The sun was setting as we finished dinner, so we watched the Sun drop below the horizon, then headed back to our hotel in Lagos.
To eat Perceves, you snap the shell like you might a crab leg to remove half the shell and expose the meat. Then you tug at the meat with your front teeth until it comes free from the other side of the shell. It’s not a meal to order when you’re in a hurry!
We had dinner at Restaurante Castelejo while waiting for sunset, and I learned how to eat “Perceves”, or barnacles. Yes, barnacles. They’re actually quite good. Our waitress said “they taste like the sea”, and she was right. I’d say they taste like mussels, but a bit more saline.
After Cape St. Vincent, we decided to drive up to Praia do Castelejo, which we had heard was a very secluded beach with great scenery and a restaurant that overlooks the ocean. It lived up to its billing. (Vila do Bispo, Faro, Portugal)
Since the fortress was closed, we popped over to Cape St. Vincent, the southwestern tip of Europe. It has a lighthouse (that you can only see from the outside) and some nice views so we left pretty quickly.
Next stop was Fortaleza de Sagres, where Henry the Navigator’s school for mariners was. Sadly we arrived only to discover it was closed for the day, but the views were still great.
On our way to Sagres, we stopped in Salema for lunch and had lunch at Atlantico, which has wonderful views of the beach.
Today’s plan: Relax by the pool, then lunch, then ROAD TRIP! Heading to Salema to explore an old fishing town, then Sagres (aka “The End of the World”) to see the ruins of Henry the Navigator’s sailing school and take in the sunset.