Day 126 : Lagos Scooter Exploration Part 1 (pics)

Originally planning to rent a car to explore Algarve, most of the cars were mostly booked out or were just too expensive at €80/day. 

But while searching for places to rent, I came across an option to rent a scooter instead. And it was very affordable at €55 for 3 days or €25 per day for a 50CC bike. There was the option for higher CC of 125 or higher, but since I wasn't planning on going fast on the roads, 50CC was good enough for me. 

Checking the weather report, it was expected to be a fairly cloudy and possibly wet week especially from Monday, and so I asked to rent the bike for 2 days instead. It only costs me €45, and the person who attended to me was extremely professional, even highlighting all the areas on the bike which had scratches or minor damages. 

And off I went scooting around the area, with plans to head towards the most southern point of Portugal. 

Below is the route taken. 

The maximum speed on the bike I managed to hit seemed to be about 65km/hr, which was sufficient for where I was going. 

First stop, Salema. The sun popped out shortly after I arrived, and so I stayed for a while to enjoy a snack and dipped my feet into the water to test temperature. It was slightly cold, but still manageable. 

The next stop was Sagres. It was a lot bigger than Salema, but it's mostly a town popular with surfers, since there's apparently good waves on the beaches of Praia Do Martinhal and Praia da Mareta. 

I didn't stay too long and rode on and soon reached Sagres Fortress. This is one huge fortress! I didn't enter as I wasn't keen on paying to enter a fortress. The view from around the fortress was magnificent enough, which would be very similar to the views from the fortress. 

I continued riding on and soon passed through Praia Do Beliche and also Fort of Santo António de Belixe. 

The Fort was closed when I was there, but you can see the church behind the fortress walls built next to the cliffs. 

I finally got to Europe's most south-westerly point - Farol do Cabo de São Vicente. 

I was forced to make this my last stop, as the rain started coming shortly after, and it was a 40 mins drive back to Lagos on the bike. 

I tried to take refuge at a nearby town Vila do Bispo for lunch, but still ended up getting wet on the way back. I do have to be thankful that it was not too heavy, so I wasn't very drenched, but it was getting cold riding in the rain with slightly damp clothes. 

It poured the whole night after I got back, so it was a good thing I had bought food to cook a dinner for the night and to stay indoors.