December 2014
Gorgoes is situated in between Loule, Sau Bras de Aportal and St. Barbara de Nexe. Especially in those other three places, many foreigners are living. My first days in Portugal were mainly focused on getting to know the surroundings and making a list of all the places I want to see in the month ahead.
Sau Bras the Aportal was an easy drive from Gorgoes and although the small town is nothing special, it has some nice restaurants, some good supermarkets and even a beautiful situated outdoor swimmingpool. In the “old” centre I found an tourist/information office with a very helpful Flemish lady, who gave me lots of brochures and information, not only about places of interest, but also about general living and touring in Portugal. She also tells me that the prices of houses are lower in the Eastern Algarve, especially if you go a little further into the country side. I hear about the Golden Triangle, a little bit to the West, where prices are way up as many celebraties seem to have a house there (actors, sheikhs, soccer players etc). She also tells me about the Christmas market, which is today running in the old Cork museum (now a Costume museum; museo do Trajo). The museum is just around the corner and the Christmas Bazaar is held in the courtyard. I am impressed to see so many different stalls and so many different nationalities. The atmosfere on this beautiful sunny day is uplifting and soon I have an interesting chat with a Dutch lady, who also tells me about a Dutch website for house sitters, I never heard about. I also hear that the “Friends of the Museum” organizes Jazz and Fado evenings in the museum, Yoga and Zumba mornings, Portuguese lessons, etc. There is a library with books in all kind of languages and there is a computer guy coming on Tuesday mornings. It had been a very informative day!
One of the other places I visit in the first days is the indoor market
of Loule. During the week, the indoor market is open every day, though on Monday there is not a lot of fish, as most don’t fish on Sunday. On Saturdays the market is also a tourist attraction, as all the little back streets are also covered with market stalls and Loule turns into a vibrant place! I am glad my first visit is during the week, as I can combine the market hall with visiting the historical centre and having a nice lunch with sardines outside and later do some shopping in the town centre. I like Loule; it is very lively! The market hall itself is full with fish stalls, lots of veggies and fruits, but also bread, sausages, cheeses, olives and many other local products.
