Algarve Beach Life Diaries

So there I was, blogging about an earthquake somewhere out in the Atlantic that affected Algarve...

Than BANG; this tsunami thing happens and eclipses it completely.

Many others are blogging about the rescue efforts and the need to give generously to an aid charity, so I won't repeat all that stuff. Apparently, the BBC's recent appeal programme was so effective that all the lines to Oxfam etc. are blocked! Let's hope the techie boys (and girls) sort out that stuff ASAP.

So, is this a sudden spate of related events? Are earthquakes and tsunamis going to be on the cards more often in future?

Or was this just coincidence - a statistical blip?

There's probably some seismologist somewhere trying to tell us, but being drowned out by the media preoccupation with body counts.

As if today's 60,000+ estimates weren't bad enough.

It would be nice if tomorrow's news broadcasts were about how the aid is getting through and being distributed effectively.

It's the living we should be concerned with now. Drinkable water and some form of sanitation are top priorities.

It's hard not to think: thank God I live in a part of the world where the occasional falling tree is major news. Selfish, but difficult to avoid...

Don't ask me why I typed that. Desperation probably... I always intended to post my blog more often, but... "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." (Well, I think it was Hell, but if not, somewhere equally undesirable).

I've been writing a page about Algarve pousadas for my website. What are they? Well, they're a form of hotel accommodation that's probably unique to Portugal. But that's a bit like saying if I invent something spurious today and call it 'Worryspin', then it's unique because there's nothing like it.

Pousadas are state-subsidised luxury hotels (40+ in number) dotted throughout Portugal. They are almost always situated in spectacular or otherwise favoured settings. Some are in buildings with special histories that have been refurbished and converted (the buildings, of course - not the histories).

There are only 2 pousadas in the Algarve (the southern coastal area of Portugal).



The Sao Bras pousada was only the second one in the whole of the country, having been built in 1942. It's on a steep hillside overlooking the south coast some 20 kilometres away. And it's a great place to make a pit-stop if you're driving through the centre of Algarve during a vacation there. Coffee and cake with that view from the terrace - just Heaven!

Out near the south-west tip of Algarve (once thought of as the edge of the world), the Sagres pousada is steeped in history. It was here that Prince Henry founded his school of navigation in the 15th century and so spurred the Portuguese discoveries of foreign lands, including Brazil. Once again, the views from the pousada are sensational, and it's only a few kilometres along the coast from the Forteleza at Cabo do Sao Vicente (currently undergoing some restoration), which is also redolent of the nation's maritime history.

(I was just looking back at that word 'discoveries' and pondering. Of course, the natives who were already there when the explorers landed might not have agreed with that term, had they even understood the language. But, that's how we Europeans regarded them - they hadn't even coined the phrase 'cultural imperialism' back then).

There's going to be a third Algarve pousada, and they've started work on renovating and restoring the palacio at Estoi. But it'll probably be ages before it's open to Joe Public - so I'll write about it then...

Anyway, I hope to add another blog before Crimblemas, but who knows? There's shopping and Lord knows what else to get done, and my planning skills seem to wane the more I require them.

However, if you want to find out more about this stuff, check out:

Algarve Pousadas

Meantime, in case I don't get back here in time, happy holidays to all my readers (yes, all 6 of you!) :)

It's true, apparently. On Monday 13 December 2004 an earthquake affected Algarve and most of Portugal.

Fortunately, the centre of the 'quake was some 100 miles out to sea, south west of Cabo de Sao Vicente. Even so, the tremors in Faro measured 5 on the Richter scale. That's enough to make inanimate objects move! (So it might even have got husband Nev out of his armchair).

Suitably reassuring 'official' noises have been made, with a statement from Coimbra University to the effect that Portugal's regulations regarding earthquakes are world-class. That would, of course, apply only to new buildings.

So, am I put off? Well, no... These things happen, and it's not like living on the San Andreas fault, as do many Californians. The last major earthquake in Portugal was 1755, so if another was due, that was probably it on Monday.

I'm still planning to get my little white legs back in Algarve as soon as I can.

Although I love the Algarve and its people, there's one thing that haunts me whenever I visit...

The selection of public toilets on offer!

Now, I don't mean the condition in which they're kept. Most of them are maintained in very clean state by the formidable ladies who haunt such buildings (even the Gents') and hang about hoping for a gratuity as you leave.

Let's face it, since I live in the UK, I could hardly complain about the state of repair of Portuguese toilets. At home, public conveniences are routinely trashed by our well-educated youth (Government figures suggest that 50% of them have degrees, so a BSc in Porcelain Demolition must be a popular subject).

No, I'm referring to these strange devices with two foot-shaped marks on either side of a hole in the ground! The very sight of them fills me with dread, as I never know whether my desperation to 'go' will overcome my feeling of vertigo (and worse!) as I balance precariously over a pit.

Perhaps the European Union's Community Fund could cough up for some facilities that would propel the Algarve into the 21st Century and mid-European lavatorial standards.

Don't get me wrong, there's much about the Algarve and its charming way of life that I would defend tooth and nail. It's just that those 'lead bombardier' bogs aren't among them.