Algarve Blog
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. Oh, the irony!Considering the heading for my previous blog, it is with something of a heavy heart that I report my recent visit to one of Algarve's most beautiful villages, Querenca. The problem is, you see, they seem to have dug it up! What's even worse, when I checked with the lady in the Turismo, she told me the works are likely to last for another four months! By my calculation, that's just about the end of the high season for tourism... Undaunted, I went with my friend into the cafe part of one of Querenca's fine restaurants. It was impossible to ignore the noise of the works going on just outside in the square.
I can't imagine that anyone out for a drive to explore Algarve's beauty would linger very long, after the first impression made by the mounds of earth and gravel. That's after you've parked and walked the last fifty metres, since you can't drive into the village square any more! Bad timing, or just plain daft? I don't know, but it does mean that Querenca is pretty much off my list of recommended places to visit for this year... ... Unless they finish ahead of schedule, in which case I'll post the glad tidings here and let you know. Meantime, there's plenty of other choice in a region as gorgeous as Algarve (neighbouring Salir, for example). My sympathies go out to the poor folk who are left trying to trade normally in the blighted remains of Querenca. (Click that last link to see what it normally looks like). Wednesday 23 May 2007Beautiful AlgarveWent out for a drive with Nev yesterday afternoon and decided we'd take in the countryside north of Tavira (especially the area known as Mata de Conceicao). Wow! Talk about beautiful... We repeatedly stopped the car so I could hop out and take yet another photograph of something stunning. Among other gems, we passed some hilltop windmills (now merely used for Algarve accommodation, of course). I've reproduced one of them for the motif photo at the top of this page, so you can get a feel of how enjoyable our afternoon was. The area even had a Parque de Lazer (leisure park) with viewing points, slides, and climbing frames and nets for the young ones to enjoy. Of course, it was closed by the time we arrived, as we'd lingered so long on the road enjoying the sights... But I did get some up-to-date details of the local campsite (near Vila Nova de Cacela), so I could update my Algarve camping page. It was a hot, sweltering afternoon and we enjoyed the beautiful drive which, after all, is what Algarve (Beach) Life is all about. Wednesday 16 May 2007Fair's Fair!We made it to the Algarve International Fair last weekend (as previewed on my Algarve Events page) and had something of a mixed day. There were less people around on Sunday afternoon than we had expected, which was a) disappointing because it was less exciting somehow and b) okay, because it made visiting the stands that much easier. It was interesting, as usual, to see the variety of businesses on display. Mainly, I'd say, focussed on goods of interest to the Algarve resident but with plenty of stuff for the tourist to enjoy, too. I was interested in the various stands that dealt with swimming pools and relevant equipment and services. I'm particularly interested in changing our pool from a chlorinated type to something more skin-and-eye friendly! Husband Nev, meantime, strolled around and tried to find things of interest to him and was pleased to encounter a stand displaying original works by Swedish-born watercolour artist, Daniel Hasselmyr (who lives and paints in Algarve these days).
Nev (in shorts) takes a
break from I must have visited a good dozen stands and checked back only to find Nev still chatting to the artist! If I were kinder, I'd have rescued poor Daniel, but I was so pleased that Nev was showing an interest and behaving himself that I left them to it. He was enthusing afterward about the pictures on display, which were the largest watercolours he could remember seeing 'in the flesh'. Instead of the usual offerings, these works were huge. Nev was interested in the technique and so was glad that the artist was ready to discuss his work. Ever the tourist, and always keen to take pics to put up here at Algarve Beach Life, I whipped out the trusty digi-camera and recorded (above) husband and artist for posterity. Nev also took a photo of one of Daniel's paintings (reproduced here with the artist's kind permission). The works have lots of light and dark, which Nev always finds tricky in this own watercolour paintings, hence his enthusiasm for Daniel's work.
© Daniel Hasselmyr You can see more of Daniel's stuff (and on a bigger scale) if you visit his website. Imagine that the original works are 100 cm by 70 cm (39.4 inches by 27.6 inches), then mentally add a mounting card and frame, and you may get some notion of how impressive the scale is (suggestion by Nev). Unfortunately, we missed the evening concert by the Pink Cadillacs, as Nev's leg was aching from a fall at tennis (poor dear) and he was becoming fractious (which is a polite word for 'impossible'). Things weren't helped by some administrative problem that meant the evening concert would be starting later than billed. It's a 'fair trot' home from Lagoa, so we set out then. Good job that the jazz concert given by Cristina Afonso and her band had been enjoyable, otherwise I'd have left the Fair feeling musically bereft... Remember to investigate the Fair if you're in Algarve next year. Fun things to do and see, whatever your age or interests. Monday 14 May 2007Now we're
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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.
