So close, but yet….

They say home is where the heart is. If that is true, then I guess my home is Portugal, specifically Lagos Portugal which is in the Algarve. Why? Well because that’s where my wife and kids are now. We moved there from Romania some time ago. Mostly for the kids because it’s a beautiful resort area full of beaches and of course my kids love the beach.

Why do I even mention that? Well, because we are stopping in Lisbon, Portugal today. This morning we sailed in passing under the “25th of April Suspension Bridge” which is almost an identical twin to the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and coincidentally was built by the same people. Built in 1966, it is 2.2 kilometers long and crosses the Tagus River which flows into the Atlantic. The bridge was originally named after Portugal’s dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, but after the revolution which cumulated on the 25th of April 1974 people started calling it the 25th of April bridge. It was pretty rainy and bleak this morning when we sailed in, so the photo is not that spectacular, but trust me; it is an impressive bridge. Even more impressive is Lisbon’s Vasco da Gama bridge which is an amazing seventeen kilometers long and is the longest bridge in Europe. However you can’t sail under that one. ( Partial picture of Lisbon below)

It’s a strange feeling being in Lisbon because I am so close to my family, but still so far. Lagos is about 4 hours away from Lisbon, too far for me to go visit because I would never make it back to the ship on time for sailing. Unfortunately this is the only Lisbon stop we will make and even though it was planned for Andreia to come and visit me on the ship and bring our oldest son along, Murphy and his laws got in the way and that won’t be happening either. So, here I am, in Lisbon, so close to home and yet so far.. oh well. Only a few more days and I am off on leave anyway. I think I will survive.

Lisbon is a nice city, but honestly, I am not much of a huge city lover. Lagos and the whole Algarve area on the other hand is wonderful. If you like beaches, blue water, shopping, festivals and fun. Give Lagos a try. It’s really a great place with two thousand years of history. In fact, Lagos was originally populated by Celts and the name Lagos is from the Celtic language. Maybe that’s why I like it, we share a common ancestry. Then again, maybe I like it because my kids like it so much. If you have kids, Lagos is a great resort for the family. ( My triplets playing in the waves in Lagos)