Agroconceito After the big fires last year in Serra do Caldeirão, the Minister of Agriculture, Assunção Cristas announced that part of the 26,000 hectares of burnt land could be included as a pilot zone for the future Land Grant law. The incentive was there but […] »Luís Rochartre Álvares Let me start by stating my conviction: I do not believe there will be any kind of future that is not sustainable.
Each one of us can recognise the deficiencies in our current model - based as it is on intensive energy consumption and its various […] » People see conspiracy and corruption everywhere these days. In Portugal, newspapers are full of dirty deals at the highest levels. Peoples’ confidence in public figures as well as institutions reached rock bottom a long time ago. Thus, a controversy […] »José Fernandes José Fernandes, 51, was one of the many people on low incomes forcibly evicted by armed police from a cooperative housing estate in Salema last July. In reply to our questions on how he has been doing, he wrote about his situation, and gave us his […] » On one of those routine visits we’re all encouraged to make after a certain age, my doctor announced: “It’s about time you had a mammogram!” I said I might consider the procedure if he tested it out himself, using another part of his anatomy in lieu […] » Nuno Ângelo, 38, trained in marketing and hotel management, is an emerging voice in Portuguese literature. Born in Caldas da Rainha, he has lived and worked for various years in the Algarve. His first book, «Sofás de Praia» presents 60 short stories […] » He was the original investigating officer in the disappearance of their daughter five years ago. In the multiple, exhaustive investigations that have followed, no trace of three-year-old Madeleine McCann has ever been found . There is no evidence, […] »Pat Brown Pat Brown is the criminal profiler from America who talked to “Algarve 123” when she visited at the beginning of the year in a bid to get added insight into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. She has now released a new book that should be mandatory […] » Three years ago we brought you the story of Irmela Kuhn – the Algarve’s one and only animal physiotherapist. Now Irmela has brought us news of another business involving the four-footed world - something that has been described as a kind of “active […] »Nuno Costa Fernandes, Ironman For those who don’t know “Ironman 70.3” it’s a form of extreme triatholon sport, involving 1.2 miles (1.9 km) of swimming, 56 miles (90 km) of cycling and 13.1 miles (21.1 km) of running.
A triatholon superstar, Portimão’s Nuno Fernandes has had […] »Discover You don’t need to look for any reasons to visit the picturesque village of Odeceixe. It is quite simply one of those magical places that is good for the soul. A little corner of paradise dividing the Algarve from the Alentejo - with a stretch of […] » By a strange coincidence, the most corrupt countries in Europe are the same as those in deepest financial trouble.
It gets more sleazy the more southeast you go. On a global scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the worst possible), the perceived level of public […] » In the middle of May a news story went out all over Britain and online that “everyone over the age of 50 should be taking statins” - whether they were suffering from high cholesterol or not. Statins are the latest “wonder drug” for lowering cholesterol […] » The Algarve is supposed to have one the best climates in the world. Well, it’s simply not good enough. Can you remember as far back as the first week of November last year? Winter got off to a rip-roaring start. A storm tore the roof off the terminal […] » Dear Sirs,
My name is Kurt and I come to Portugal from Austria for the Portuguese weather.
I drive along the Algarve and unfortunately I made a stop near Olhão. I took these pictures that I am sending to your newspaper. I don’t understand why […] »Almancil What if we told that that the famous Russian Sputnik – that began the conquest of space back in 1954 – had finally come to land on a roundabout in Almancil?
It’s in terrible condition. It’s antenna are all twisted, springs have sprung in all directions, […] » At a time when we’re beset with doom, gloom and bad news, this little story comes as a ray of welcome sunshine. It’s about a group of local people who have decided “it’s time to help people who have dropped through the net”. “Small Acts of Kindness” […] »ruin'arte In 2008, commercial photographer Gastão Silva, 46, created “Ruin’Arte” – a project designed to draw attention to the dilapidation of architectural heritage throughout Portugal. His concern was that these were “pieces of lost history”, “forgotten […] » It was a difficult year, but even so, the balance is positive. In 2011, we printed 50 editions and published a total of 86.997 classified advertisements (an average of 1740 per week). Compared to 2010, with the same number of editions, we published […] »Hunting in the Algarve A delight in killing, disrespect for nature, rubbish, noise pollution – all in the name of tradition? Is hunting in Portugal an outmoded pastime? This edition, Luso-German lawyer Alexander Rathenau, from Lagos, shoots from both barrels in a no-holds-barred […] »Geocaching Esparagosas – the geocaching legend from Odiáxere, near Lagos, tells us a little more about a possible new “niche” market for Algarve tourism: Like I suppose most people I got involved through knowing other enthusiastic geocachers. Equipment, mainly […] »Crowdfunding Suppose you have an idea for a new project – it could be a business, an expedition, an offer of equipment to the community: there are practically no limits, as long as it’s something concrete, and do-able. In almost every initiative, or dream even, […] »Hotel Golfinho, Lagos The other day, by chance on the outskirts of Lagos, we came across some curious tourists, bums upended, with their heads through a hole in a fence behind which loomed a hideous building. In a way, it’s a fairly typical Algarvian eyesore: one with […] »«The Origins of Savings Behavior» There’s an old bit of folk wisdom that says we come into the world with our virtues already pre-defined, and our defects, too. A more modern explanation is that 30% of what we amount to is ruled by our genes and 70% by behavior acquired as we travel […] » We’re living in fertile times for unusual ideas. A new sect is growing in the small town of Uppsala, 