Tavira Fires - Regeneration

July 18th this year was a significant day in the history of Tavira. This was the day that one of the worst fires in living history started in the north of the region near to Cachopo. 4 days later and 21,347 hectares of forest and land had been destroyed. Houses burnt out, livestock and wildlife killed, livelihoods ruined. Amazingly there was no loss to human life in the Tavira municipality.

The bombeiros fought manfully for 4 days and nights to control the fires. But the gusting winds were forever shifting direction and moving the targets. Eventually they gained control and the fires were extinguished.

Of course as soon as the flames had died down the knives were out and scapegoats sought. First the bombeiros were blamed, then the government, then the local authorities, until finally the local landowners were deemed to be at fault for not maintaining the land correctly. A sad state of affairs in the light of the disaster that had just happened.

A week after the fires we took a drive around a small area close to Santa Catarina to see the effects of the fires for ourselves. It had been stated that a third of all the Tavira province had been destroyed and from what we saw this was certainly the case. The colour was black but the acrid smell in the air even a week later highlighted for me what the many people close to the event must have been through.

Blackened skeltons of trees were left to watch over the demise of their home. the land, parched yellow before now resembled the toast I made as a child. Dry, and crumbling. Crying out to be put out of its misery.

My immediate thoughts turned to my times back in England when I used to travel through the moors of North Yorkshire and the Pennine area of West Yorkshire . Here one could observe areas of charcoal coloured land where the heather had been systematically control burned. This enables the heather to regenerate itself and created an improved environment for the nesting grouse and other species that live in these areas. So could there be a benefit to the land after all this devastation? Only time would tell.

July 2012

October 2012

Last week (mid October) we took another drive through the same area to see if there had been any signs of change to the land. We have not had a great deal of rain so far this autumn so there is obviously a need for more moisture. But to our pleasant surprise the whole area does look greener, there has been regrowth of plants and trees and there is a notable presence of bird life which is very encouraging. .

Eucalyptus Tree showing signs of regrowth

In the past few weeks the Government minister, Miguel Macedo charged with preparing a report on the fires has published his findings. In summary :

There had been a lack of firemen and vehicles, poor air support, some poor ground coordination, a lack of firebreaks, difficulty in following the fire’s path and hence a failure to predict its movements across the land. Multiple outbreaks added to the confusion.

Among the various recommendations, Macedo said that better assessment of the fire’s path, timely public warnings and better training and equipment would improve control systems in the future.

The mayor of Tavira, Jorge Botelho, has called  for an increase of funds for fire prevention work.
He said this is also the time to train professionals in civil protection and in preventative work and to provide means to ensure forest clearance is undertaken.

"The idea that part of the civil protection budget could be used to clear scrub land is very interesting and I believe it has every opportunity of becoming the case, after this evaluation process," he added.

The mayor said that many landowners had kept their land clear but others could not afford to do so, despite being legally obliged.If land has not been cleared the local council is empowered to issue an order for the work to be undertaken.

Interesting comments in the light of the present economic situation and the fact that many of these landowners have just lost the ability to supplement their meagre pensions because of the fires.

This past weekend the municipalities of São Brás de Tavira and, in partnership with international consultant Jack Soifer  promoted an open conference to debate what can be done to protect the Serra do Caldeirão. The debate was titled in English  "Innovating in Burnt Lands - New approaches for Serra do Caldeirão ", a meeting open to residents of saw and the general public interested in recovery and dynamic agricultural land mountain.

Agricultural practices being one of the most interesting measures to prevent fires, this debate was intended to be an incentive for new approaches to the mountainous region , and draw upon a panel of  national and international experts.

It will be interesting to see what conclusions and recommendations are arrived at.

Tavira Summer of 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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