On Your Bike.

Let me immediately apologise for the lack of activity on this blog since August.

I have no excuse apart from the fact that I am a lazy self centered blogger. ( You may replace that last adjective with one of your own choosing...................i deserve it.)

Since Joan and I visited for the Festival dos Pescadores in August I have in fact been back to Santa Luzia twice.

In October I travelled from Leeds with boyhood friends Les Healey and Micky Smith in my Vauxhall Vivaro van along with 3 pedal cycles, 2x 24 packs of baked beans, a wholesale pack of Pek chopped pork, several trays of Tetley bitter and Carling lager, copious amounts of back bacon and a number of items of furniture we felt would enhance our beautiful Portuguese home.

We did it the hard way.............departing at 4am on Wednesday driving from Leeds to Dover we took a ferry to Boulogne and drove non stop through France and Spain arriving in Santa Luzia at about 6pm on Thursday.

I have for a long time harboured thoughts of driving to Santa Luzia and circumstances conspired to bring this about when my old friend Les was struck down and had to undergo life saving surgery due to a brain tumor.

In the early days after his surgery when it was by no means certain if he would survive I promised him a holiday in Santa Luzia upon his recovery.

Fortunately the tumor turned out to be benign and Les has made a great recovery but due to the fact that there may still be pockets of air inside his skull it will be some time before he can fly.....so we drove.

I must say immediately the cycles added a whole new dimension to life in the village and I would recommend this means of transport to one and all.

Myself, Les and a camera shy Micky Smith exploring on our bikes.

On the Tuesday of our first week in Santa Luzia we were surprised by the unexpected arrival of Joan.

Having spent the entire day moving furniture and equipment for Feliz Beto from his Cafe Anna Raquel to his new business premises in Tavira (the owner of his current premise having terminated his lease in order to add apartments above) we had thoroughly enjoyed our reward of a meal of Arroz de Polvo prepared by his mother in law and washed down with copious amounts of vinho tinto, aguadente and beer.

We were consequently pretty much rolling drunk when she arrived at around 8.30 to find us still gathered around our dinner table in Cafe Anna Raquel enjoying Beto's ongoing hospitality.

It was really quite amusing the day we arrived when on pulling up outside Cafe Anna Raquel Beto came dashing across the street with a completely uncharacteristic grin on his face and declared "Stewart, how you know I needed a van?".

Joan was to remain in Portugal when we left and ultimately I had to return some 3 weeks later and put an end to her 5 week stay!!

This time I flew out from Liverpool with friends barney and Darran on the much maligned Ryanair.

Those additional charges for everything from a suitcase to actually checking in really are infuriating and, in particular, the administration charges of £5 pounds per passenger per leg of the journey manage to somehow make you feel that you have been had despite the price being many pounds cheaper than rival airlines.

Beto had by this time opened his new venture in Tavira and I am pleased to report that he has been an immediate success. We visited on three occasions and enjoyed various authentic Portuguese dishes prepared by the mother in law who provided our feast in October.

Prato do dia is priced at a very acceptable four euros twenty five cents.

Called O Seu Cantinho and situated on the junction of Rua Poeta Emiliano da Costa and Rua. Alm. Candido dos Reis it is a great little place to enjoy an authentic and inexpensive Portuguese lunch.

Summer snow.

Now I know that last year I promised to post details of this year's Festival Dos Pescadores in advance of the event, and to that end I visited the offices of the Junta De Fergusia in Santa Luzia during the month of June to obtain all the gen.

Despite the fact that the festival was less than six weeks away they were unable to provide me with any details over and above the start and finish dates.

Thus I arrived with Joan on the 6th of August with no prior knowledge of the itinerary for this year's festival.

It was once again a great success and I will post more details later as the story I wish to relate on this occasion revolves around an altogether different and far less welcome event.

The forecast record summer temperatures were much in evidence and consequently my first fishing expedition was left till late into Friday afternoon when the sun had passed it's fiercest.

As I left the house to walk to 50 or so yards to the pier I immediately became aware of a huge ominous looking black cloud hovering in the otherwise perfectly clear blue sky above the Serra Do Caldeirao some 8 kms inland.
Further observation of the cloud from the pier itself revealed a gigantic column of what was by now obviously smoke rising from the hills to the atmosphere above.
The Serra was clearly well on fire.

