Developments

Now that a little time has passed I have managed to shake off the euphoria of the struggle against the elements and creatures of the deep that lead to the capture of Brian and turn my mind to the changes and developments in Santa Luzia.

Casa de Polvo appears to have taken over the premises of O Marinhero the new restaurant that opened last summer. We had a meal there before it closed and while there was nothing to complain about there was also nothing to justify the premium price charged.
Little Casa de Polvo on the other hand has gone from strength to strength being popular with visitors and residents alike.
The acquisition of the O Marinhero site (which is incidentally right next door) more than quadruples Casa de Polvo's size and I am pretty confident that with their focused offering and reasonable prices they will make a huge success of it.

During our visit we noticed that almost every commercial premise in the village was displaying an order from the Camera (council) showing a large area of the Rio Formosa from which all moored vessels had to be removed by 10th of April and with typical Portuguese aplomb the owners of quite a few seemed to be contemplating complying.
The reason for the removal of the vessels is so that dredging work can begin on the new marina to be built there and I am looking forward on my next visit to seeing if (a) the boats have been moved and (b) the work has commenced.
Along with the construction of the marina the Eastern end of the promenade is to be widened and improved. A section of local opinion is also in favour of pedestrianising the promenade and lobbying is in progress to achieve this.

The tiny Cafe Santa Luzia has also been dragged into the 21st century.

This one room bar was run by a lady about ten years older than The Royal Navy, she spoke not a word of English and the only Portuguese I ever coaxed from her was "Nao tem" ("I have none"). She has apparently finally put up her feet and handed over to the younger generation who have introduced such innovations as refrigeration,lights and some outside furniture. These, the new coat of brightly coloured paint and the smiling helpful young Portuguese man behind the bar have transformed the place.It is just past the Farmacia, if you visit Santa Luzia, as one day surely you must, call in and enjoy, you will be made most welcome.

