An Alternative Algarve - Making The Most of Your Visit
The Algarve, like many other holidays destinations, is a multi-faceted environment. On one level, for its overworked and stressed out occasional visitors, it is one of the most popular holiday destinations in modern Europe. On another, for the majority of the permanent residents, it is a living, working environment where visits to the beaches, and days spent lounging by a pool, are rare and seldom pleasures.
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Similarly, the word ‘Algarve’ instantly evokes visions of high-rise developments, 24-hour discos, and overcrowded beaches. Whilst it is true that some parts of the coast have followed that sad route taken several decades ago by its neighbour Spain, in an unquenchable pursuit for a higher ‘bed count’, thankfully, in the main, it is not so for the remainder of the region. Of course parts of Albufeira and Armação de Pêra will satisfy the need for a 24 hour ‘English Breakfast’, ‘Sky Sports’, and drinking competitions, but this is not so in resorts and towns such as Carvoeiro, Vale de Parra, Vilamoura, and Luz, which have managed to successfully combine the demands of the modern holiday resort with the beauty, history, and culture that is the essence of the Algarve.
And dotted around small towns such as Carvoeiro and Vale de Parra are pretty villages of white washed walls, ancient olive trees, vineyards, and orange groves. If the visitor wishes to leave behind the golden beaches – which are to be found in abundance in and around these small towns – they will discover a landscape of rolling hills, populated by farmland and forest, fresh lakes and ‘barragem’ (man-made reservoirs which are home to a truly unique wildlife), and a whole culture that still relies in some part on the swapping and bartering of handicrafts, home produced wines, fruits and foodstuffs, and a knowledge of the traditional skills and crafts that go back many centuries to the time of occupation by the Moors.
In keeping with this affinity to its history, a year in the Algarve is poetically punctuated with festivals, fairs, and carnivals. For the uncouth visitor, ignorant of the local culture, the standing joke is that ‘every day seems to be a holiday’. But the reality is far more sophisticated than that, with most holidays determined by a religious piety and reverence which is intrinsic to the region, combined with a medieval, almost pagan, shadowy past which reveres carnival and the ‘other world’. Each town and village will have a special saint watching over it, who will be venerated once a year, and each of the historical trades (fisherman, woodcarver, ‘pedreira’, or stonemason) will be watched over by a pagan spirit of saint who is to be thanked in festival or prayer during the year. The most obvious example of this paganism is the three-day ‘Carnival’ which is historically crucial to the town of Loulé, but which is observed throughout the Algarve. Just as in Rio de Janeiro – which adopted the tradition from the Algarve, where many of its people first came from – the town comes to a standstill amidst frantic celebrations, dancing, and practical joking. Later in the year, in Silves (the ancient capital of the Algarve), the August fair is classically Medieval in origin, and a weeklong festival celebrates the ancient city by re-enacting jousting tournaments, and inviting belly dancers and snake charmers to roam freely just as they would have done centuries ago. At the same time, in the town of Lagoa (close to Carvoeiro) the annual ‘Fatacil’ is a modern day agricultural fair, which brings together artisans, businesses, and craftspeople from all over the Algarve, and its neighbouring region, the Alentejo.
Similarly, the weather and climate are famous, and rarely disappoint the visitor looking to escape the mixed weather conditions always found at home. Statistics claim over 3000 hours of annual sunshine, with a daily average of 6 hours even in wintertime. Statistical accuracies are often debatable, but it is certainly not uncommon to enjoy excellent weather, and very warm conditions, all year round. Of course the winters are much damper than the summers, and whilst everything is relevant, the winter evenings can feel cold – even if snow has only fallen once in living memory, and the idea of frost on the roads is a common joke made by residents at the expense of the temporary guests.
When one hopes to experience – if only briefly – another culture, there is good reason why the cliché ‘have a taste of...’ is so enduring. The modern traveller is inclined to sample the food and drink of the host country, and here again the Algarve will delight. From their earliest seafaring wanderings, the Portuguese navigators were intent on returning with new culinary delights from their travels. It was the Portuguese who introduced the chilli to modern Europe, and this remains an integral part of the Algarvean gastronomy. Visitors to rural villages and modern resort towns such as Vilamoura and Carvoeiro will not fail to marvel at the popularity of ‘chicken piri piri’ - the process of grilling chicken pieces in a chilli infused oil – and indeed the town of Guia (close to Vale de Parra and Alcantarilha) is famous throughout the Algarve for being the home of this chicken dish.
Similarly, the more adventurous traveller who visits one of the many roadside cafes (which seem to have refused to move beyond the pre-revolutionary feel of rural Algarve) will often find bifanas on the snack menu. These thin slices of pork – basted in chilli oil and then fried in a traditionally ancient family heirloom of a frying pan – are guaranteed to enliven even the hardiest of pallets. The further inland one travels, the more likely one is to taste traditional bean soups (such as the feijoada) or game – with javili (wild boar) soups and meet cuts still being popular amongst the rural population. Of course, the coastal towns and villages have historically relied heavily upon the fisherman’s catch, and evidence of this is still seen with so many restaurants offering shellfish and line caught fish (such as dourada, carapaus, or sardinhas) as part of their menu.
To accompany ones meal, it is traditional in the Algarve to enjoy a local rough wine, whether one is enjoying lunch or dinner. Today of course, when supermarkets allow us to take for granted the ability to choose ones wine from every region of the world, the rough wines are less popular. But even so, many small local wine producers form cooperatives in order to collect, produce, and market their wines to a larger public. Lagoa, close to Carvoeiro, still boasts a large wine cooperative – founded just after the Revolution of 1973 – which is open to the public. Lagoa and Carvoeiro are surrounded by vineyards, which supply succulent grapes for this cooperative, and the wines which are produced are sold in all of the local mini-markets and garrafeiras (wine shops). Beyond the Algarve, in the neighbouring region of the Alentejo, the business of winemaking is much more serious, and this region of southern Portugal is now world renowned for some of its red wines.
On a more practical level, the Algarve is ideally located for visitors from the UK, being just over two and a half hours away from most regional airports, and then, upon arrival in Faro International Airport, all of the resort towns are no more than an hour away. Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo, and Quinta do Lago for example, are approximately 20 minutes drive from Faro, with Vale de Parra around 30 minutes drive time, and Carvoeiro around the 45 minute mark – although with good traffic conditions, each of these journey times will be reduced. Even the further resorts, such as Luz and Lagos, are no more than an hour away, and for the adventurous; Sagres (at one hour twenty minutes) is the gateway to the west coast and the surfing beaches of Carapateira and beyond.
All-in-all, the Algarve is ideal for escaping the cold winters of central and northern Europe, and the summer – whilst hot – remains temperate and manageable for most (even if air-conditioning is more and more commonly requested by those taking up residence in the rental properties). Combined with its accessibility by plane and improving road structure, the Algarve is perfectly suited to those looking for something more cerebral than the overrun resorts of its Mediterranean neighbours.
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