Santa Luzia

Tavira Summer of 2012

2012-08-24T15:59:00.000+01:00

Tavira this summer Summer of 2012

So Tavira the sleepy little city in the East of the Algarve region of Portugal. It promotes itself as a City of Culture and this it certainly is. Sleepy it certainly isn´t especially in the summer months.

This has been a particularly challenging year for Portugal and the impact on Tavira is no less than the rest of the country. If anything the fears have been greater. Tavira has an impressive history as a trading and sea-faring port. It has always been associated with the sea although this belies what goes on in the hinterland in places like Cachopo and Santa Catarina. Nowadays there is a fishing fleet but nowhere as big as the city down the road Olhão. Tourism is the bread and butter for this City and the council is fully aware of this.

Tavira Youth Orchestra

Restrictions on budgets, both for the City and the Algarve region has impacted on direct financial support for the tourist industry. Draconian financial measures such as a huge increases in IVA (Vat) up to 23 percent have hit Restaurants and Golf courses alike. The despised tolls on the A22 motorway that runs from Spain and across the Algarve and the appalling way the central Government has managed the toll implementation all led to voices of doom emanating from every nook and cranny. The Portuguese like the British excel at drinking out of half full glasses.

So has all the predicted doom and gloom come to fruition? Probably too early to say until accurate statistics are available. But on the ground and living in this area my feeling is that after a slow start in Spring the summer months have been full to overflowing with tourists. The local restaurants seem to be doing well and occupancy rates in the apartments looks good. From the number of Spanish cars on the road the tolls have not deterred our neighbours from coming to this wonderful part of and this certainly was a big worry. The French seem to be here in big numbers as well although the number of French registered cars can be deceptive with so many Portuguese living in that country and coming back home for their holidays.

Crowds watching an event in the Praça da Republica Tavira

I think a great credit must go to the local Tavira Council and the surrounding Fregusia. There have been events throughout the spring and summer months to go to in Tavira itself and every village seems to be holding a fair or event every other week.To walk through the centre of Tavira on an evening is quite an eye opener. There are so many people milling about, looking at the various stalls at the Artisans and Antiques fairs or looking at the books when the Book fair was on. There has been Fado nearly every week somewhere in Tavira. The locals love their Fado and are very knowledgeable but the tourists also seem fascinated by this uniquely Portuguese form of music. And the performers are nearly all local.

Artisans Market in Tavira

A few weeks ago we had the Festas dos Pescadores in our village of Santa Luzia and we were amazed at the number of people attending. The music arranged by the Fregusia was excellent and going by the numbers there on the final night the locals and tourists had a great time. There also seems to be an increasing number of new clubs cropping up,providing a variety of music ranging from Jazz to Rock to Fado and of course the ubiquitous Dance music in it´s various forms for the younger elements of the community and visitors alike.

Suma Covjek Orkestar Playing at Cenas Tavira

This weekend again there is a plethora of activities going on. Tonight, Friday the band Banda Hexágono are playing in the Praça da Republica in Tavira while at the club known as Cenas Tavira there is a tribute to the Portuguese jazz musician Sérgio Mestre. If you want some Fado, the local star of Fado, Márcio Gonçalves plays in the wonderful gardens at Pedras d´el Rei in Santa Luzia. And this is just Friday. So much happening so little time!! Long may it continue

For more information about Tavira and a listing of what´s happening in and around Tavira go to http://www.tavira-today.com. Anyone wishing to place their events on the listing please fill the form in on the right hand column.

Algarve Rugby Sevens World Cup Qualifying Competition

2012-07-23T15:05:00.000+01:00

We have had the privilege in the last two days to witness a wonderful sporting event held in this area.

The Algarve Rugby Sevens have been held at the Algarve Stadium close to Faro. This event attracted 12 of the best teams in Europe who played in an attempt to qualify for the World Cup being held in Russia next June. The top sevens teams are exempt from qualification and these include New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa to name a few. But France, Scotland and Italy of the 6 Nations needed to qualify.

Portugal RFU hosted the event and the help of the local Rugby community they performed as well as any of the teams on display. There was a notable presence from the local Rugby Clube de Loule (link) who were brilliant. Much credit much go to all the administrators and volunteers.

