It’s all about the beer
Liquid gold is probably the most important thing at Oktoberfest, but there’s much more to it than that. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, they live for Carnival, in Munich, Germany, for the Oktoberfest. When one is over, it’s time to look forward to the next. But what exactly is the Oktoberfest? The Oktoberfest tradition started in 1810, to celebrate the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to the Saxon-Hildburghausen Princess Therese....
EXPLOSIVE SPIRIT
FROM VOLCANIC PEAKS TO THE END OF THE WORLD  The Algarve is a wonderful melting pot of nationalities and very often a new-found home for free spirits from all over the globe. This motto can easily be extended to both the latest super premium vodka to be launched on the market, VOLCANIC, and its front man in Portugal, Arni Elliot. Inside magazine met up with Ferragudo resident and Icelander Arni, to discover the connection between...
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
CONTEMPORARY ARTIST BRINGS HISTORY BACK TO LIFE Artist Rosário O’Neill was born in Portimão and has now returned to her hometown, where she has since opened an atelier, interior design studio and shop, in the heart of the city centre shopping area, with good friend and colleague, Maurícia Patrício. Having gained a degree in economics and entered the professional world, Rosário began to find a little spare time and was able to join a...
JUMPING FOR JOY
– July 6, 2016 | Text Mia Wallace Algar Seco cliff jumpers are making a big splash Cliff jumping may seem like a crazy new adrenaline activity, but it’s actually been around for a very long time. It was first documented in 1770, when Kahek- ili II, king of Maui, engaged in a practice called “lele kawa”, which in English means to leap into the ocean, feet first, without splashing. The king’s warriors were challenged to participate,...
LAGOA’S GOLDEN COAST
JOURNALIST ANABELA GASPAR TAKES US ON A GUIDED WALK ALONG ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR STRETCHES OF COASTLINE IN THE AREA Awalk along Lagoa’s coastline is a thrill, no matter how many times you do it. For this issue, we discovered the stretch between Praia do Paraíso and Praia do Vale da Lapa – an un-signposted section. No matter how many times I walk above Lagoa’s cliffs, I am always left speechless by its stunning scenery. The...
AN EVERGREEN WORLD
THE LITTLE PICTURESQUE SPA TOWN OF CALDAS DE MONCHIQUE IS THE ANTITHESIS OF THE ALGARVE’S SEASIDE RESORTS In Caldas de Monchique, it is easy to think that you are in a different region of Portugal, or even in another country. It is hard to believe that the beach and the sea are a mere 30 kilometres away. Thanks to the humid and mild, sub- tropical maritime mountain climate, the fertile granite soil and the many springs and...
CANINE LUXURY
OPENED IN 2011 AND EXPANDED IN 2016, HOTEL DO CÃO IS SETTING TAILS WAGGING Browsing the Facebook page of Hotel do Cão, a pet hotel nestled in the countryside in Vale da Rainha, on the road from Portimão to Monchique, we find hundred of pho- tographs of happy pooches of all breeds and sizes playfully stretching their paws in an idyllic fenced area. Looking at the sheer number of photo albums, it’s no surprise that 48-year- old...
CULTURAL HERITAGE
FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO LISTEN TO THE YEARNING SOUND OF FADO, THERE IS A NEW LOCALE IN LAGOA Lagoa de Fado is the brainchild of Ondina Santos and Carlos Tapadinhas. Ondina worked as an art teacher and is known for her poetry books and music CDs for children, as well as for her voice. Carlos studied business management in Coimbra, where he discovered the Portuguese guitar, but the 45-year-old only started accompanying Fado singers five...
Sítio das Fontes
The Sítio das Fontes is the perfect setting for some fine-weather exercise, to lose unwanted pounds, or simply for a relaxing walk. The Sítio das Fontes Muncipal Park, 1.5 km outside Estômbar, in the municipality of Lagoa, covers an area of 18 hectares, at the start and along the banks of a creek on the left bank of the River Arade. It owes its name, translating to “Place of the Springs”, to the presence of many springs that bubble up...
