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After my adventures in El Chorro I retired to Malaga for a day and then headed west across Spain to the Portuguese border.

Portugal Feb ' 99

Nickjenkins
2003-11-20 11:59:56

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speaking no English, manage to convey that he had a room, in fact a plethora of rooms for the night if I was interested. I was very interested since the trip from Malage to Faro had been a long and winding one and my head was about ready to hit the pillow. Since it was the off season I managed to get a room with a double bed and its own bathroom and kitchen for about $27AUS a night.

After a sleep and a shower I was suitably refreshed and went off in search of food. Unfortunately it seemed to be the off season for catering as well and most of the restaurants were closed. However, I detected a delicious odour wafting out of nearby side-street and following my nosed wandered up one of the alleys. On one side of the alley behind a steel garage door was a family run fast-food outlet specialising in that most excellent of Portuguese delicacies, piri-piri chicken. Securing half a grilled chicken and some chips I retired to my room and feasted on the best chicken I have ever tasted.

Since Faro is little more than a transport hub for the area and not particularly scenic, I got up the next morning and jumped a train, going as far West as I could to Lagos. I found a room for the night in Lagos and then continued west again to the tiny fishing village of Sagres. Sagres sits on the South-westernmost point of Portugal and therefore all of Europe. The most noticeable feature of Sagres is the snow white fort of Henry the Navigator.

Son of King John, Henry was born in 1394 and spent his formative years plundering Muslim territories in North Africa. Finding the riches in Africa he determined to establish a direct route to their source for Portugal. He set himself up in Sarges and sent expedition after expedition south in the hope of finding, amongst other things, the kingdom of Prester John, a mythic Christian Prince with a stronghold somewhere in Africa.

The fort is one of the last symbols ...