On the pitch there was high expectations from the home team Portugal who have an outstanding reputation in this form of the game considering the small numbers that play the game here. Scotland and France were the obvious favourites, both with large resources and professional squads. The other Iberian nation Spain could not be discounted. They are one position above Portugal in the World listings. There was also a strong contingent from East European countries who are improving extremely quickly.

So 12 teams were split into three groups of four. Each team playing the other in their group. At the end of Day 1 all these matches had been completed. Portugal had Ukraine, Italy and Lithuania in their group and started extremely confidently with a fine 57-5 win over Lithuania. Italy was always going to be the difficult match and this proved to be the case with Portugal snatching a 12-12 draw after indiscipline from the Italians saw them lose two players to the sin bin in the last period of the second half. Both France and Scotland were cruising and both won their first two games comfortably. However , the outcome for the rest of the competition would be descended by the last two group games where both teams lost games they should have won. The Scots were well beaten by Spain 25-5 and in the shock of the day France were beaten by Georgia 33-17.

These results meant that Spain finished top together with Georgia with Portugal coming up third. The quarter finals would be between the top eight teams with Spain playing Germany, Georgia playing Ukraine, Portugal matched against Italy and France v Scotland

The second day started slowly with the first two bowl matches played between the four teams eliminated the previous day. Romania beat a struggling Dutch team 12-0 in a game both teams struggled. Lithuania then sneaked past a spirited Belgium team 22-19 to also get to the final of the bowl.

The quarter finals followed and the quality of the rugby slowly started to improve. The all eastern European clash between Georgia and the Ukraine proved to be a great clash of brawn against brawn with neither team willing to give an inch. The more skillful and experienced Georgians eventually getting through by 19 to 12.

Next up was Portugal and Italy clashing again after their game in the group stages. This time the Portuguese came out with all guns blazing and never let the Italians get back into the game after getting in front and playing their best rugby of the tornament so far. The final score was 28-7.

The last quarter finalwas a clash of the two favourites France and Scotland. I am sure Scotland fancied their chances against what seemed a demoralised team at the end of the first day. But in usual Gallic style the French team were magnificent and the Scots were left trailing badly . France 26 Scotland 14.

The semi-final line up were Georgia v Portugal and Spain v France.

Portugal again played some fine sevens rugby to defeat a strong Georgia line up 19 - 12. The semi final should have been another tense and tight affair with France being favourites to conquer the Spanish. Of course as in the rest of the tournament it depended upon which French team was going to turn up? The Spanish started like the Mistral wind passing through the south of their opponents country, creating mayhem in the French defense with their constant aggressive tackling and pressure. With the ball in hand they were superb and scored 4 tries to nil to win comfortably 24-0.

And so to the final, Portugal v Spain. Could the home team exact revenge for their football compatiots? Would the home crowd be the decisive factor?

Well one factor not taken into account was the referring. In what turn out to be an exciting game but a poor exhibition of rugby mainly due to the referee , Alexandre Ruiz´s (France) interpretation of the rules. In the one game I saw where the game was not allowed to flow. The offside rule was not applied with the Spanish constantly getting away with pushing this rule to the limit. The rucks were a total mess and the scrums not much better.

A second half try by Duarte Moreira superbly converted by my player of the tournament, Pedro Leal. was enough to secure the win for Portugal. Credit must go to Spain who were also brilliant throughout the two days.

A great two days of wonderful rugby!!

Five teams qualified from the tournament for the World cup next year. In addition to the two finalists, the losing semi finalists, France and Georgia were joined by the Plate winners Scotland.

My players of the tournament :

Pedro Leal- Portugal
Martin Heredia- Spain
Terry Bouhraoua
The rest of the Portugal squad!!

S. João Patron Saint of Tavira

2012-06-24T17:49:00.000+01:00

This weekend has been a celebration time in the Tavira area. Starting last Friday in Tavira the streets and gardens were decorated with paper flowers as the City began the celebrations for it´s patron saint S. João (St. John)

In the evening this looked spectacular even more spectacular:

The weekend is a time to party, listen to music, socialise and party some more. The Tavira people are proud of their heritage and customs and as such love to show this off to their summer visitors. A great example of this is the Portuguese singing style known as Fado. In good local tradition the festivities began on Friday evening with a great example of the art.

