I am enjoying Carvoeiro more and more as I
discover all the little hidden secrets lurking on "calçada"-strewn streets.
Roadside cafes, bica's and cafe com leite (I´m sure I´m not spelling these correctly)
are becoming part and parcel of my language as my Portuguese vocabulary increases ...
albeit slowly. It is a language that resonates off the tongue with wonderful zzzz and
ssshhh sounds. No doubt many of you have heard it spoken and it is a welcome change to
hearing the harsh rasping consonants of Afrikaans.
Daily life in Cape Town is punctuated with the vilest reports of street vendors calling
out their wares and it is a largely colourful display of verbal selling. Occasionally more
vulgar versions of: "Your farrders a toooo sent peees!" (your father is a two
cent piece) begin and usually end with a scuffle and the female "bergie" hits
poor old Joe over the head with an axe - heheh no seriously Cape Town is a wonderful and
vibrant place to live and visit. Carvoeiro's streets are choking up with busy
holiday-makers, cars revving and impatient Portuguese hooting. The clink of coffee cups
and the gentle lap of the ocean on Praia do Carvoeiro jars me back to reality as I slurp
on the third coffee of the morning.
I enjoy a late morning visit to the square where I can sit and gather my thoughts on paper
before strolling up to Steen´s ice-cream shop for a "2 bola" with whipped cream
and topping. At 340 Escudos it´s a large ice-cream and I´m sure I could find a
nutritionist who would advocate it as the most wonderful breakfast around.
There are many interesting characters around Carvoeiro, most notably the chef, Jurgen -
what a guy - I usually enjoy the Formula 1 with him every second Sunday after a
wonderful lunch at his villa overlooking the Lagoa valley (if that is what it is
called...sounds good anyway). His house is perched at the pinnacle of a large hill and has
almost 360 degree views of Silves, Portimao and Lagoa. I am aspiring to buy a plot of land
in Monchique with similar qualities.... we'll see.
Major Chris Goldman, ex-South African Air Force is a great guy and full of hectic tales of
the Angolan War. He was a chopper pilot and had some unbelievable experiences. One fine
day I will coax him into doing an interview on this site.
Another character who I have seen around town is Beto the singer.
Steen played me one of his CDs one day and it is fantastic - he seems to play at the Jazz
Club every Monday, and one day hopefully he too will be interviewed. Arrrr so much to do,
so much time...think I will get back to revamping my personal web site.
Send me an e-mail - I´d love to hear from you.
Cheerio
Nick - nick@carvoeiro.com
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