Lagos

This weekend was the perfect culmination to an incredible year. I took a trip with a group of 10 Americanos to Lagos, Portugal to celebrate the birthdays of two of my friends, Julie and Reegis. We all piled into a bus at 7:30 am on Friday morning and took the long trip to Lagos. When we got there, we wandered through the adorable and hilly town until we found our hostel. Our room wasn't ready so we went and got some lunch before heading to the beach. I had no idea what to expect from the beaches there except what I had seen in some pictures, but they were some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life. They are surrounded by gorgeous rock formations and even have them sticking out of the water.  It literally looked other-worldly. We laid on the beach for a few hours and had the most wonderful time in the ocean. A group of 5 of us girls bonded instantly even though the only person I knew before the trip was Julie. We splashed around in the water laughing and being silly like I do with my friends from home. It was so refreshing. After the sun began to set, we stopped for pizza on the way home. We moved into our tiny room together, took a late siesta, and got ready for the night. Unfortunately, the night never materialized because we heard there was not much going on, but we found out the next day that we were just too early for the party. It ended up being good though because we actually had some energy to enjoy the next day.

We woke up for a yummy, family-style breakfast at the hostel on Saturday. We headed to a different beach for another incredible day. This beach was even better than the previous one and was what I consider to be the textbook definition of paradise. We laid out and swam a lot then took a little break for lunch overlooking the ocean. After lunch, we went out on a small motorboat for a grotto tour with a guy who spoke no English. Every time we turned a corner the views were more breathtaking than before. The girls were hilarious and we took countless pictures. The best part of the tour was when he let us jump off the boat and we swam in the middle of the water surrounded by rock formations. We could have been on another planet. Getting back into the boat was not as fun, as the only help you got was a little noose for your foot to hoist yourself up. It was a struggle. I have never laughed as much as I did while watching Nicole get into the boat - she is a tiny little girl but could not get in and was planked on the side of the boat with her legs flailing and the Portuguese man grabbing her butt to try to pull her in while she screamed. If only we had caught it on video... We were greeted upon our return by a hefty Portuguese man rocking a red speedo who chatted with us for a while. Later, he performed a balancing act on his boat. We swam and relaxed for a few more hours. On our way out, we met two guys from Spain. It made me realize how much I absolutely love Spain and practicing Spanish. Just one day away and I missed it...I'm not sure what going home will do to me. We had a nice dinner after the beach and then went back to get ready for the evening. We ended up going out to a few bars, and it was a lot of fun, but I didn't find the dancing atmosphere I was craving. Too bad. It was still a great night out!

After about 3 hours of sleep, we got up for breakfast again, packed up our stuff, and took everything to the beach. I had an amazing solo swim in perfectly calm and clear water. I seriously could have stayed there forever, if it wasn't for the bus home to Sevilla. The girls had a continuous debate on the way to the bus station as to whether we should stay another night, but we decided to go home in the end. The bus ride back was filled with a lot of necessary sleep. It was such a perfect weekend and Lagos is such a paradise. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Now I have one more week in Sevilla, three more days of school, and countless goodbyes. Oh, and packing. I'm sure it will be a great last hoorah!