Last year, when I was knocking about the Algarve, Portugal’s sun-drenched southern region, I had the feeling I never dug below the thick veneer of tourism catering to the mainly Brit/German/Dutch markets. Restaurant menus and outdoor special boards had a mini United Nations of flags indicating the different languages spoken inside. And when The One and I stepped into most of these places, the offerings were hardly stellar and rarely Portuguese. Granted, I did have some tasty meals in tucked-away places, but they were never far from the shouts of souvenir hawkers and the blather of what seemed like a world summit meeting on vacation. It was Portugal, Club Med-ized.
When I got home and e-mailed some of my Portuguese friends about my less-than-authentic time in the region, nearly everyone wrote back, “That’s because you went to the wrong places. I have [insert name of brother/sister/parent/cousin/ex-girlfriend/old boss/best friend] who lives in [insert name of small town in the Algarve] who could have shown you the real Algarve.” Bully for me. But until I return to follow up on every one of those introductions, I’ve discovered something almost as good and probably more useful: AlgarveBuzz.com.
Written by an Algarvian woman named Eddie, the blog is without a doubt one of the most beautiful homages to the region. Gorgeous photos of local life and food taken by Eddie and her partner, Moses, are splashed across each page, while event info, recipes, wine discoveries, and news related to the area fill the text. Their blatant love of the Algarve is palpable. Eddie and Moses are on a two-person mission to bring the Algarve to readers (through recipes and news) and readers to the Algarve (through links on traveling to, and living in, Portugal). After perusing some of the blog, I have to admit I have a bit of saudades, or longing, for Tavira, a quaint waterfront town barely clinging to the Portuguese side of the Portugal-Spain border.
So consider yourself warned. The last thing I want to have to say to you if you come back from the Algarve flummoxed is, “That’s because you went to the wrong places. I have two friends, Eddie and Moses, who live there and their blog could have shown you the real Algarve.”
LC
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It’s been awhile since their website has been updated (more than a year). Do you know if they’re still around?
Ashley, I’ll check with them. If I don’t hear anything back within a month, I’ll remove the post. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
David, how I understand your thoughts about the Algarve. We used to have a summer home there in the Balaia area and part of the reason my parents ended up selling it was exactly because of what you described. INDEED there are still a lot of hidden treasure, especially away from the beaches, but as unfortunate as it is the Algarve became more of a tourist hub than a true Portuguese locale. I will never forget one of the last time I went there, my husband and I went to a bar after dinner and to our surprise the person who came to our table to ask what we wanted to drink spoke in English to us. I responded in Portuguese and she looked at me as if I was crazy. She again talked in English, then I looked at her and asked, do you even understand Portuguese? Her answer was negative and there was no need for such when you live in the Algarve. Even my husband who is American but fully dove into the Portuguese culture, language and food was bothered by such as looked at me and in his pretty good Portuguese accent and said… “let’s go somewhere else.”