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.