Algarve Blog

This Algarve blog is intended to keep you in touch with the latest in Algarve affairs. Now that I'm living here, I'll be able to keep you updated with what's going on in the Algarve and around those wonderful beaches.

So, here's my regular take on occurrences in what used to be my favourite vacation spot... but is now my favourite place to live.

 

Make Sure It's Not You!

A local newspaper recently reported the first summer forest fire in Algarve. It occurred somewhere north of Tavira, and took quite some effort to extinguish.

Apparently, the majority of such forest fires are started by human activity, whether deliberate or accidental.  And with fires spreading according to the whims of the wind, it's impossible to guess where they might spread. So that the initiator of a blaze is presumably as much at risk of death or injury as are the poor innocent people and wild animals who pay the ultimate price for such malice or negligence.

Fires in such dry regions as Algarve can be horrific. Read about the damage done by the 2003 Algarve fires, and please... take care that you aren't responsible for the next conflagration.

Nice Story... Shame About The Math!

A recent edition of the Portugal News, which is an English-language newspaper avaliable free from outlets such as larger supermarkets, made us chuckle.

The headline was something like: "Portugal Road Deaths Down By 300%".

Nev was first to see it and did a double-take. "Wow!" he said. "Didn't think that was possible." Since he's studied Statistics more recently than I have, I'll use his reasoning.

A 100% decrease in road deaths would mean that there weren't any deaths at all this year. Therefore, a 300% decrease would suggest that all the fatalities of the preceding two years had somehow been resurrected. Since that's plainly impossible (outside of Tom and Jerry cartoons) the headline, and the story around it, were statistical nonsense.

Lord alone knows what the source of such information could have been. But it's obvious that the proof reader at Portugal News was either having a crafty nap that day, or is so arithmetically limited that he shouldn't be let loose with money in his pocket.

Cup of coffee, senhor? That'll be 3000 euros including VAT. Special price for you!

A Contradiction in Terms?

So, yesterday we had a drive out to Alcoutim with friends.  Weather was fabulous, and we had the air-con on in the little Pyoo-jot (which does make it a bit slower uphill!). A democratic decision was taken (well, nobody disagreed with me, which is virtually the same) to stop at Odeleite barragem (a dammed reservoir) in search of a cooling breeze.

Just like in Wacky Races, we overshot, and ended up going to Foz de Odeleite, which is a small hamlet on the Guadiana river. A boatload of tourists was just debouching as we arrived, so we avoided the crush by walking along a riverside track, past a poor donkey tethered a good distance from any shade.

After a wander around the rather run-down village (it was suffering from ongoing building works) we headed north again on the river road and arrived at Alcoutim.

Seated in the shade while we scoffed our lunchtime sandwiches, we noticed that the wooden tourist signage indicated a 'praia fluvial' (river beach?). 'Never noticed that before,' said Nev, as we made for the castle to revisit the archaeological excavations and trudge around the battlements. This time, we sat in the small cinema room and watched the short presentation about Alcoutim and its surroundings.

Back out in the sun, we headed for the river and watched several boatloads of folk transported across the Guadiana to the landing jetty on the Spanish side. Cost? All of one euro per head!

After that, my nosiness (I like to think of it as natural inquisitiveness) got the better of me and I led the party off to check out the 'river beach'.

And I'm very glad we did. I enjoyed myself tremendously there. 

It's a short stretch of water kept topped up with a flow from a municipal supply (I guess) and dammed at one end to keep a decent depth of water. It has clean sand, boardwalks, those reedy parasol things and stuff for the kids to play on. What's more, we discovered that it is an official Blue Flag beach!

After a suitable time, we thought we'd better head off, and this time, travelling south, we did manage to find the Odeleite reservoir. Having parked and walked down to the water's edge, the boys skipped stones (just as if they were mere boys!) and we all had a barefoot paddle. If you ignored the skeletal remains of the dead turtle or terrapin that we encountered, it was quite idyllic.

Smashing day out, though Nev was musing in the car heading homewards how we could have missed that beach at Alcoutim when we were there previously. He decided that it was because we wouldn't have been looking for it, since a river beach is a contradiction in terminology.

Well, try telling that to a female Algarve enthusiast who's just spent a lovely afternoon there!

Jolly Good Shot - (not!)

At our regular tennis-thon this week (weather scorchio, so tried not to run around too much), I managed to hit a lady opponent on the jaw with the ball.  Very sorry, of course, and apologised profusely, but she was visibly upset about it.