António Correia

Aurora Jan Gonçalves

Two wonderful exponants of the art, Márcio Gonçalves and Auroro Jan Gonçalves performed the singing accompanied by three magnificant musicians, Ricardo Martins on Portuguese guitar, Anibal Vinhas on Guitar and António Correia on Double Bass and guitar.

Ricardo Martins

Márcio Gonçalves

António Correia and Anibal Vinhas

The crowd was a mixture of Portuguese, young and old, and many tourists who all seemed enthralled by the great show put on.

If your not sure what Fado is about and what it sounds like listen to the short video below :

Márcio Gonçalves Aurora Jan Gonçalves singing accompanied by Ricardo Martins and Anibal Vinhas on Portuguese guitar and Guitar respectively.

An interesting little site about Fado

Local Produce

2012-06-19T18:12:00.000+01:00

Tavira and Santa Luzia is surrounded by orange groves. In spring the fragrant aroma that the blossoms produce pervades into every corner of ones senses.

This year has been particularly difficult for the local citrus growers. Mainly because of the lack of rainfall between November and February. However and despite this there seems to be an abundance locally of wonderful juicy oranges.

And what beautiful orange juice they can produce.

Another big reason to be thankful that we are living in this wonderful area with such a brilliant climate

And not forgetting the farmers, and marketeers that provide the produce.

http://www.tavira-today.com

Santa Luzia is a fusion of old, new traditional and modern

2012-06-18T17:21:00.000+01:00

Santa Luzia is a fusion of old, new traditional and modern. It moves forward with the times but remains enclosed within it´s past. A wonderful dichotomy but for the people that live here and want to make a living there are some serious questions that need to be asked.

The village was originally based upon fishing. That is not to say that it isn´t now. Just that the income stream for the village has swung more towards tourism over the past few years. But fishing is in the soul here and the men and women involved in this incredible industry are very proud of their roots, heritage, and responsibility to maintain and continue the profession in in the village.

I sense many of the fishermen find the tourists something of an instrusion into their simple lives. Also maybe a smattering of envy when the Portuguese from the North parade through the streets in their open top Mercedes and perceived arrogant and patronising smiles. But the Portuguese have a very long history of travelling the world and looking for new and better places to make a living. And they still do. There are more Portuguese that live outside of Portugal than within.

Sadly we have friends who are looking at present to re-locate in other countries in Europe because they are unable to attain the levels of income to sustain their lives here in Portugal. Very sad but that is the reality of Portugal at the moment. Unemployment rises by the day, further restrictions are constantly being imposed on the local fishermen, recent increases in VAT on restaurant food together with the tolls on local motorways is having a big impact on incomes from tourism. And of course the whole of Europe is feeling the pinch from the economic situation.

The original idea of this page was to show the fishing boats of Santa Luzia. But as usual I have been distracted into other issues affecting the village.

The fishermen continue to provide the best Octopus to our local restaurants. This in turn attracts visitors throughout the year to sample the delights of the local Polvo (Octopus) that is prepared superbly in various forms by the local chefs. I must admit my previous experience of Octopus did not encourage me to try it again. But, living in the 'Capital of the Polvo´ I felt duty bound to keep trying it. I now can say that it is another wonderful type of seafood that I enjoy and would certainly recommend the great local Santa Luzia restaurants to sample this delight of the sea.

I am a newcomer to the village and my Portuguese is poor. The locals are very welcoming despite my deficiencies . Hopefully over the next few years I will find out more about how the local fishermen work and think. They have my utmost respect in what they continue to do and may they farm the seas for many years to come. Obrigodinha Santa Luzia Pescadores!!

See you next blog

John

http://www.tavira-today.com

Fado in Santa Luzia

2012-06-04T12:01:00.000+01:00

What a night we had at Casa do Polvo Tasquinha in Santa Luzia, Tavira on 30th May 2012.

