These three weeks have seen us being very lazy indeed. We have visited virtually nothing and gone virtually nowhere from a tourist point of view but we have had a very pleasant time and been blessed with some great company and (here comes the eating bit) had some great meals out.
But first, you may remember in the last update I mentioned Sue going base over apex getting out of a Tuk Tuk. That was the Friday and on the Monday it was still hurting so we popped up the hospital to get it looked at. We were advised to go to the Faro private hospital rather than the Faro general as, we were told, the waiting time was always horrendous at the general. Well, if five and a half hours at the private was quick I hate to think what the general wait time was. A fracture at the elbow was diagnosed and as the hospital fracture team were preparing to plaster the arm from wrist to shoulder the orthopaedic consultant asked Sue when she was flying home. On being told we were here in a caravan and not going home until April or May he stopped the plastering saying “. . . if we plaster the arm your husband will find it inconvenient so we will put it in a sling and you must use the arm as little as possible for the next six weeks. . . “. “. . .what a sensible and thoughtful consultant . . ." at least I think thats what Sue said.
There is a huge range of food available on the Algarve and we have been fortunate indeed to have visited many restaurants specialising in local cuisine. In no particular order I will list a few :-
O’Monte Velho - This is a restaurant we have mentioned before (in the last BLOG UPDATE in fact) the lady owner Anna, only cooks to order so you must book at least one day in advance. Not easy with a restaurant way up in the hills with no landline telephone and a very unreliable mobile phone signal. Several of Anna’s specialities deserve a mention
1. Bochechas de porco no forno c/migas (Pigs cheeks from the oven with dumpling) this is one of my favourites
2. Coelho com molho de ameixas secas e legumes (Rabbit with prune sauce and vegetables) is Sue’s favourite, and with a starter before, wine with and pudding and coffee afterwards a price tag of around €13.75 per head (less than £11.00 each) is superb value.
Amancil - This restaurant majors on fresh BBQ’d fish. After the usual start of olives, bread and sardine pate we each ordered a DORADO, the chef BBQ’d half of each of our fish and presented them to us then BBQ’d the other half so that all of it was hot when we ate the delicious fish which was served with chips or boiled potatoes, a delicious tomato salad, a litre of red and a litre of white wine (both very acceptable). After finishing with huge portions of Bola de Balochas (a creamy concoction with hardly any calories as long as shown as calories per milligram) and coffee the bill for four came to €32.00 (around £6.31 each)
The Duck Garage - We were invited to a lunch outing of the local ex-pats by R & F. The restaurant is not actually called The Duck Garage, the real name no-one seems to know as there is no sign outside, in fact unless you knew it was a restaurant you would drive right past, it was once a garage and they now specialises in roast duck rather than cars. We arrived with 20 other Brits and sat down to the usual starter of olives, bread and sardine pate after which we were served with a mixed salad. Then came the main event the duck. There were probably at least ten plump delicious duck to share between us, so much that after everyone had eaten as much as they could manage the staff brought foil dishes for people to make up “doggy bags” R & F took some and had enough for another meal for two. The duck was served with roasted potatoes and lashings of onion sauce. The wine from the Alentejo region of Portugal was very good and although I didn’t count the empty bottles there seemed to be a great many of them. The main was followed by a choice of fresh fruit salad or creme tart (another local cream speciality that counted calories by the thousands) but in reality every one had fruit salad from the huge bowl full that was placed in the centre of the table and when that was gone we all went onto the creme tart having portion after portion until that too was gone. Coffee and brandies brought the total bill to €15.00 per head (about £11.76)
Marisqueira Fialho, Pinheiro - This is the only restaurant on the seafront at Pinheiro so it’s not hard to find. Lunchtimes it is always worth booking as it is very popular with local Portuguese and so always very busy. Pretty well everything on the extensive menu is worth trying, and the last meal we had there was Seafood Rice. This is a dish for which you have to be patient as it takes time to prepare and cook and must be ordered for a minimum of two people. When we tried to order it for three the waitress said she would give us a portion for two as she felt there would be more than enough for three - she was right, there was so much we (almost) didn’t have room for puddings. Can’t remember how much that little lot was but it was very good value.
Sergio’s in Olhao is a restaurant very popular with locals and tourists alike and is in a location that - erm how to put it politely - tourists might otherwise avoid. There is an extensive menu of delicious dishes but for Sue and me there is only one reason to visit Sergio’s - liver and onions - absolutely fabulous. With the usual starters, wine, puddings and coffee the bill is €10.00 per head (less than £8.00).
Writing that lot has made me feel hungry so I’ll go away from food and report on the only trip out we have made over these three weeks. We went to ALCOUTIM a town on the Portuguese side of the River Guadiana that forms the Portugal/Spain border in that area.
Alcoutim is a hillside town of cobbled streets, small squares and a paved promenade along the river front which is overlooked by a number of cafes and restaurants.The river is quite narrow at this point and sailing boats and river craft float gently on the waters, with a backdrop of rolling, green hills. The church near the river front originates from the 16th century, but has been re-built a number of times. Over the porch are the arms of the Marquises of Vila Real and Counts of Alcoutim.