misery and trauma witnessed when the first slaves were sold on the site. Families were torn apart and the conditions in which the slaves were kept were appalling.
From 1444 onwards the West African slave trade continued and within 10 years it is believed that around 800 slaves were transported along this route annually.
The building we see here today was substantially re-built in 1691and was used as a customs house. Today a small museum can be found here. The exhibition on the ground floor has some original objects associated with the slave trade and some replicas. More installations are found in an upper room which is accessed by leaving the building and walking a short way down a side road. There are displays of artwork and maps. Information is given via a tablet which is handed out at the museum entrance.
Quite a lot is known about the lives of the slaves who were sold here. Some of the men were sent to work as labourers, galley slaves and fishermen. Women were used as street sellers or sometimes sent into domestic service. It has been estimated that by the 16th century, as many as 10% of the Algarve population were slaves.
Once Prince Henry, whose statue can be seen in the square, died, the focus of the Portuguese slave trade gradually moved from Lagos to Lisbon.
The one church we visited was:
The church of Santo António in Lagos is one of the finest in the whole Algarve. Dating back to 1707, and then re-built after the Great Earthquake of 1755, it stands as a fine example of the Baroque style of architecture. However, what really sets the church apart is that it has one of the most breathtaking interiors of any of Portugal’s many beautiful churches. Such is the quality of this lavish interior that the church is classified as a National Monument.
The church is dedicated to Saint Anthony, who was born in Lisbon and has a special place in the affections of the Portuguese people. A follower of St Francis of Assisi, he was known for his humility, his powerful sermons and his devotion to the sick and poor. Since very soon after his death in Padua in 1231, Portuguese Catholics have asked for his intercession in helping to find lost things, helping newly married couples and helping those looking for a spouse to find one.
Within the church there are six paintings depicting scenes from the life of St Anthony with explanatory signs in English as well as Portuguese. The church has a single aisle, a vaulted ceiling and two bell towers of differing heights which stand out as a city landmark. The lower walls are decorated with traditional blue and white azulejo tiles. Above the tilework, the church interior is almost entirely covered in intricately carved gold-plated woodwork, thought to be the work of Custodio Mesquita. Everywhere you look there seems to be shimmering gold. One cannot help wondering what Saint Anthony himself would have made of all the worldly splendour on display.
The altar has a statue of St Anthony holding The Child Jesus. It is believed that this statue may have accompanied the local regiment to the battlegrounds of the Peninsular War in the early 19th century. Look out also for a statue of St Eloi (Eligius), patron saint of horses, vets and also (you guessed it!) goldsmiths.
Though pictures were forbidden the door monitor stepped outside and I was able to click a couple. You may also go to the website listed here to see more.https://www.travel-in-portugal.com/attractions/igreja-de-santo-antonio-lagos.htm
T
Lagos Fortress
The small fort of Ponta da Bandeira, also known as the Fort of Our Lady of Penha de Franca(or just Lagos fortress) stands on Lagos’s waterfront, where the Bensafrim River enters the sea and overlooking Praia da Batata beach. Lagos had been the administrative capital of The Algarve from 1577 and this fortress, built around 1690, would have been part of the important defensive structures guarding the strategically important harbour from raids by Corsairs, pirates and the Spanish.
The fort, used until the 20th century by the military, was restored in the 1960’s and today the interior is open to the public for a small entrance fee.
A drawbridge over a moat leads to the entrance of this squat little fort with its sturdy ramparts. Inside there is a small chapel dedicated to St Barbara, patron saint of armourers, artillerymen and miners, the walls of which are lined with traditional azulejo tiles. There is also a small museum and exhibition area which usually displays works by local artists and photographers.
From the fort terrace there are panoramic views of the town and seafront.
The fortress:
Early History[edit]
Due to its strategic location, this stretch of coastline has been successively occupied since prehistoric times. In antiquity, the region was visited by Greek navigators, Phoenicians and Carthaginians. When the Romans arrived in the Iberian Peninsula, the primitive village had the Latinized name of Lacóbriga (also written Laccobriga). The new settlement received a quadrangular wall for its defence. The town of Lagos was occupied by Visigoths and later on, in the eight century, by Muslim Moors from North Africa, who renamed the town as ‘Zawiya’.
Abd-ar-Rahman III, Caliph of Cordoba, conquered the town in 929 and provided it with towers. The size of these works reflected the economic and strategic importance the town enjoyed, which had a privileged access to Muslim Silves.
Middle Ages[edit]
During the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula, the region was conquered by King Sancho I (1185-1211) in 1189. Almohad Caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansurreconquered the place in 1191, only to be retaken in 1241 by Paio Peres Correia.
