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Newsletter June 2004 -
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by: Nigel Anteney Hoare |
Following two weeks away from Carvoeiro visiting Brazil with
our friends, and regular Carvoeiro visitors, from Norwich, England, Paul,
Michelle and son Ryan, we were looking forward to getting back to "normal".
A nine hour flight on Varig airline, to Lisbon (is there an award for worst,
or at least most unusual in-flight catering?!) was followed by a hunt for
lost luggage checked in at São Paulo airport 20 or so hours earlier and then
a brisk run through the seemingly endless corridors of Lisbon airport to
catch the Faro flight. This meant that we arrived at Faro in need of food
and more importantly drink - strong drink! We had arranged a Faro pick up by
GO EASY TRAVEL of Lagoa and, completely unfazed by our 9 hour delay, the
driver was there to greet us with a minibus - great service. We had hoped to
hit the LANTERNA VELHA for the all important fuel injection we needed but a
quick mobile call just after 10pm told us that the kitchen had already
closed. Can this mean Carvoeiro is not busy we thought? It was still the end
of the Easter vacation so we had expected it to be reasonably lively.
Arriving in Carvoeiro the only place available was the new first floor
Chinese restaurant nearest the square which, having turned off the lights as
I walked in to check they were still open, quickly switched them on again
most obligingly when they heard there were 7 of us and we were starving!
Some swift G & T's restored our equilibrium although after 4 flights in 24
hours the room was spinning round without any help from the alcohol. A fine
meal was delivered to us and promptly devoured - the staff ever polite with
these very late visitors. This restaurant jumped several points in my Order
of Merit as a result!
That weekend was spent getting organised and the weather was simply great.
Our children flew back to the UK on Sunday with our friends who were to take
them to their school near Ipswich and for us it was back to routine. Having
left the Newsletter in the safe hands of KAREN, I wondered if anything
noteworthy had happened. I was not to meet up with her until the last day of
April having had a few drinks in SULLYS and a bite to eat, we stopped at THE
HAVANA BAR where she and husband NICK were just leaving. Karen told me the
Easter weekend had as usual been busy especially with the Spanish and
visitors from Lisbon and the North however from what I could see the old
place looked a bit on the quiet side.
The first weekend of May saw the arrival of grey clouds and some rain which
was welcome for the gardens and to lay the dust. It has been a very dry
winter from what I can recall. The lovely temperatures that had greeted our
return from Brazil had disappeared and it turned cold and dismal. The burst
of enthusiasm whereby sun beds etc had been got out of storage was, as often
in previous years, premature and I was reminded of the old English saying
"Don't cast a clout 'til May is out", always very apt here in the Algarve as
it is only really from June onwards that we can guarantee good weather.
Until the weather finally broke on Saturday 8th with a beautiful clear
bright sunny day it had been unseasonably cold and wet. Certainly a big
change from the last week in March when it had been warm enough one evening
to go to the square and sit outside PIU in short sleeves enjoying a post
dinner "bica". I saw JAN ZEGER, the owner and we spoke about the revamp of
the first floor. He told me they had changed the name from "Churrasqueira da
Praia" to MARTINS GRILL simply because many people didn't understand what
was up there! It certainly looks very attractive and several were enjoying a
meal - another one to try and certainly a lovely spot overlooking the bay.
We also spoke about the music in the square for the coming summer. Many will
not know that the cost of that has in the past been supported by Jan and his
businesses and quite rightly I thought, he is a little reluctant to continue
shouldering that cost. I would have thought this was something that the
Junta da Freguesia should take a look at as it is very popular.
Another name change I noticed as I was driving home through POÇO PARTIDO was
that of Restaurant Poço Partido now known by the grand name of IMPERIO DO
PALADOR. Must give that a try too in the interest of the website!
Wednesday 5th saw the long awaited 2nd leg between PORTO F.C. and DEPORTIVO
LA CORUÑA. Porto played magnificently to become the first Portuguese
football team to reach the final of the Champions League (the old European
Cup) since they won it back in 1987. Very fitting with the European
Championships being held here in June. I fancy them to win on 26th May in
Germany.
On 6th we had enjoyed an early movie at Algarve Shopping and dropped into
the LANTERNA VELHA for dinner. FRANK told me that business was picking up
but rather slowly. It was certainly fairly quiet around town. Friday night I
met up with BERT the painter and we dropped into the ROUND UP SALOON where
there was plenty of action as usual. BIG WILL was pining for his apartment
in Brazil and we swapped stories about the place. From there we went to
ZECAS which was also doing brisk business. With his large screen it is a
good bar to watch live sports and I made a mental note to consider that for
the Champions League Final.
As I said the following day broke with clear skies. It was off to MESTRE
MACO the do it yourself hardware warehouse in Lagoa. It seemed that the
sunshine had enthused everybody as sales of garden and pool furniture, sun
bed mattresses, pot plants and the like were brisk.
The fine weather never held though and continued mixed with grey skies,
showers and the occasional spell of sunshine - not good for the early
tourists especially those with young children. The week starting 10th May
was particularly unsettled with showers and heavy thunder claps at times
until the Friday when the sun broke through hot and strong.