Strangely, she had earlier been hit on the thumb (with the same ball?) by another lady opponent.  Now that's accuracy!

So, I mused, does that mean the unfortunate victim was having an accident-prone day, or was she being bullied by two vicious tennis-ne'er-do-wells?

Since I'm always happy if the ball clears the net and lands in court, I can claim that in my case, she was just unlucky.  

As Nev always tells me: "If you get hit with the ball at tennis, that means you weren't ready with your racquet, or weren't watching the game."  Oh, yeah? Well try telling that to someone you've just reduced to tears with an errant shot, mate!

Oops... Didn't Mean That!

I was reading an advertisement in an Algarve newspaper about wood-burning and gas fires. Beneath the company name was the tag: "Setting the Algarve Alight". 

Now, given the propensity for parts of the region to go up like a tinder box at the drop of a careless match, I'd say that was an unfortunate slogan.

We haven't had any Algarve fires of note thus far in 2007, and let's hope it stays that way.

So, tasteless PR stunt, or just poor choice of words? I know what I think, but you decide...

Too $?*% Busy!

It's amazing how, now that we live in Algarve, we're struggling to do as much as we managed when we were here on vacation!

I mentioned, on the Algarve events (What's On) page, that there was a spectacular meeting scheduled between four schools of Spanish dance.  Great, I thought, that'll be a wonderful evening out...

... Not!  Things crop up when you live in a place - and they seem to crop up just when you don't want them.  Well, the Spanish dance event came and went with me stuck doing something else (less enjoyable, naturally)!

So, I've resolved to be more selfish.  In future, if I decide that I want to check out an event, then it's going to take Armageddon (or something fairly important, anyway) to keep me away.

I didn't move here just to miss out on interesting stuff taking place only a few kilometres away. And if life gets in the way, it's just going to have to step aside for an evening or two!

 Pure Serendipity

We did it again!  Decided to visit somewhere, only to find out (too late) that it was a local holiday and the place was closed for business! (Avid ABL readers will already know of our pathetic luck in trying to visit the Estoi Palacio - four attempts in two years and each time it was closed or just closing for the day...)

Well, this time it was Sao Bras de Alportel and we were very low on petrol in the trusty Pyoo-jot.  Fortunately, the local filling station was open for trade, so we refuelled and learned about the local holiday from the good-natured proprietor (good-natured indeed, as everyone else was enjoying a day off).

Ever the optimists, we decided to park in the town and take a stroll around...

... and that's where the serendipity kicked in. Just opposite the library, where we must have visited tons of times (especially when we were waiting for Internet access at home) we discovered a hitherto-unnoticed alley that led to an interesting and rewarding walk.

It's supposed to be the site of a Roman road of the cobbled variety (called calcadas in Portugal) and it revels in the name of Calcadinha Romana. We noticed the sign on the wall, stopped to read it, and decided that we should investigate further.

It heads out of Sao Bras downhill and the calcadas must be lethal when wet.  There's an information centre (closed of course) just after the start, and there are various information plaques along the way that explain the history of the route.

We managed probably half of it, then we decided we'd do the other half another day since we were becoming peckish.

It was a lovely, sunny afternoon, the route took us well away from traffic, noise and daily hubbub and we'll certainly report back when we've completed it. Meantime, I've included a 'taster' photo here from our trek. 

Oh, and I should mention that there were blue blossoms carpeting the pavements in Sao Bras that day - beautiful!

What's In A Name...?

...as the Bard of Avon once pondered.

So, we were wandering through Faro's splendid shopping centre, called for reasons best known to the initiated, Algarve Forum (but known to most as Jumbo Shopping!), when we passed a clothing shop that had a poster featuring a semi-clothed male model -

-  and why is it that male models nowadays seem to be chosen for their rather androgynous looks - whatever happened to 'vive la difference'?

Anyway, said model was done up in vest and underpants, and on the front of the pants was the logo 'DIM'.  Nev immediately opined that you'd have to be a bit dim to pose in your underpants knowing the results would be viewed by thousands.

But, I'm kinder than that, and I hope that: 

a) the model isn't familiar with the English language and 

b) neither are his mum, nor his girlfriend, if he has one.

But, you have to wonder how they come up with these logos and tradenames. Don't they check how they translate into other tongues?  I'm reminded of various products that sell happily around the world, until they're finally introduced somewhere, say like Japan, whereupon they discover the brand name sounds disgusting or insulting - but only after spending shedloads of cash promoting it!

Perhaps DIM is the right word after all?

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