From this time there is little reliable information regarding the town’s defences under Muslim rule. King Afonso III (1248-1279) began works on the city’s walls, which were continued by King Denis (1279-1325) and his successor Afonso IV (1325-1357).
From 1361 onwards, the town of Lagos was separated from the jurisdiction of Silves, reaching administrative independence.
In the context of the Portuguese discoveries, Lagos played an important role. Nearby Sagres was one of the support bases for the conquest of North Africa and the operations of Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), in the first phases of the Age of Discoveries. Due to its harbour, as well as facilities where Caravels and other vessels were built, Lagos played a crucial role in the rise of the Portuguese Empire.
From Lagos left:
- 1415 – Portuguese expeditions to conquer Ceuta in North of Africa;
- 1419 – Vessels for the discovery of Madeira;
- 1427 – Vessels for the discovery of the Azores;
- 1434 – Gil Eanes vessel that crossed Cape Bojador on the West African coast;
- 1458 and 1472 – The expeditions of King Afonso V (1438-1481) to conquer Ksar es-Seghir, Asilah and Tangier in the North of Africa. Despite Lagos’s strategic importance, in 1475 the Court registered complaints regarding the poor conditions of the Algarve’s fortifications, including the one in Lagos, after which reconstruction works began throughout the region.
Later Middle Ages[edit]
With the reign of King John II (1481-1495), the Company of Guinea was moved from Lagos to new premises in Lisbon (1481-1482). King John II and his successor also carried out conservation work on the defenses of Lagos, who endowed it with an aqueduct for the water supply, built somewhere between 1490 and 1521. King King Manuel I (1495-1521) granted a second Foral Charter in 1504, reformed a decade later, giving start to the construction of the Governors’s Palace.
Under the expansionist project of King Sebastian (1568-1578), Lagos became a city in 1573, becoming the capital of the Kingdom of the Algarve and the residence of the Captains General and Governors. His successor, Cardinal Henry (1578-1580), confirmed the title in 1579.
During the Iberian Union, the strength of Lagos’s defences increased. The city managed to fiercely oppose the landing of Francis Drake‘s forces in 1587, forcing Drake to seek a more vulnerable point in that stretch of coast (eventually attacking Sagres). The damage applied by the English artillery to Lagos, as well as the fear of new attacks on the coast, led to the reconstruction and modernization of its defenses in the following years.
- 1598 – completed work on the second wall
- 1621 – modernization and strengthening of the most fortified medieval section
Post Middle Ages[edit]
View of the walls that surround the historical centre
At the time of the restoration of Portuguese independence, conservation works were undertaken on the walls (1642), when the proposal to build a large, pentagonal plant with five bastions at the corners, in the south of the city (1643) was approved.
Later, the city and its defences would be severely affected by the tsunami that devastated the Algarve coast as a result of the earthquake of 1755. The resulting destruction was such that the civilian and military governments were transferred to Tavira, less affected by the natural disaster. At the end of the century, the city center was transferred from the old Praça de Armas (current Praça Infante D. Henrique) to the Cano Square (now Gil Eanes Square).
In the 19th century, the city experienced a surge of economic growth, especially in the fish industry.[1]
The walls and ramparts are classified as national monuments by a decree published on June 20, 1924.[2]
From the second half of the 1950s, the government, through the Directorate General for National Buildings and Monuments, in view of the celebrations of Centenarians, conducted a wide intervention in the built-up heritage of Lagos, rebuilding addorsed buildings to ancient walls and bulwarks, rebuilding the Palace of the Governors, sections of walls and constructed the Discovery Avenue (Avenida dos Descobrimentos), a landfilled increased protection area between the city and the sea.[3]
Recently (2001), the Baluarte of Porta Vila, was reclassified as an astronomical observatory.[4]
Characteristics[edit]
All of the city’s defences have an incomplete plant in an irregular pentagon shape.
The medieval structure surrounded the town that developed around the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo.
The new fence, adapted to firearm artillery, is made up of three flank bastions (from Santa Maria, Alcaria and São Francisco) and four towers (the Praça de Armas, the Conception, Porta Room and Santo Amaro).
Next up was a little libation on the deck over looking the marina. We chatted with a man from Montreal that has lived there for the last 15 years. He’s a skipper of some sort. Then some more scouting around town and dinner. Pizza was up this time. A nice little ethnic “pie” was good for the two of us. We caught the 6:00 bus back to Albuferia. When arriving at the depot here in town we were unaware that the city busses do not run at night. New to us!!!! Good thing it was only a 20 minutes walk down hill to the apt. A LOVELY DAY!
The Lauers Travel 