Nevertheless I set up my gear and commenced my quest for fish and it was some two hours later with the acrid smell of burning vegetation growing ever stronger in my nostrils that I noticed what looked like snowflakes falling all around me.
The fierce up currents caused by the heat of the blazing hillsides had sucked tons of ash into the stratosphere and it was now being deposited on the coastal towns and villages of the Eastern Algarve.
By the time people arose from their beds on the following morning everywhere was covered in a fine layer of grey ash which was to remain throughout our 2 week stay.
Summer snow in the Algarve!!!!!!!

Later enquiries revealed the full extent of the disaster.
The fire started around 3.00pm in the district of Cabeco Velha near Sao Bras De Alportel and burned on a six kilometre front to Santa Catarina Do Bishpo.
Three hundred firemen with 106 vehicles and 5 aircraft managed to bring the conflagration under control by 7.00am Saturday morning but not before many beehives, fruit and olive trees, vines, cork oaks and other agricultural assets were lost on the 1ooo hectares of land affected.

Open Roads

I have read many articles by British ex-pats and tourists alike on the "joys" of driving in Portugal.

They invariably give Portuguese drivers a terrible reputation which in my experience is totally undeserved.

I have undoubtedly encountered far more aggressive and inconsiderate road users at home in England than ever graced any "Estrada national".

It has to be said that a lot of Portuguese drivers leave their manoeuvres till the very last minute, drawing to within almost touching distance before whipping out to overtake vehicles in front of them.

They also tend to choose the most unlikely (and sometimes downright dangerous) places to execute their overtaking.

It has however to be remembered that Portugal was western Europe's late starter in terms of economy and infrastructure and, as i once read somewhere, the Portuguese went directly from Donkeys to Datsuns so many current Portuguese drivers have no elder relative whose driving wisdom they can inherit.

In general however i find them very laid back and accommodating, generally in no kind of hurry and quite prepared to adopt the Portuguese "Noa faz mal" attitude to differences of opinion on the highway.

The real joy for me of motoring in Portugal is the lack of congestion.

It is literally like turning the clock back 30 years with miles and miles of clear highway stretching out in front of you regardless of the time of day or your proximity to large urban areas.

The "Infante de sagres" A22 motorway stretches almost deserted into the distance despite it being mid morning on a working week day.

Whilst the village of Santa Luzia can be enjoyed without a car I always like to have wheels available and car hire is relatively cheap in Portugal.

I have found Holiday Autos provide excellent deals.

Use the link on the left hand side of this page for a really keen quote.

Designer Chic.

Snack bar " O Nuno" now reopen following a 9 month refurbishment.

Designer chic has arrived in Santa Luzia in the form of snack bar O Nuno.

Situated two streets back from the promenade in Rua Joao Antonio Chagas Ferriera O nuno is a close neighbour to the writer.

Recently reopened following a nine month remodelling the polished black marble flooring, maroon decor, silvered furniture and ultra modern stainless steel fixtures and fittings of O Nuno would not be out of place in the trendiest bars of Tavira, Faro or even Lisbon.

From the well appointed downstairs bar area a flight of impressive shiny black marble steps lead up to the cosy dining area and a spacious outside terrace.

The good news is that despite the lavish designer surroundings O nuno retains a price list in keeping with it's village location.

On the day we visited for lunch all four in our company elected the grilled Ribalo (Sea Bass) at just €10 per head.

Served with a generous salad and boiled potatoes the fish was grilled to perfection and we choose to accompany it with a bottle of Porta Da Ravessa, a very acceptable white wine from the Alentajo region.

Service at O Nuno is attentive without being intrusive and English is spoken and understood.

The bar also boasts full air conditioning and strategically placed plasma screens both upstairs and down. Serving a full range of national and international drinks including draught Carlsberg it will surely become a firm favourite with the fervent football fans of Santa Luzia.

In a nutshell, old fashioned Portuguese service in modern sleek surroundings make O Nuno a definite addition to your must visit list in Santa Luzia.

Pictures of the new harbour

A view from the eastern pontoon where the smaller boats are moored across to the western pontoon where larger vessels lie.

Looking west from the eastern pontoon an array of smaller vessels lie at anchor.

The inner area of the harbour seen from the access ramp at the eastern end of the village.

Joan and our friends Barry and Netta will be in the village from Easter Monday.

They have booked a one way flight so the lord only knows when they are likely to return.

To beach or not to beach?