Life of Brian

It has been a long time since I have had the time or inclination to sit down and write.
My mother finally succumbed to the cancer she had been fighting for the last 2 years and began to decline rapidly in early December, numerous admissions to hospital and doctors visits culminated in her admission to Saint Gemmas Hospice, Leeds, where she died on the 7th of March this year.The huge sense of loss and grief were somewhat tempered by a feeling of relief that at last it was all over both for her and for the family who had spent four months awaiting the inevitable. The funeral service though heartbreaking was quite beautiful and it was enormously gratifying that about 150 people turned up to pay their respects and wish her a last farewell.
We had promised ourselves that when it was all over we would flee to Santa Luzia at the earliest opportunity and let the magic of our little Portuguese paradise ease all the stress, pain and tension but the formalities of probate etc. meant we were unable to escape until early April.
Thus we arrived with friends Barry and Netta on the 4th of April at a now completely no smoking Faro airport. I never really believed that the Portuguese would swallow this nanny state stuff and embrace the smoking ban but early indications are that they have, most bars, restaurants etc are now non smoking and people are begrudgingly complying, however that is what happened in Spain for a few months and now you can have a cigarette with your drink just about anywhere there and I strongly suspect the Portuguese will follow suit.
Arriving at the house in the early evening we quickly realised that the aftermath of my roof repairs in November was going to take a lot of erasing and a massive cleaning operation was launched there and then. This major operation was to continue on and off throughout the entire 9 days we stayed.
Now I have been promising myself for the last seven years that one day I would do some fishing from the pier and, during a visit to the local Aldi to stock up on cleaning materials, I took the opportunity to abrogate all responsibility and immerse myself in the special offers section, particularly the fishing tackle sets. We came away laden with bleach, brushes, scourers, sprays, powders and a 39 euro fishing tackle combo.
The weather on Friday and Saturday was excellent, clear skies, a hot sun and a cool refreshing breeze so on Sunday afternoon I ventured down to the quay and set up my gear.
Bliss....... the tide was running fast and heavy, the breeze was blowing gently and the sun was shining. Not for long.
When I started my quest for a seafood supper I was sat on the pier with my legs dangling over the side casting my line into the fast running tide some 3m below but within an hour the combination of rising tide and wind had me bathing my feet in the waves and sitting on my various bags boxes etc. to prevent them blowing into the briny. Being an intrepid Englishman I continued my struggle with the elements and finally as the tide reached its peak (almost at the top of my now beleaguered pier) I hooked into a fish. And what a fish......... my rod bent double and the spool of my reel screeched against the clutch as the monster of the deep realising he had swallowed something decidedly dodgy made a run for the ocean. The thrill of the contest was however quickly over as the beast contemptuously snapped my line and departed the arena.
If I were to make a guess I would suggest my intended but now departed supper was a fine sea bass. On this disappointing note and with the waves now actually beginning to break over the edge of the pier I finally realised I was bloody freezing cold so packed up my gear and returned dejectedly to the house with my never to be believed tale of "the one that got away".
The strong winds are often the portent of a storm in Portugal and sure enough the rain arrived around lunch time Monday and fell torrentialy until late Thursday afternoon which was bad news for the group of English tourists we met in the new Indian restaurant in Tavira on Thursday night. They arrived on Monday as the deluge began and were departing Friday morning just as the sun returned. Each time we visit now we are amazed at the number of Tourists in evidence at any time of the year.
We spent most of Tuesday in Faro at the Forum Algarve shopping centre and once again the special offers at Jumbo supermarket got the better of us and we returned home the proud owners of a 26" flatscreen LCD TV which I busied myself installing as the clean up operations continued unabated all around me.
During this stay we kind of did the holidaymaker thing and enjoyed meals in some of the more upmarket restaurants, Vincents.......rack of lamb, Canto Azul................duck breast with fruits, and Casa Do Abade.............fillet steak but we did not forget to visit our favourite local eateries Mourao..............Prato do dia only €7.5, Tridoce..................three course meal including wine and coffee for four €28.00, and Bica.....................authentic local cuisine.
We also spent the best part of a day attempting once again to get the local water company Tavira Verde to put the water bill in our name and thankfully (after 2 years, 3 disconnections and innumerable visits to their office) we succeeded. The big stumbling block was that you have to get the previous owner of the property to sign a form transferring the right to be the billpayer????? We simply fibbed and said they had emigrated to Brazil.
Anyway come Friday and the re-appearance of Mr. Sun I determined to relaunch my assault on the denizens of the deep and late afternoon saw me back at my hunting sight on the pier.
My octopus tentacle bait had dwelt in the fridge all week and was frankly pretty slimy and quite smelly and whilst the fish seemed to be biting well it quickly occured to me that they were spitting out my offerings in disgust as I simply could not react fast enough to hook into the blighters. After some time I took myself off to a local shop and purchased a small bag of frozen prawns. Re-tackling with my new bait and a growing confidence I once again entered the fray.
The bites came thick and fast, my quarry were certainly much happier with my new offerings but were damned quick to nick them off my hook and leave me wildly striking at nothing.
Then on one particularly vicious strike ( oh I was determined) I felt that familiar knock and jag of a fish firmly on the hook, this was not the monster who tormented me 5 days ago, the rod had a barely discernible curve and the clutch on my reel was unquestionably in command of the creature attached to my line. Never the less it was a fish and I excitedly reeled him in and pulled him up onto the pier. He turned out to be a maxarra, a type of small bream, and had a row of vicious looking spikes on both his dorsal and pectoral fins, not to mention two rows of razor sharp little teeth which made the unhooking process a little complex and slightly perilous. Having unhooked him and placed him in the carrier bag Ihad brought along to carry my haul off in Idecided that as my first catch in Portuguese waters he should have a name by which I could recall him when recounting the tale of his capture. BRIAN seemed to me an excellent name.
I fished on for a while in the company of a small Portuguese boy who insisted on chattering away despite my constant "Sou Ingles, Noa falar bem portugese". His father eventually called him and he trotted off with a cheery " Ate amanha aqui" , I had neither the heart nor the necessary portuguese words to tell him I was flying home to England tomorrow..........bet he was disappointed when he turned up.
Brian meanwhile was carried home in triumph to be displayed to all who would look.
I am told had I managed to land a few of his pals they make very good eating so he was consigned to my freezer where he awaits his companions.
Since returning home my exploits catching Brian have entered local legend (and Brian has grown considerably as things do in fishermen's stories) and I have already formulated a plan to capture the monster who evaded me on my first expedition.
I have however found that you should hold a license to fish in the sea in Portugal, this was apparently introduced in 2007 and is even harder to come by than the fish, so my first expedition on my return will be once more into the realms of Portuguese officialdom and bureaucracy.
I have added a fishing in portugal link on this page for anyone who needs to know the law.

