December in the Algarve

Happy December Everyone!

 

I like all the pedestrians-sort of like a Hallmark movie!

The Church-Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosario

 

This is the Mother Church of our Lady of the Rosary.  Construction was sponsored by the fishing community, beginning in 1698, but only opened to worship in 1715.  Here traditionally fishermen's wives have come to pray for the safe return of their loved ones.

December 1st brought a renewed "state of calamity" (one step below the top emergency level) for Portugal until the end of March! 

This means tigher entries into the country, mandatory masks indoors, and negative coronvirus tests to enter restaurants, cinemas, gyms and hotels even though Portugal's vaccination rate is 87%, one of the highest globally. The EU digital Covid vaccine record must be shown at the entrances and the US covid record from CDC is not acceptable. Fortunately outside eating is still okay (although maybe a little cool....)  We aren't sure what this actually means for us but we do find that the requirement of negative tests will probably keep us at home a bit more. 

Oh well, we have lots to be thankful for and pleased to live in such a lovely area! Our explorations this week have been focused on the natural coastline the area. 

One day we took the train into Faro, about 15 minutes away and enjoyed sunset from a bar overlooking the Ria Formosa.

The restaurant in within the old castle walls

Another day we took a tourist boat to a couple of the nearby islands and learned more about the Ria Formosa lagoon which is separated from the sea by a coastal dune system. 

The Ria Formosa Natural Park stretches about 60 kms (nearly 40 miles) from the city of Faro (near us) to the Spanish border and covers about 18,400 hectares (about 70 sq miles). It's composed of a labyrinth of canals, five barrier islands, swamps and sandbars. Many of the sandbars are used for shellfish harvesting and get completely covered with water with the tide changes.

Birds sitting on the final spit of sand

digging for clams in the marshes and sandbars

Our small open boat was rough on a very windy day and were truely an international group-3 Germans, 2 French, 2 Americans (us) and the Brazilian captain. Needless to say the conversations were delightful. 

Ria (river of salt & fresh water) Formosa (beautiful) is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Portugal and has been protected since 1987. The birds, flourishing flora and fauna make this a very unique area. It's an area for nesting, migratory and winter water birds and a place of refuge for rare Portuguese birds. The salt marshes rank among the most productive ecosystems on the planet and salt has been harvested in the Ria Formosa for more than 2,000 years. Salt was essential to preserving the fish that was transported around the world by the early seafaring explorers.

Bacalhau, or dried and salted cod fish, is stacked open and high in the markets

Our first stop was Ilha da Armona (Armona Island) a sparsely inhabited island with about 50 year-round people, mostly fisherman, that swells to 2,000 during tourist season. It has two long beaches and a campsite.

looking back at Olhão about a 20 minute boat ride

protecting the Chamaeleo (common chamelean "lion of the sea")

   

A threatened species of the lizard family that only exist in the Algarve.  They change color to camouflage, communicate and regulate body temperatue.  Their eyes can rotate independently 360° and their long tongue grabs its prey. 

we haven't seen one yet.....

We wandered around through the tiny walkways (there are no mortorized vehicles so no need for roads) admiring the white-washed homes and cabins with their distinctive Agarve chimneys. These iconic ornamental chimney that look like minarets or miniture mosques have been a mystery for centuries, some saying they are influenced by Moorish and Arabic peoples. 

However research shows that the Arabs who lived here for more than 500 years did not build chimneys. The builder who constructed the chimney used to ask the owner:"how many days of chimney you want?", meaning the more ornate and complicated took more time to build. 

 Back into our little boat, we skirted the shoreline of the islands trying to find calmer water towards our next stop on Ilha da Cultara on the northern end where about 1,000 people live year-round. 

fishing boats in Cultura

C

reparing fishing nets

Most of the fish and shellfish that are harvested around Olhão are shipped off immediately to other markets because they can get much higher prices.  Much of the tuna goes to Japan and shrimp to Spain.  The waters around the Algarve are colder than in the Mediterrean and so the Portuguese fish is much better tasting!

Again there are no paved roads or vehicles and the only way to access the island is by ferry or private boat. We were not able to reach the Farol lighthouse on the west end of the island due to the wind so we'll take the ferry later. We enjoyed a wonderful fresh fish lunch at a small restaurant that supports the local fishing association. 

We are looking forward to more experiences and especially the bird watching during winter and spring.  Birds can be seen throughout the year but especially when they migrate from/to Europe. Purple heron, egrets, white stork, flamingos and many others in addition to endangered species like Seahorse and Chameleon. We do have large stork nests on top of the churches and occasionally one of the large birds flies by our deck (haven't been able to grab a picture yet).

I will finish with some photos of the black, white and gray murals painted on the sides of the old canning factory buildings.  They are reminders of how things were done in the past.  They are fishermen at work, their wives cleaning the fish and sardines, the harbour, horse-drawn boats and the market.

mending nets

sorting clams

cleaning sardines

Portuguese water dog

We have so much more to explore including hiking through the Ria Formosa Natural Park just on the edge of Olhão that will keep us occupied through the next few months of the Calamity.