Tom's Place – a sort of blog by a British resident of Albufeira
Photos and words mainly on Albufeira and the Algarve, and more.
The saga continues. Work is busily under way on several of the apartment blocks. These pictures were taken on Saturday afternoon 23rd March. Most of the jungle has now been cleared away. Painters were working on the exteriors. No-one is quite sure what the idea is behind all this. The other half of the apartment blocks plus the hotel are not being touched.
There is lot going, but only in those blocks nearest the main road. Exteriors being repainted, interiors being repaired, glasswork receiving attention, trees and undergrowth being cut down. Pictures taken early Sunday afternoon, 25th February.
I took a walk around the site yesterday. Several of the townhouses are obviously now occupied. A French car was parked outside one. One of them is growing cabbages in the garden – most out of keeping with the area! Work is proceeding on the block nearest the main road, which is now fenced off as an official construction site. I can only get pictures through the fences. Vegetation is being cleared, scaffolding can be seen on some parts. However, nothing is happening on most of the rest of the site, including the hotel, which remains neglected and in very poor condition.
For the pictures I took, please follow this link to the Albufeira.com/forum
https://albufeira.com/forum/oceanville_topic3852_post118576.html#118576
After 14 years of standing empty and falling into ruin, men are at work on the site . Is something at last happening to re-build and re-open? I shall try to find out.
A few pictures taken on a short walk around town, plus, at the end, some pictures of São Rafael beach taken at the same time by a friend.
The beach on a sunny afternoon after a very high tide. There were people on the sun loungers, temperature was 22ºC.
The cats that live on the viewing platform near the lift were enjoying the sun – and a dog too!
The infamous green tiled building overlooking the beach is now substantially complete. The new construction goes around behind the Bizarro bar, the blue building next door.
But at the Oceanville site, weeds are taking over again!
And Christmas has come early. Not only are the local supermarkets putting out their Christmas aisles, this strange object has appeared inside the Dolphins roundabout.
Thanks to Bob for these excellent pictures of the São Rafael beach near Albufeira.
The view from some of those expensive front doors.
Some of the hedges have been tidied up a little, but elsewhere the jungle is taking over. Some was cleared under the fire regulations but is growing back.
The hotel building.
And one of the apartment blocks.
I know many of you have been following this sorry tale. Some of the townhouses were acquired by a property company earlier this year. Painters are hard at work, inside and out, so maybe someone does have the €800,000 needed to purchase one. They might not be impressed too much by the view from their front door though!
Grabbed a few pictures earlier before my battery died on me. Nothing seems to be happening with the main hotel and apartments area. There have been many rumours, but nothing has come of them.
QA nice sunny day, if rather windy. The work on stabilising the cliffs looks to be substantialy complete although there will be a lot of minor works and rebuilding of the steps etc. The beach looks nice in the sunshine although there are not many prople here at the moment to enjoy.
The local wildlife was enjoying the sun. I shall come back as a cat.
Meanwhile, work continues very slowly on the rebuilding of the famous green-tiled building. The shrouds are becoming increasingly ragged, so it is possible to see a little more of the restored façade.
Finally, it seems to me that weeds are taking over again at the Oceanville site. But, a small section is beng worked on. I think there are around 12 townhouses, one of which could be yours if you have around €800,000 to spare. There was not exactly feverish activity! Much of the jungle has been cleared away. A couple of men were laying slabs and there was work going on inside one of them.
Tom's Place - a sort of blog by a British resident of Albufeira 