May 10th – it is stil very quiet here, with (officially) no tourists permitted to enter the country. This is expected to change after this weekend. We had quite a bit of rain yesterday morning, otherwise the weather has been fairly good if rather windy at times.
Albufeira old town 9th May 2021
It is still very quiet here. Officially there are no tourists, but it’s easy to spot a few, wandering around! There are few tourist restaurants and other places open for the simple reason there are no customers. Good news is that the work on the new storm drains is almost finished. Pictures were taken around 1400hrs / 2pm on Sunday 9th.
‘Bar Street’
Rather hopeful!
Ferreiras, near Albufeira 5th May 2021
After my vaccination on Wednesday, I went on the bus to Ferreiras (a few km north of Albufeira) and an hour’s walk out in the countryside. A few pictures.
Albufeira – Ferreiras railway station. Under the wires, the 1100 to Lagos waits to leave
Some of the town of Ferreiras. For the most part the buildings are very recent. That tall ‘tree’ in the background is a cellphone mast.
North of the town is pleasant wooded countryside, with the occasional very des.res.
But, just over the hill, a large quarry and cement works is working hard. It’s not all sun, sea, sand and golf here!
Nearby, an abandoned quarry is used as a tip for construction waste.
There are some well preserved dry stone walls in the area. Most of the agricultural land has long since been abandoned but some recent ploughing was observed.
This cypress tree stands in what was the garden of a large house. Almost no trace remains of the house itself.
And a black bee, doing what bees do on this thistle.
Albufeira 2nd May 2021
It was a bit windy to be out on the beach yesterday afternoon. But, as you can see, the Roca beach restaurant was open. There were a few enjoying a bit of a walk and there was one rather intrepid fisherman to be seen on the rocks.
Albufeira Vale Navio
Some of you will be familiar with this sorry saga. The site was acquired a few years ago, the old resort demolished and work began on something new. But, as with so many projects, work has ceased some months ago, leaving an untidy mess over several hundred square metres. Those living along that road in their fairly grand homes must be less than impressed.
Albufeira 28th April 2021
It has been windy, sometimes sunny, but often not very warm this past week The pictures below were taken on Wednesday afternoon, 28th April. The work on the new drainage system for the old town centre is nearing completion, with road surfaces being relaid. Everyone hopes that restaurants and bars in the pictures can re-open soon, once the current restrictions on urban life are removed. Meanwhile the beach was pretty empty in a rather strong wind, but several fishermen were gathered on the pier.
Albufeira 18th April 2021
The beach was a little busier yesterday on a nice sunny day, but it is still very quiet with almost nothing in the way or restaurants or bars open at weekends while the town remains in a state of confinement. This will apply until at least the end of this month. There are no tourists.
Albufeira marina and old town April 12th
Pictures are not loading for some reason. I am working on it!
Looks like I shall have to do this the hard way! I have been pasting html code to bring pictures from postimg.org but this seems not to be working.
I went down to the marina and around the old town today to get a better idea of what is open and what is not. In the town almost all the tourist restaurants and bars are still closed, which stands to reason as there are no tourists. The marina is slightly better off with about half the places open. Major work continues in the town to complete the installation of the new storm drains.
Down at the marina. The water was a murky green colour.
Albufeira beach and old town Easter Sunday 4th April 2021
It has been a fairly nice day, around 20ºC at lunchtime when I took these pictures. There were only a handful of people on the beach. The town was deserted. Every restaurant and bar remains closed by law. There was no sign of anyone making ready for the limited opening that is permitted as of tomorrow. ‘Wait for the tourists’ is what they are saying, but there will be few if any for the next six weeks.
Sun loungers stacked, ready for whom?
Some work was being done to repair this old stormwater outfall but surely it is not finished?
Some work is taking place to remove bushes from the cliffs and repair the netting that stops loose rocks from falling on people.
At the Inatel hotel work continues on a new stormwater outfall to replace the old one destroyed in a storm. That is not water, it was very smelly.
This cat was able to stretch out in the sun, making me walk around it.
Around town, the local council continues wih the work to install new drains under the low lying areas. They obviously don’t expect anyone to be thinking of opening any time soon!
Albufeira 30 March Desert dust in the sky
A strong flow of air from North Africa has picked up a lot of desert dust which is now being deposited on us from brown clouds. The sky in Albufeira at 1245
Albufeira beach and old town March 28th
It was a warm but windy day. A few brave souls were catching some sun. Work on the new drainage system continues at various locations in the old town centre, streets that many of you will know. With tourist restaurants and bars still closed, disruptive work is continuing for a few more days they say. I suspect that the scale of the work will need longer than that! No-one was working, it being Sunday. There are no public safety concerns here. Sites like this are rarely if ever fenced off to stop people falling down holes etc.
