A Good Feeling

The Good Feeling Hostel, that’s got to suggest something, right? We met Hugo, the hostel’s owner, after waiting on the hotel verandah near the ‘Back in Ten Minutes’ sign. He had just picked up the same seven or so tourists he’d dropped off at the beach that morning and was about to turn around and chauffeur another bunch. We were hungry and asked if there was a shop nearby. ‘I can drive you to the supermarket, it’s no problem’, he said casually. This, we learned, is generally the daily routine of Hugo and co-owner/best mate Miguel. This, and surfing, cooking on mass risotto/seafood casserole/roast pork for interested guests and more surfing. For people who love the sun and surf, these guys are living the life.

Bec and I found it pretty easy to slip into relaxation mode at the Good Feeling. Our first day was spent lying on the beach in the sleepy nearby town of Sagres. The following day we took a bus to the more touristy Lagos and met Andreia’s friend and Lagos local Anna, who took us to a ‘secret beach’ on the edge of the city with an easily missed descending stairway entry. It was a tough three days, late morning sleep ins, seafood lunches, afternoon ice-creams and the ever-present sapphire of the Mediterranean to remind us of the holiday mode we found ourselves in. I’m thinking if the lawyer thing doesn’t work out when I get home, I might just give Hugo and Miguel a call. I could get used to this life.

The walk from the not-so-secret Lagos beach