If you are naturally
English speaking, Carvoeiro certainly doesn't roll off the tongue with linguistic ease.
Karvoyro, Carvoieeera, Carvwehra, carveeeerooh - many differences abound and some are
quite enlightening. I reckon it probably sounds something like Karvwheroo, with the accent
on the second syllable. If you are a helpful person who knows how to pronounce Carvoeiro
please e-mail me - I promise I´m not too busy to receive your input!
The first time I actually heard what the name of my new home was going to be was after a
series of e-mails asking my cousin Mike, what the closest town would be. Initially,
whether he said it or not, I was convinced that I would be romping around in Albufeira.
Maybe this was because I had briefly stopped in Albufeira ten years ago and he thought
that that was all I knew - which it WAS!! Maybe it was just easier to say "near
Albufeira". On further interrogation (via e-mail) made even worse by the fact that he
was incredibly busy managing his hotel, I ascertained that the restaurant was near
Portimão. Now I thought I was getting somewhere, and I guess Portimão IS nearby
Carvoeiro. However, I still haven´t plucked up the energy to take my bicycle over there -
I suppose that says something for my fitness levels (its about twenty clicks west of here
over hills, down dales and through dapple-shaded-creeks). OK, that certainly is a
self-induced challenge - today is the day! I will report back next week and let you know
if I actually did make the cycle to Portimao.
So there I was, thinking that Carvoeiro was Portimao, when Mike actually told me that he
LIVED near Portimão, and that the restaurant was quite a distance from his house, near a
little village called Carvoeiro! Wow, I thought, how on earth does one pronounce that
little gem. Even more to the point what does Carvoeiro mean? Was it an ancient Portuguese
king? Was it an ancient Portuguese naval explorer? Does it mean
canyon-leading-to-the-sea-through-dappled-shade? Who KNOWS the origin of the word
Carvoeiro? This tends to be one of the topics in my interviews - when I get around to them
(Algerian time is affecting me already - however I do have a head start having grown up in
African time!). So there is the challenge..... what are the origins of the word Carvoeiro?
Yes you CAN e-mail me - I don´t ever get enough correspondence apart from the SPAM that
seems to be invading my inbox on a regular basis these days!! GRRR
And more importantly are the people who live in Carvoeiro, called Carvoeirans, Carvoerios,
or just villagers? I seem to lean toward Carvoeirans myself; however with Liverpudlians
and Mancunians and Capetonians wandering the world, who knows what our collective name is!
Just to keep you up to speed, (only because the weathercam is not having a great week) but
the weather has improved noticeably. It is not something that I usually remember (its
either raining or sunny to me) but the temperature has increased radically over the last
three days. On Friday a hot wind blew in and hasn´t really let up since, although now, on
this sunny Monday morning, as I peer out of my French doors into a still orchard sparkling
with chattering little birds, I can even hear the ripe oranges dropping to the earth, it
is so still. It is a lovely sensation having a warm wind replace the slightly chilly
breeze that has blown since I arrived. I think that summer has truly arrived - lets
disregard the geographics here and solstices and things - it feels WARM, OK? : )
I´m not sure about you, but I am having trouble finding you guys on the chat board. I
have an idea. Lets try and all connect at once and instead of 14h00 today, which is fairly
inconvenient for everyone - lets try a Monday evening slot at 23h00 Greenwich Mean Time -
if I am a little late, it means that we are having a busy evening in the restaurant, but
no fear, I WILL be there.
I decided to list a few places to go out in Carvoeiro and over the next few weeks I hope
to sign these institutions up and they may, as a result have a page on Carvoeiro, so keep
looking. We may even do a sponsored nightlife section - so here we go, courtesy of the
Essential Algarve.
Jailhouse
Popular live soft-rock music venue and a favourite watering hole for the local expat and
tourist crowd. Attracts revellers of all ages.
Roundup
Western-themed "saloon" with genuine atmosphere. Live guitar music all year
round with Irish Dave. Karaoke during the summer - you have been warned!
Flic Flac
Berlin-style pub. Well loved and a dreaded gossip venue. Favourite place for Germany's
very own Cliff Richard, Udo Jürgens.
Bote
Carvoeiro's only nightclub situated on the beachfront attracting so-so tourist crowd in
summer. Locals, however, head for Praia da Rocha or Albufeira.
That's all for this week. See you on the chat board!
Cheers
Nick
Nick - nick@carvoeiro.com
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