Monday – 08/10/2020

We left our hotel in Praia da Luz, LuzMar Villas, after a hearty breakfast we went straight to see the Lagos Zoo, which was highly recommended by the staff at our hotel as we were traveling with children.

I'm not a big fan of zoos, because I think they're very depressing environments with sad, caged animals, but now that I have a young son who LOVES animals, I try to choose places that seem to take better care of the animals. I'm still tense, but I've been trying to relax so I can enjoy it with him...

We parked the car in a huge parking lot in front of the zoo and entered following all the DGS safety regulations. We paid 18 euros per adult and Paddy didn't pay anything, as he was only 2 and a half years old and they only charge for people over 4 years old.

Right at the entrance is the penguin pool, one of the zoo's main attractions. There, little ones can dive in and end up getting very close to the penguins, who are separated only by a glass, but Paddy didn't seem very excited, so we moved on.

We stopped to take an official photo of the park – I love it and Celo is always pissed off about paying so much for them lol – and we took the opportunity to rent the yellow cart – a great new addition to the little one – and leave our cart in storage. If I had known that he would enjoy the cart more than the animals themselves, I don’t know if I would have rented it. In some places he didn’t even want to get out of the cart to see the animals on our laps, gosh! lol

The tour

We spent the whole morning walking around the zoo and I found it to be a very pleasant place, well looked after with lots of vegetation/shade – essential in the summer – and very interesting animals. There are over 140 species from 5 continents!

Paddy obviously loved the animals and the cart, of course, so the outcome was completely positive. I took some snacks and water so I didn't have to go into the cafeteria – pandemic, right? – but I would happily stop at the little tables under the trees to have a snack.

Ah! The animals we liked seeing the most were the hippos, you kangaroos, you monkeys and the macaws, but there are many other cool ones too and there are also some VIP experiences like in Badoc, but we didn't do any. Some pictures for you:

The lunch

We left there ready for lunch, but unfortunately the restaurant next to the zoo, the Cangalho, was not open (they are closed on Mondays). We looked for another place on Trip Advisor and ended up going to a very colorful restaurant called Damn, with OK food and very slow service, poor things. At least Paddy got high after we left the zoo and we were able to eat in peace before he woke up and ate his lunch. 🙂

Then we walked around the little town of Baron of Saint John and we continue to the Salema Beach and I told everything at the end from this post here, look.

This post is part of a 9-day trip through the Algarve and Alentejo. Read about the entire trip in links below:

• 9 days driving along the Costa Vicentina (Algarve and Alentejo)
• Setubal Ferryboat until Troy
• Troia, Comporta and the Carrasqueira Stilt Wharf
• Beaches of Luz, Burgau and Salema (Algarve)
• Sagres, Cape St. Vincent and Martinhal (Algarve)
• A day at Lagos Zoo
• 1 day exploring the beaches of Amado and Bordeira (Algarve)
• 5 days on the Alentejo Coast (Vila Nova de Milfontes, Zambujeira do Mar, etc.)