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...
Porches’ hidden treasures
From traditional chimneys to unknown medieval castles, Inside visits Porches’ rich cultural heritage. This unassuming town, alongside the EN 125, might go unnoticed by some, but there are few places that can lay claim to so many treasures, legends, traditions and such beautiful scenery. Over the years, Porches has proved highly skilled, not only at respecting tradition and authenticity, but also at combining them with the modern...
Scissor chairs
The master chairman Inside met a seasoned artisan who makes one of Monchique’s biggest symbols: the scissor chair One of José Leonardo Salvador’s favourite things to do when he was a child was to take a planer and smooth out wood planks until the floor was covered in curly shavings. At that time, scissor chairs were not yet called scissor chairs – they were simply known as Monchique chairs –, and many Portuguese children...
Built to a tee
Inside looks at the golf property market in the western Algarve The Algarve is traditionally a region of sun, sand and sport, or to be more precise, golf. With more than 40 courses (some designed by true golf legends), mild temperatures all year round and little rain, it’s no surprise that the Algarve boasts the highest number of golf courses in Portugal and is often considered one of the best golf destinations in the world....
Salicornia
Introducing a little-known Ria Formosa culinary delicacy The first samples of a little known, yet deliciously salty plant are currently being harvested in Ria Formosa. Salicornia (whose common names range from marsh samphire to glasswort and pickleweed) is tickling the tastebuds of many of Algarve’s chefs. Miguel Salazar, the CEO of start-up company ‘RiaFresh’, is not surprised. No stranger to the Portuguese gourmet scene himself,...
French connection
Contemporary artist Pascale C. Fey creates a world of self-discovery There are two things that Pascale Chaleyssin-Fey must do before she brings to life her appealing works of art: the first is to turn on some music or perhaps an audio book, and the second is to paint her canvas black before layering on blocks of colour. It seemed fitting that, as we walked into her studio – a bright room filled with paints and canvasses at her home in...
Taste for Salsa
Classic Cuban cocktails & Salsa with Italian hospitality There’s nothing quite like the sound of Salsa music to lift your spirit and transport you back in time to the bustling streets of Havana, Cuba in the mid-twentieth century. Aramis Reyes, a native Cuban and professional dance instructor met his wife Verena Musanti in her hometown of Turin in Italy. The couple shared a passion for dancing and made the decision to move...
Freestyling in Ferragudo
Metro Bikes adds a twist to bespoke bicycles Moving down from the hills of Monchique to Portimão at the age of 12, Sérgio “Monchique” Gonçalves began to notice that he was spending most of his pocket money on bicycle repairs. He realised that it would be prudent to learn how to fix his own equipment and save his money to upgrade his bike. His dedication paid off and he soon started to fix his friends’ bikes, which stood him in...
Made in Portugal
Local producers take canned fish to a new level Canned fish became fashionable a few years ago with gourmet cafés and shops popping up all over Portugal, with some only supplying canned fish products and creating inventive ways of serving them. To reflect its rising popularity, an artisanal “canned fish” production facility opened in July of this year. Saboreal is the brainchild of three entrepreneurs with the collective...
Tangerine Gin
Introducing the only gin made in the Algarve, by Algarveans There is no drink quite as fashionable as gin right now. A Dutch invention that’s quintessentially English at heart, the spirit once associated to middle-aged, middle-class drinkers in the form of the classic gin & tonic has exploded to become Portugal’s drink du jour. In the last couple of years, gin bars have been popping up across the country, with an...
Casa Tuia
Glamping has never been more luxurious, as Inside discovered. In peaceful surroundings, standing high above the ground on wooden stilts and appointed with authentic Balinese furniture, four charming glamping tents ensure that being closer to nature has never been more luxurious. You would be forgiven to think that we’re talking about an exotic, far-flung destination, but thanks to the vision and ingenuity of one...
ALL THAT JAZZ
THE ALGARVE JAZZ ORCHESTRA MAKES LAGOA ITS NEW HOME W hen the PS party took power of Lagoa Câmara, one of their promises was to place more importance on culture, not least because president Francisco Martins was once the city hall’s councillor of culture and sports. True to its word, the local government has been promoting various cultural events and providing much-needed support for a number of cultural entities. The OJA...
BIRD’S EYE VIEW
SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE AS FLYALVOR TAKES TO THE SKIES When he was a child, Eduardo Ferreira would dream of flying through the mountains like a bird, which explains why, today, there is nowhere he feels safer or more at home than high above the buildings and beaches of the Algarve. He may have achieved his dream, but the 46-year-old’s wings rely on the power of an engine as well as the wind. Born in the mountainous area of...