70 km or so from the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Known as «Missionary Kopimistsamfundet» its gospel is the free copying of anything and everything […] » | Movimento Pela Água The water that comes out of our taps is about to become privatized. This threat has existed since 2011. However, recently it has advanced even more with the approval of the proposed law 123/12, last Friday, which practically opens the doors to privatization […] »«Vela Solidária» “Vela Solidária” is an ambitious project involving social institutions, aimed at giving handicapped people the chance to sail regularly. Running from February to December each year, it has been going in Portimão since 2011. This year, however, the […] » As news sweeps the region that local state hospitals may soon be merged - with “certain services in Portimão ceasing to function altogether” - we receive a heartening letter from a cancer patient at the “Hospital do Dia” oncology unit of Portimão’s […] » For those who think the Portuguese are lazy and don’t want to work, this is a clear case of entrepreneurship. A few days ago, Fernando Mota, 47, from Braga, newly unemployed, decided to take his predicament in hand. He had an original idea: he carefully […] » These words, emblazoned on a banner held high at last Saturday’s mass demonstration in Lisbon, cut right to the chase. It is not about toppling the Government and going through the farce of new elections to bring in more of the same, it is about […] » “The Egypt of the Pharaohs disappeared, the Aztec and Mayan civilizations were both wiped off the map; ancient Greece with its philosophers developed into what it is today - and so it will be for the empire of Charlemagne. What would you expect from […] » In the shadow of government announcements that 20 further mining contracts will be getting the go-ahead before the end of the year, Monchique’s Mayor has told people not to worry. Two prime sites on Picota’s (south-facing) hillside will NOT be ravaged […] »SPEA Symbols of “love and devotion” through the ages, turtle doves are the most mentioned birds in the Bible. It was a turtle dove that brought the legendary
green leaf back to Noah as he sat the deluge out on the Ark. It was a turtle dove that featured […] » President Cavaco Silva will be receiving an unusual invitation when he arrives in the Algarve for his summer holidays later this month.
He’ll be invited “to see for himself” the folly of urbanization around Lagoa dos Salgados, in the boroughs of […] » In March this year, the Algarve’s choral group BellaAcapella won the silver medal at Madrid’s Babershop Association awards.
Since then, the members of the region’s only barbershop choir have received all sorts of invitations to sing locally, including […] » Environmental police have been called in to investigate claims that one of the Algarve’s most important wetland areas is being run dry to water a bankrupt golf course and hotel complex gardens. Water levels at Lagoa dos Salgados hit an all-time low […] » A document published by the “Tribunal de Contas” (TC) shows that contracts for introducing tolls on the former “free motorways” - like the Algarve’s A22 . “have translated into a increase of public spending to the tune of 705 million euros”. […] » The Portuguese, as a people, are often praised for their tolerance. It’s one of their many plus points. It’s something indeed to be proud of as a nation.
We have here a wonderfully tolerant justice system, for example. Particularly if you are a […] »The 95th anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary reported from Fátima in Portugal will be celebrated on Sunday with mixed feelings. Pilgrims from around the world will worship at the hallowed shrine where the Virgin Mary is said to […] »Safe Communities Algarve Days after yet another violent household robbery involving foreign resident victims, we talk to security expert David Thomas on how people can get actively involved in preventing crime in the Algarve. Thomas, 61, is a former Assistant Commissioner […] »Paris, praia do Hawai “The Algarve is an excellent place for considering the world today” and for questioning “the lack of poetry, lack of critical sense, lack of human and cultural values that politicians and financial people have had lately”. These words come from stage […] » For the last couple of months we’ve been doing some research which, to be honest, anyone with a little bit of free time and Internet access could do from home. Considering that we live in a region that relies on tourism, we wanted to see how other […] »A perspective by citizens A team of investigators from Lisbon’s social sciences institute presented a study, entitled «A Qualidade da Democracia em Portugal: a Perspectiva dos Cidadãos» (The quality of democracy in Portugal: a perspective by citizens). It’s an exercise that […] » At this time of year we often see travelling circuses pitch up in Algarve towns. Roadside posters encourage children, and occasionally schools take their pupils along as a special treat. But this year, there’ll be some other much more shocking posters […] » If this crisis has served for anything, at least one can say it has stirred charitable feelings of social solidarity in an unprecedented fashion for contemporary Portuguese society. Right now, there are endless welfare campaigns, of all shapes and […] » It’s the latest thing in “guerilla” marketing and it has arrived in the Algarve: “pop-up” shops! These outlets arrive, set up their wares in some of the best shopping centres, open their doors to consumers - attracted by a world of novelties and […] »Paysandisia archon As the Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) continues to cut a swathe through the region’s majestic palm trees, another pest has been identified in the Western Algarve which has already claimed its first victims. Worryingly, its preferred […] » Everyone’s up in arms over the Government’s latest austerity measures but, looking at them from a different perspective, they really aren’t that bad at all. In fact, the Government’s plan is very well worked out - right to the last detail! Let’s […] » What a week! In an outstanding show of people-power, a determined little group of working parents - Portuguese, Brazilian, Italian, German and English - have managed to save a rural village primary school from the austerity axe for one more year. […] » |
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