Feliz Natal

Feliz Natal (Happy Christmas) to one and all.

Haven't managed a pre christmas visit although Joan was meant to fly out on Monday the 17th December. I missed a turn on the motorway and finished up closer to Humberside airport than Robin Hood where I should have been. Any way she missed the flight !

Fortunatly it only cost 25 quid. If you are considering a visit to portugal check out Thomsonfly from Doncaster/Sheffield robin hood airport. They have some fabulous prices at the moment.



I have been taken to task over my constant referal to Santa Luzia as a village, there are apprantly now 1700 inhabitants in S L , quite a lot by portuguese standards, and in the 1980s it was granted town status. Further more in the 90s it was upgraded to "small city".



We are hoping to get to the small city early in the new year to distribute belated christmas presents.



Meanwhile Paulo, former waiter at Mouraou restaurant, is looking forward to his first christmas here in the UK.

He is gradually learning to take with him hat gloves and scarf when he ventures out because in his own words "Esta muito, muito frio la fora" (It is very,very cold outside)


























Muito Frio Paulo enjoys a warm atmosphere in The cross Green pub with John my No 1 roofer's labourer.

Hard Slog

Arrived back in UK last Thursday after 10 days of hard slog on the house roof.
Grossly underestimated the amount of sheer hard graft involved in removing the old roof and replacing with new.

A great debt of gratitude is owed to Don and John who flew out with me and worked like dogs to complete the project.

My Portuguese improved no end during the 10 days we worked as very few (actually none) of the people at the various builders yards, skip providers,DIY shops etc. that I had to deal with spoke English.

The first two days removing the old roof and hand carting it down the steps was backbreaking, thighbusting, hipjolting, kneckwrenching, ribcracking (getting the idea?)bodybruising toil.

The tons and tons of rubble hand carted from the roof.

We found a number of rotten timbers which had to be replaced and Don's skills as a joiner were well utilised both on this and the sheeting of the none too level structure in preparation for the laying of the new tiles. Throughout all stages of the job John, as general labourer, worked like a horse.

Despite his sixty years and slight build I would not have swapped him for a dozen of today's youth.

New timbers inserted to replace rotten woodwork in readiness for the sheeting.

Once the new timbers were in place corrugated sheeting was applied upon which the tiles were to rest.

The tiles themselves are laid on the corrugated sheet and held in place with sand and cement which means you have to lay a few rows and then wait until the mortar sets before you can work further up the roof without disturbing those already laid.

Tedious, arduous and time consuming work.

The weather was very kind to us for the first week but on the monday of the second week the heavens opened and with the roof only about 90% complete and with no ridge tiles in place we hastily paid our bill in the restaurant we had just eaten dinner in and dashed back through lashing rain, crashing thunder and blinding lightning. Our worst fears were thankfully totally unfounded and the yet incomplete roof held out against the worst the Portuguese skies could throw at it.

