Algarvedailynews receives many letters from readers across the world. The especially lovely one reproduced below arrived from a frequent winter visitor from Canada whose appreciation of the Algarve made me think that some expats are in danger of forgetting the many reasons why we live here.... Ed.
"I love, love, love to tell you how much I love Portugal and, in particular the Algarve. I particularly enjoy going in the winter months to avoid the bulk of tourists, the higher temperatures and to get some significant bargains, which is a huge bonus.
To me, once you have experienced a "vacation", which is really much more like a visit to a second home, it is hard to embrace the type of all-inclusive resort trips where one sits by the pool for days on end mellowed by watered-down rum or a cruise, where you rarely get away from the banquet, let alone off the ship.
The richness of the variety of scenery in the Algarve never lets me down and, even if I had but one aspect of it, I think I would be satisfied. Coming from Canada in particular, it is exciting to see that which is truly "old"; to walk through that much history and to enjoy all the beautiful gated homes, the winding narrow streets that bring fear at first but are so much fun later as you never know quite where you'll end up and the walled ruins that can appear anywhere.
...and then there are all the natural wonders. I love the beaches, especially as we get to explore them with very few people during the off-season months and I would rarely spend a day where I don't visit at least one. In particular, I like the smaller beaches, ringed by reddish cliffs with interesting rock formations causing the waves to break again off-shore. It is also a considerable luxury for a formerly snow-bound Canadian to see all the flowers, shrubs and trees which are still quite alive to us.
Once you learn where everything is (after a couple of years of exploration), great flavour is easily available for all tastes. We always have a bag of those fresh juicy oranges and another of the lemons hanging outside the patio door and we pick them up at the roadside stands for such bargain prices. Then the markets offer all manner of other fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts and, as with all markets, they offer a fun way to buy them; much more social and lively than those ever bigger supermarkets in Canada.
I have tried quite a few of the restaurants over the years and rarely have been disappointed. The service is always excellent, the variety of choices superb and I love the way they do not rush people through but give you the impression that, once inside, you might stay forever.
We found it amusing and refreshing that, in one restaurant, when ordering fish the server said that yes they had some frozen fish of that type available but that she would not serve it. Then she suggested the fresh items on the menu they did have. That is the type of pride we see everywhere in the Algarve.
It is even great that you can buy groceries from Portuguese, German or British suppliers through the supermarkets. In particular, I have bought the best lamb I ever ate in Portugal (at Iceland) that comes from Ireland. We found that the eggs and chickens we can get in Portugal have real flavour; something that has been lost in Canada with the battery chickens, mass production and long storage times before they reach the market.
But, even with all this, it’s the people I have met that do even more to bring me back. I have become very fond of Britain and the British people I have met, as well as the always gentle, kind and welcoming Portuguese locals. If a get-away experience becomes richer than that I have had in the Algarve, I have yet to find it.
Jim Findlay, Canada.