Under the Spotlight
Dutch entrepreneur Erik de Vlieger talks about his real estate ventures. Famous back in his native Holland for being the number one radio chat show host and television personality, 56 year old Erik de Vlieger is set to become one of the Algarve’s biggest entrepreneurs. His lively, energetic and inquisitive nature, not only make him a great entrepreneur, but also the ideal candidate to inject some much-needed innovation into...
Prized berry
The strawberry tree is the star of two new projects being developed in the Western Algarve. An iconic calling card for Monchique, medronho brandy is known far beyond the hills that witness its distillation. Medronho is made from the fuzzy, yellowish-red berries of the strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, which, despite the name, is actually a bush, indigenous to Portugal and commonly found in the centre of the country, as well as in the...
An insider’s tour around the taverns of Portimão
Tasty Taverns Portimão was once a vibrant city, full of energy and the hustle and bustle that you’d expect from a town with a fishing port. Thankfully, with the hard work and foresight of a few, there are definitely signs that things are heading back in that direction. A new wave of taverns is popping up all over Portimão city centre and luckily all within walking distance of each other. Although based on the old-style taverns of days...
High Voltage Street Art
As you enter the outer limits of Praia do Carvoeiro, you may notice a brightly painted electricity box to your left, depicting a typical Algarve chimney, with the obligatory bright blue sky as a background. This is the first of 55 electricity boxes (phase one) found along Rua do Barranco and Rua dos Pescadores and the brainchild of local artists Phil Francis and Hélder José. Phil, who is affectionately known as “Phil da Bife”, has...
Vital energy
A haven of wellness in Portimão, Villa Prana combines a guesthouse, yoga and Pilates classes, and several other therapies in a truly holistic project. Sílvia Duarte and David Coelho are tired but happy. Like most new parents, they are sleep-deprived and have been working long hours looking after their new arrival. But in their case, the baby is a huge villa in Portimão. The couple have been busy with their new guesthouse and therapy...
Orange is the new wine
Inside meets the driving force behind The Algarve Fruit Wine Company Husband and wife team, Nick and Stella Downs, have taken a prized regional product, Silves oranges, and incorporated them in a new product, which not only puts surplus oranges to good use, but also creates jobs and puts a smile on peoples’ faces. Their invention, Portuguese Orange Wine, is a “full-strength product”, in Nick’s words, as well as authentic, organic and...
A Chip Off the Old Block
A Chip Off the Old Block Inside spoke to the Flessemans, a family of female artists inspired by the Algarve’s unique Light We all inherit something from our parents, be it our temperament, the colour of our eyes or an aptitude for a certain sport. For the Flesseman girls, it was their mother Bettine’s artistic vein. Both Meinke (a well-established painter) and her sister Pauline (a naturally gifted photographer) inherited Bettine’s...
Naughty but nice
Back to basics brewing The Algarve has so much more to offer than its dramatic coastline. From autumn to spring, visitors become acquainted with the region’s relaxed way of life and traditions that often escape holidaymakers in the busier summer months. We took a trip inland and discovered the delightful Quinta do Avo (grandad’s farm) in the sleepy village of Algoz. The farmhouse has remained in the same family for generations and has...
Wooden wonders
Upcycling has arrived in the Algarve, courtesy of Algarve Paletes José Luís Neves and Bruno Capela turned crisis into opportunity: after being laid-off from a well-known home improvement company which saw many of its stores closing, the two friends launched a business that not only follows the popular trend of upcycling – transforming by-products or unwanted items into new products -, but that has also earned them many customers...
Live like a local
Enjoying the best for less The staple ingredients in the Portuguese diet are chicken, pork, fish, vegetables, salad and wine, which are thankfully still easily accessible to everyone at a good price. Many restaurants prepare a special lunchtime menu called “Prato do Dia” (Dish of the Day) and offer a decent variety of meat or fish dishes as part of an all inclusive menu for as little as €7. The “Prato do Dia” was originally introduced...
Made with love
Bespoke, natural and Portuguese In 2009, master craftsman Jose Manuel “Alambre” Bailhote sat with his two sons, Marco and Paulo, thinking about ways to move their furniture production business forward. Eldest son Marco proposed the novel idea of using cork. Under their father’s watchful eye, Marco and Paulo started to experiment with different bonding aids and techniques. Jose continued to make his bespoke furniture pieces, while his...