A couple more days during which we were frequently rained off saw the completion of the tile laying and the addittion of the ridge tiles. The verdict...... well it holds water and though we may not be the fastest roofers on the algarve we can probably claim to be among the roughest!!!

Pictures of the complete job will be available following a return visit to tidy up our fairly amateurish mortar daubings.

Roofing

When you are looking for a property in Portugal agents are often keen to show you ruins and derelict houses with tales of how cheap it is to hire builders and tradesmen to turn the pile into a palace. Beware........we have a problem with a leaky roof and our experience of builders in the Algarve is that the first assumption they make is that as a foreign property owner you are rolling in money, the second assumption is that you are dumb enough to part with considerably more of it than is necessary to get a job done.


Now anyone who knows a Yorkshireman will know we are reknowned for two things, we tend to be a little blunt and we will not spend a penny if a ha'penny will do!!


You can I am sure imagine the fits of apoplexy caused by quotes for a simple roof re tiling job which varied between 8 and 27 thousand pounds. (no typos, that is 8 and 27 thousand pounds)

So having scoured the web for suppliers and instructions on how to make a watertight roof I am returning to Portugal in the next week or so along with a couple of dour Yorkshire tradesmen and doing the job myself. Will keep posting on progress.

Flags

Every town or village in portugal no matter how small has its own flag this usually consists of symbols or pictures depicting something about the place against a quartered background.

The flag is flown over municipal buildings such as the Ferguesia, which I believe is a bit like our Town or Civic Hall, and there is usually a standard for carrying at ceremonial occassions.

Santa Luzia is no exception.

This is the flag which is flown on buildings. As Santa Luzia is essentialy a fishing village the flag depicts a fishing boat with a fishtrap which is self explanatory and an alcatruz. An alcatruz was origionaly a pot for holding wine or water usally made from terracotta. They are used to capture octopus now and tend to be generally made from black plastic. Interestingly the Alcatruz points back to the Moorish influence as they were first used as the pots on the irrigation water wheels the arabs famously introduced to Portugal (a spledid example of which can be seen in Tomar in central Portugal) and their very name is a derivative of the arabic 'Al-Kadush' meaning 'of irrigation'.

This is the standard which is carried on ceremonial occasions.

I have never seen either the flag or standard in use but you can be sure on future visits I will be keeping an eye open for them. I feel sure the standard will have been somwhere in the procession at the festival but if it was I am afraid it completely passed over me!!

Festival

I touched on the festival in an earlier posting. The annual festival commences on a Friday and ends on the following monday usually in the second week of August. It is a very busy time for the village with many visitors from Lisbon and the north of Portugal.

A staged area is constructed on the promenade and a show is staged every evening, this year the stage area was not fenced off and whilst you had to pay for a seat or table it was perfectly possible to go along and enjoy the entertainment from a standing position just outside the main audotorium area. The entertainment typically commences about 10-00pm and goes on till around 2-00am. lots of temporary bars are placed along the prom and to say alcohol is so freely and cheaply available it is amazing that drunkeness is almost unheard of at this event, quite a contrast to what would probably happen here in the UK. There were quite a few GNR (portuguese police) in evidence but their primary concern seemed to be ensuring that cylists did not ignore the traffic signs and laws of the road on the otherwise vehicle free streets!!

On the Sunday a solemn mass is held in the little local church after which the statues of christ and the various saints are paraded around the village accompanied by a marching band and what looked like the entire 1500 population plus a good number of excited tourists. The statue of santa Luzia the patron saint of both the village and the now severely depleted fishing fleet is carried cermoniously to the fishermans pier where the fishing boats await decked in ribbons and flowers to be blessed for the coming year. On the return to the church around 8-00pm a display of fireworks signals the end of the religious celebration and everyone gets back to the business of enjoying the festival.

The Highlights of our visit

Well i have been back in the UK now for just over a fortnight and have just been too busy with the pub and the vending machine business to post anything.

