We were born here. We  grew up here. I ran from here. And I came back to here. I didn’t “discover” Lavra on a weekend getaway, or fall for this coastline through a travel article — my mum and I were both born on the very same street, about 100 metres apart, thirty years between us. The cats still wander the same streets we played in as kids (she has three, I have one — one day I will catch up), the garden is still tended the way it always has been (she has thirty plants, I have three — still learning), and the beach is still where we’ve always ended our afternoons.

I spent ten years working in England before coming back. It was there, far from home, that I learned to value what I’d always had close by: the calm of Lavra, sunsets over the sea, food full of real flavour, sun-filled days spent outdoors. Coming back wasn’t nostalgia — it was realising that what I’d been searching for elsewhere had been here all along.

Lavra Seaside Retreats grew out of that connection and the love in staying in other peoples houses, sharing their stories and their lives, and out of who we are: we love animals (cats especially), plants, the beach, and a good conversation. We didn’t want to open “just another short-term rental” — we wanted to share the version of Lavra that only someone who actually lives here knows: the beaches without the crowds, the right little tasquinha in Angeiras, the quiet of a morning with no plan at all. That’s why we say destination comes first here, and the stay comes second.

My mum is around most days — she’s the one who really knows the garden, who knows which café has the best sea view, and who will probably tell you a story about the area that I’ve long since stopped noticing myself and that is why everyone compliments her in the reviews. Guests who stay longer always seem to leave with a recommendation from her that wasn’t in any guidebook — and, quite likely, a long conversation about cats.