Release Notes 2023 (Portugal)
Joe Cieplinski and I co-organized Release Notes 2023 held April 14-16, 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. This was the first event we organized since the onset of the global Covid pandemic. After the conference finished, Heather and I traveled to Lagos, Portugal and explored the Algarve for several days.
The sun was setting as we finished dinner, so we watched the Sun drop below the horizon, then headed back to our hotel in Lagos.
Posted on April 18, 2023
To eat Perceves, you snap the shell like you might a crab leg to remove half the shell and expose the meat. Then you tug at the meat with your front teeth until it comes free from the other side of the shell. It’s not a meal to order when you’re in a hurry!
Posted on April 18, 2023
We had dinner at Restaurante Castelejo while waiting for sunset, and I learned how to eat “Perceves”, or barnacles. Yes, barnacles. They’re actually quite good. Our waitress said “they taste like the sea”, and she was right. I’d say they taste like mussels, but a bit more saline.
Posted on April 18, 2023
After Cape St. Vincent, we decided to drive up to Praia do Castelejo, which we had heard was a very secluded beach with great scenery and a restaurant that overlooks the ocean. It lived up to its billing. (Vila do Bispo, Faro, Portugal)
Posted on April 18, 2023
Since the fortress was closed, we popped over to Cape St. Vincent, the southwestern tip of Europe. It has a lighthouse (that you can only see from the outside) and some nice views so we left pretty quickly.
Posted on April 18, 2023
Next stop was Fortaleza de Sagres, where Henry the Navigator’s school for mariners was. Sadly we arrived only to discover it was closed for the day, but the views were still great.
Posted on April 18, 2023
On our way to Sagres, we stopped in Salema for lunch and had lunch at Atlantico, which has wonderful views of the beach.
Posted on April 18, 2023
Today’s plan: Relax by the pool, then lunch, then ROAD TRIP! Heading to Salema to explore an old fishing town, then Sagres (aka “The End of the World”) to see the ruins of Henry the Navigator’s sailing school and take in the sunset.