A Relaxing Day on Portugal’s South Coast

Hello from the Algarve, on Portugal’s south coast — a place where I love to recharge. After a busy six weeks of TV filming and guidebook research, I took an easy day at my favorite retreat (Pensión Maré in Salema, which I’ve recommended for decades).

 

rick steves looking happy on a chair on the beach

 

Then, I ventured to the Land’s End of Europe, Cape Sagres, to check the information in the Rick Steves Portugal guidebook. Last year, my researcher added a bit about the lighthouse at Cape St. Vincent that sounded hard to believe:

“If you’d like to go up to visit the actual lighthouse, wait at the door marked ‘Privado Staff Only,’ and the lighthouse keeper may eventually show up to take you on a free little tour (for a tip). The ‘tour’ is a 20-minute romp (in broken English) around the 1908 lighthouse. You’ll climb steep stairs and enjoy the tranquility of the couple of families who live here, maintaining the now automated beacon.”

So often, these kinds of possibilities turn out to be nothing more than wishful thinking. I’m happy to confirm that I knocked…and it worked.

 

tour guide using hand gestures to describe mechanics inside lighthouse

 

This is why we update our guidebooks in person. When you knock…I want it to work for you, too.

 


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