Back in cold old England following our short break in Santa Luzia I have to sadly report that we took the English weather with us.

Throughout our stay we were plagued by cloud, wind and the occasional downpour. Whilst the sun shone briefly during the Sunday of our visit the rest of the time was unseasonably chilly and definitely unpredictable.

The locals informed us that just like the rest of Europe the Algarve has suffered an unusually long and severe (by Portuguese standards anyway) winter.

The warmth however of the welcome extended by our Portuguese friends and acquaintances was undiminished and it felt wonderful to be "home".

The new Porta de Pesca is finished and operational and foreign voices were much in evidence along the promenade and in the eating and drinking establishments of the village.

I know I've said this many times before but when we first started to visit Santa Luzia you rarely met an English person in the village even at the height of the tourist season yet on the Monday prior to our departure we called at Cafe Alentejano for a coffee and every one of the dozen or so customers enjoying the brief appearance of the sun on it's outside terrace was English.

I will be posting pictures of the completed harbour installation in the next few days as time permits.

In an earlier post I mentioned that a local contact had informed me that there was talk of the importation of tons of sand to create a small artificial beach in front of the new harbour.

Well the work on the Port, as I said earlier, is complete and there is no sign of a beach, but, roughly in the center of the area concerned there is a surface water drainage outlet and as the picture below shows it has been enclosed in a concrete tunnel to extend it some forty meters into the estuary.

Now why would they do that if not to place something on top of it?

Cheap as chips.

I'll be in S.L. from the 26th of Feb to the 3rd of march courtesy of Ryanair.
Joan, myself and our friend Darran depart from east Midlands airport for the meagre sum of £62 each return.
In truth we have had cheaper flights with the Irish low cost carrier (£18 return being our best yet) but still think this price is a snip. I don't know how they manage it but long may they continue.
Speaking of good deals..........on my last 2 trips I departed from my usual car hire company and gave Holiday Autos my business.
They do all the hoof work for you and supply you with a selection of low cost options from major car hire companies. On this occasion my car will be supplied by Sixt Portugal fully inclusive for less than ten pounds per day. If you knock off the cost of a taxi to and from the airport you have the convenience of your own transport for about a quid a day!!!
If your planning a trip to Portugal (or anywhere else for that matter) click on the link at the left hand side of this page for a really competitive quote.

Carnival

Both Joan and I are longing for a visit to Santa Luzia least of all because Camaras all over the Algarve, and indeed all over Portugal, are busy preparing for their Carnival celebrations which will include parties, parades,dances and fancy dress competitions to take place between February 20 and 24.

Traditionally, Carnival is a period of festivities including parades and dances and is fixed each year by the phases of the moon and marks the start of the Christian period of lent.
The word Carnival is derived from the Latin “carne vale”, meaning ‘farewell to the flesh’.

Each town has its own theme for this annual celebration and themes across the region this year include the year of astronomy in Albufeira, the Olympic Games in Vila Real de Santo António, the world in São Brás de Alportel and nature in Loulé.
Loulé carnival, first held in 1906 is widely acclaimed as the best parade in the Algarve and is one of the most renowned in Portugal.

I have been unable to find anything out about the big parade in Tavira, which is the nearest to Santa Luzia where unfortunatly only a small childrens parade is organised.

Happy new year

May I wish everyone happy and prosperous new year. The credit crunch and the dramatic fall in the value of sterling against the euro however seem to be conspiring to prevent the prosperous part of my greeting for most of us Brits.

Back in September in my post "sign of progress" I touched on the fact that a lot of business owners in the Algarve were unhappy that the authorities dictate the dates on which they could commence and cease their business activities. Well it would seem that the authorities are not only listening but are also prepared to act.

Concessions along the Algarve’s beaches will be allowed to open outside of the normal bathing season, which is between June 1 and September 30, this year.

The decision was made at a meeting between the Administração da Região Hidrográfica do Algarve (ARH), the region’s hydrographical administration, and other organisations in December.

Bars, restaurants and other facilities that want to open outside of the normal bathing season must present their proposal to the relevant port authority.This must include the proposed opening dates as well as other information such as assistance for swimmers, rubbish collection and access to a first aid posts etc.

No doubt the inevitable bureaucracy involved will be daunting for some business owners but nevertheless we can hopefully look forward to services such as the ferries and aqua taxis operating into the cool autumn months.