Lagos, Portugal is Earth’s masterpiece. Its Mona Lisa. Its Birth of Venus. Its Starry Night. Its Maryland crabcake.

Sunbeams shimmer off sparkling turquoise water surrounded by rock islands and meandering tunnels that connect one beach to the next, to the next, to the next and so on.

Picturesque caves allow lover style seclusion from the tides. For a beach devotee, I fell deep. Smitten. Blushing. Giddy. The kind of first date glee that can’t be hidden. Salty air kept my body cosy. Smiles overcame my face. I was head over heels, and it was love at first sight.

I know I’ve said this before, but if I ever go missing I am likely here… or Tulum.