Olá Portugal — RachiePie

We arrived in Lisbon on Sunday after an early morning flight from London. Going through customs in Portugal was a completly different experience this time around. In London, we were grilled as to why we were going to be in the United Kingdom for so long and were asked to show proof we were leaving the country in two months. So this time I made sure to be prepared! I had printouts of our outgoing flight back to the States in addition to all our Airbnb reservations and car rentals while here. However, all of that was not necessary as the Portugal customs agent was excited we were going to be in his country and gave us recommendations for places to visit and food to eat! Ha!!

We then picked up our rental car at the airport and made the 2 1/2 hour drive south to the Algarve region where we are staying for the week in Luz. Our Airbnb is located five minutes from the beach and you can see the ocean from the balcony. The moment our Airbnb host left, Alex and I changed into our swimsuits and set off to explore the beach. For dinner we ate at a small cafe, Endless Summer, overlooking the water and got to see one of the most beautiful sunsets I have witnessed. Even the staff at the cafe were taking pictures! The whole sky was lit up and even the water looked pink.

Yesterday morning we awoke before the sun was up and headed to Ponta da Piedade to watch the sunrise. Ponta da Piedade is a look-out point with beautiful sandstone cliffs, a natural feature found in most parts of western Algarve. Lagos Lighthouse also sits at this point and since we arrived while it was still dark outside, we got to see it all lit up.

Our afternoon was spent relaxing at the beach near our Airbnb, Praia da Luz. It was a perfect day without a cloud in the sky! I read this region experiences over 300 days of sunshine!! We finished the evening driving to Ingrina Beach where we ate outside at Restaurante do Sebastião. It was a great way to end our first full day in Portugal.