The evenings were light until 9pm now and I longed for the weather to settle
to be able to make the most of them. Local gossip told me that a huge haul
of hashish had been recovered on a beach near Albandeira and a few arrests
made. I missed this in the newspaper but this is a frequent event here with
our relatively unguarded coastline an easy target for those bringing the
stuff in from Morocco en route to northern Europe. It seems that those
arrested were merely the "labourers" hauling the stuff up the cliff and the
real culprits escaped albeit without their bounty.
As has been reported on the Forum, Carvoeiro's
long standing - and indeed tallest standing - landmark, the tower crane in
the square, suddenly disappeared making the place look a little tidier for
summer. Friday evening we went off to Portimão Shopping Centre to see Brad
Pitt take on a whole Greek army single handed in the movie TROY. Once again
I was amazed to see that the movie premiered in Cannes at the film festival
on the same evening it was first shown at Guia Shopping and Portimão. There
you have it, the movie capitals of the world - Cannes, Guia, Portimão - nice
ring to it! After the movie we went up the Monchique road and ate at O
ROUXINOL just past the spa town of CALDAS DE MONCHIQUE. O Rouxinol (the
nightingale) is a lovely old quinta type building, very attractive inside
and with a nice outside terrace for lunchtime and warm evenings. The place
is Scandinavian run, Danish I think, and the food is good and different. It
is a good place to have a spot of lunch and then go on up to FOIA (for the
hell of it!), have a tour round Caldas or even to see the OMEGA PARK, a vast
wildlife park that has opened up there just south of Caldas.
The weekend of 15/16th turned out to be beautiful. The Portuguese Parliament
in its wisdom and faced still with much economic crisis, terrorist concerns
over Euro 2004 and all the other weighty matters of state has found time to
bring in a law naming 7 breeds of dogs including Rottweilers, Pit Bull
Terriers, Staffordshires etc as dangerous. These wild animals have to be
micro chipped and transported in cages. If walked they have to be on a lead
not longer than one metre and otherwise have to be muzzled. They also have
to be insured for public liability. The Rottweiler Club of Portugal has
protested, they have 40,000 registered dogs and recorded two incidents last
year. I can sort of understand the law but it is not the breed but rather
the owner that needs the legislation and sometimes muzzling! I have met
little snappy poodles that will give you a right nip on the ankle!
Mustn't get too controversial in the Newsletter! So it was off to see CARLOS
the vet at the Municipal vets in Lagoa by the Fatacil showground to get my
own Rottweiler dog micro chipped. People have mixed views on Carlos but I
have always found him pleasant and helpful. Perhaps because he too is a
Rottweiler owner!? Anyway I got there at 9.15am to find they only open at
10. I exercised the animal on the large flat area where they hold the gipsy
fairs. The dog loved it as that had recently been used by the circus and he
was able to experience the delight of lion and camel "scents" for the first,
and probably last, time! The microchip process was rapid and painless. The
vet’s bill was topped up with various tablets to ward off all sorts of dog
ailments for the coming summer and off we went home. If you see a man and a
Rottweiler walking the streets over the coming months, both muzzled, you
will know it is us!
The F1 Power boat race was held over that weekend and although I have been
for the last 2 years, this year, with no children here to encourage my
attendance, I gave it a miss. Last years race was rather processional but I
understand this year was much better and with a few thrills and spills added
in. They say 30,000 spectators enjoyed the fine weather to watch the race
this year.
The weather stayed gloriously sunny all week until Thursday when mystery
clouds welled up. Up early, over to LIDL at SILVES for some basic provisions
and then to our local ALISUPER for other stuff. I am a great one for
supporting local small supermarkets as much as possible as I believe they do
a good service especially for the tourist. Even the small ones try their
best by stocking familiar items for the foreigner.
Some friends had arrived earlier to stay at their place at ROCHA BRAVA so we
fixed up to go to dinner with them on Saturday at A BORDO COM CARLOS,
between BENAGIL and PRAIA DA MARINHA. I enjoyed it, especially the unusual
Alentejo "vinho caseiro" (home made wine), but others felt it was a little
too much "Hobson’s Choice" as loads of starters kept being brought out and
there was a limited choice of main courses. As I say, I personally enjoyed
it. The restaurant is well appointed, with courteous service from CARLOS and
his staff, different and worth a try I think.
The Sunday morning started with a thick early morning mist which quickly
burnt off with the strong sun breaking through. We decided to take a look at
ARMAÇÃO DE PERA and were tempted to try the sardines at the beach restaurant
by the fisherman’s beach, ESTRELA DA MAR. Delicious! First for us this year
and juts 7 Euros for about 6 sardines, bread, olives, salad and small
potatoes boiled in their skins. Some house wine to wash things down,
coffees, a brandy and a bill for about 27 Euros for the three of us. Silves
council make a big effort every year at Armação erecting plentiful volley
ball and beach football courts on the sands and these were already in use by
local boys and girls. A fabulous sunny day with the sea already tempting
some hardy souls.
That week passed quickly as we were preparing for a trip to the UK to meet
our children for half term. On Friday morning it was an early trip to the
kennels run by the eternally youthful JAN COGHLAN at O CARAVANSERAI at Vale
d'el Rei close to QUINTA DO ROSAL to deposit our dog and then off to Faro.
I look forward to returning in early June when the summer fun should really
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