The restaurant was celebrating it´s 2nd anniversary and to coincide with the last FADO

evening in this present series, a special evening of Fado was presented with all the recent

past performers being involved.

The restaurant was full to the brim with local Portuguese and imported residents together

with a mixture of tourists from Holland, Germany, France and Britain.

The Fayre was up to the usual wonderful standards that this establishment has set itself

and the service was exemplary .

The Main Course was served and the music began, with each performer singing a couple of wonderful Fado songs. The night lights were dimming as the streetlights flickered on the waters of the Ria Formosa. The atmosphere built as the assembled people enjoyed a night of special entertainers of a very unique Portuguese persuasion performing their art to perfection.

The music continued throughout the evening with the guests reluctant to go home and the performers eager to show this uniquely Portuguese folk singing style off.

A huge thanks to our hosts Nicole and Eduardo and to the staff for making this evening possible, and of course to the musicians who were magnificent.

The Staff

Our Host Eduardo


Our Hostess Nicole (standing up)

The Musicians :

Pedro Viola

Auroro Gonçalves

Filipa Malteiro

Hélder Coelho


Luis Manhila


Márcio Gonçalves, Ricardo Martins, Vitor do Carmo, Antonio Correia (from left to right)

Teresa Viola

2012-05-13T12:52:00.000+01:00

Special Photos of Santa Luzia

Tiles of Santa Luzia

2012-04-15T18:26:00.000+01:00

http://www.tavira-today.com

One of the things that struck us when we first visited the area were the number of houses that were clad in tiles. Not any old boring beige or grey ones occasionally seen in other parts of the world. These were bright lively and colourful ones.

There is a tendency within the local community to see them as rather archaic. Certainly, local younger architects are definitely against them and encourage the local authority to plan against replacing them.

Not sure what the reasons are for this. A form of modernism and wanting to see a bright new local area. Possibly, but it is sad that a traditional form of house protection and one that for me is aesthetically pleasing is slowly being replaced by the more mundane white finish.

So after that rant, it is the reason for this page. The beginning of my collection of photos of the tiles of Santa Luzia, where we live.
I hope you enjoy them and please comment on the above if you have any thoughts!!

January Scenes in Santa Luzia

2012-01-30T16:09:00.000Z

As January comes to a glorious end the sun still shines brilliantly on Santa Luzia and despite the cool easterly wind blowing off the sea it really is a wonderful time to be here.

The almond trees are in full blossom giving a rich white and pink skyline contrasting with the green and yellow ground cover created by the small yellow flowers of the ubiquitous Bermuda buttercup(Oxalis pes-caprae)that are in vibrant flower at this time of year.

There has always been controversy with those who choose a more nomadic way of life be this the Romany's, caravaners in Northern England or indeed our very own campervan people. At this time of year the towns and villages of the Algarve are amass with invaders from Northern Europe traveling in there little (or in many cases not so little) mobile homes.

I for one have no problems whatsoever. They bring their money to the area when many other tourists are still paying off their last holidays. They shop in our shops eat in our restaurants and employ the locals to wash their clothes and provide local food specialties. They are well behaved and leave no litter after them.

Long may they continue to enjoy thew winter sun

C R D Santaluziense v Lusitano FC

2012-01-29T10:55:00.000Z

The team, from Santa Luzia took on top of the table giants Lusitano FC from Vila Real de Santo Ant�nio. To say they were giants was literal as well as metaphorical. They stood inches above there opponents and certainly used there extra height to good affect in all but taking the lead.

In a scappy game Lusitano dominated the first half but were unable to breach the Santaluziense. Scores were level 0-0 at the break. The second half began much the same as the first with Lusitano exerting considerable pressure on the home goal only for the inspired form of the Santa Luzia goalkeeper to keep them at bay.

A number of changes for the home team seemed to spur them on but despite more possession, their attempts to beat the league leaders with guile rather than brawn failed to create any meaningful chances.

It was left to the away team to take all three points with a scrambled goal late in the game. This enabled Lusitano still flying high and maintaining their position at the head of the table and pushed C R D Santaluziense closer to the bottom in 13th position.