During the time we were in the village we managed to do a number of things we have been promising ourselves for some time now. The first and most unpleasant of those ws to visit the local town hall and pay our 'Council tax' (don't know what it is actually called in Portugal).

We caused a little confusion in the place by trying with our not too good Portuguse to organise a direct debit arrangement for what we thought must be the monthly payment of 139 Euros. That was ultimately resolved when the clerk managed with her not too good english to communicate that 139 euros was in fact the full years dues. Now that's the kind of tax I do not mind paying!!!

Managed a trip across the Rio Formosa on the water taxi to Terra Estrata and walked the kilometer or so down the fabulous beach to the Isle De Tavira, more about that another time.

During the second week we managed to visit Pego do Inferno, an inland attraction a twenty minute drive from Tavira. Though it was busy with bathers and swimmers the stunning natural beauty still left a lasting impression and I will surley attempt an out of season visit to see it in a more natural state.

Visitors enjoying the spectacular Pego Do Inferno

Enjoying the Festival

Arrived last tuesday to find the village a little quieter than last year but by weekend all that had changed, the place was packed.
A coulpe of new places have opened. The new restaurant on the promenade has opened and is a little upmarket, aiming for the tourist trade. It is called O Marinheiro and I have not eaten there yet but hope to give it a try before I return to England.
Just round the corner from Lorgo De Igreija (The church square) a little cafe bar called Arco Iris (Rainbow) has opened. Joan and I were among it,s very first customers and we had the honour of christening the ice creams.
The festival was free this year so I watched the Fado evening and very much enjoyed it. It was not quite what I expected as I thought Fado was slow and mournful but it was quite catchy really.
On Sunday an artist called Andre Sardet performed, it was very well attended as he is quite popular here in Portugal, he was very good ( A bit of a Portuguese Robbie Williams).
The festival ended with a spectacular and noisy firework display. I have to wonder what the reaction to a firework display at 2 in the morning would be in the UK.
As part of the festival on saturday afternoon there was supposed to be mud football on the river but it was delayed as the tide was still in. You would think in a village of fishermen someone would have checked the tide tables before printing the programme!! Still this is Portugal.
No one has setttled the dispute over the ferries yet so they are not running but the water taxis have stepped in to fill the gap in the market. It costs the same as the ferry did but runs far more frequently and is faster. Hope to go over to the Isle De Tavira later in the week as I have never been in all the years I have been visiting.

Preparing for our visit

Lots to do today.......late shopping, get rooms ready for guests make an emergency list for the relief and of course pack a little bag. We have most things we need over at the house so no need for hulking great suitcases, we could literally pick up passports and money and set of as we are.

A few essentials however will go in a bag, a catering pack of English bacon (well Danish really but you know what I mean), a copious supply of Tetley teabags, a tube of english mustard and the latest Harry Potter take up most of the space available.

Already pondering where to eat lunch tomorrow. Casa do Polvo and restaurant O Moroua are the 2 prime contenders. Casa do Polvo (House of octopus) is a small new place which has been open for less than 12 months but is already very well established, it is ideal for a light lunch serving mainly sea food with octopus making up much of the menu. The Gambas de casa (large prawns in sizzling garlic laced olive oil) are a particular favourite and along with a large tuna salad and a bottle of the crisp house white will set you back about 25 euro. situated on the promenade just across from the ferry landing it is a great place to sit and watch the world go by.

Moroua is a typical portuguese eating house where a freshly caught sea bass or bream will cost you no more than 10 euros ( and thats the dearest thing on the menu). Many locals use the place at lunch time as the Prato Do Dia provides a substantial meal at a price even the most poorly paid can afford. Just 7 euros sees your table festooned with appetiser, fresh portuguese bread and sardine paste and a bowl of tangy olives, a substantial helping of the dish of the day along with wine or beer, a home made dessert or piece of fresh fruit and to finish it all off a delicious pot of coffee. Order an extra beer or bottle of wine and thats included too........magic.

As I write this now I think Morauo just won my vote.