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Among the evolved seaside resorts of the Algarve are cozy and historic fishing villages that offer entire beaches, the Portuguese tradition. . . and unpublished seafood.
Since Phoenician times, octopuses have been the main catch of the inhabitants of Salema, located on the sunny southern coast of Portugal. And the fishing procedure has replaced little in several thousand years. At dawn, I wait on the beach for my local friend, Sebastian, who agreed to take me to check the pots. As Sebastian pushes his boat out to sea, he helps me get on board. His hands are thick and calloused. . . Mine are basically for a laptop. white feet are covered with sunscreen; They are like greedy hulls the cracked wooden surface of his squeaky and worn boat. Bright contrasts make bright memories.
The barnacle inlaid ceramic vessels stacked in the city are much more than rustic souvenirs – they are octopus traps. They are tied about 15 feet apart in long lines and dropped offshore. (And ancient and unwritten culture assigns other parts of the underwater territory to each Salema family. ) Octopus, thinking it’s a comfortable position to ambush, climb and be ambushed. When fishermen hoist them, the cursed octopuses cling on, not knowing that they have made their last mistake.
Sebastian pulls the line while the old pots are welcomed on board loudly. Water splashes everywhere, but there are no symptoms of octopus. Stop by the market and, who knows, maybe my plate tonight.
From the boat, I travel this component of the Algarve, the maritime coast that extends to the south of Portugal. To the west, they are barely lost sight of: the steep cliffs of Cabo Sagres, the “piece of land of Europe”, jutting out from the southwest corner of Portugal. Just east of here are sandy resorts that stretch between the giant cities of Lagos and Faro; beyond, near the Spanish border, are the lagoon estuaries and the welcoming town of Tavira.
Unfortunately, most of the Algarve follows the trail of the Spanish Costa del Sol: paved, crowded and stressful. It has become overdeveloped, with gigantic condominium-like “villas” overlooking almost each and every beach with road access.
But a bit of the ancient magic of the Algarve still shines quietly in the sun: Sebastian’s of Salema. At the end of a small road from the main coastal road, this fishing village has a handful of streets, a dozen restaurants and bars, menus and symptoms in English and German (such as announcements of an upcoming bullfight/Stierkampf), a beautiful beach and plenty of sun.
The focus of any day in Salema is watching the fishing boats pass by as a tractor drags them along the beach. Travelers and locals forget about a growing circle of condo-style hotels, apartments and timeshare villas on trendy hillsides, if you don’t worry about arriving without a reservation, skip the hotels and head down to the street where a handful of fishermen still gladly rent rooms (rooms) to foreign guests.
From Salema, it’s a short drive to my next favorite spot on the coast: historic Sagres, in the extreme southwest of Portugal. It was the closest position to the edge of our flat earth in the days before Christopher Columbus. Prince Henry the Navigator, made the decision to broaden the horizons of Europe, sent sailors more and more into the unknown. He ran a sailing school at Cape Sagres. It was from there that Henry conscientiously questioned the many castaways and frustrated scouts as they came ashore.
Today, in Sagres, tourists surf, fishermen pull from its towering cliffs, local merchants sell homemade and navigable sweaters, and daredevil windsurfers cross windy bodies of water. Here, travelers like me look mesmerized at the horizon, where medieval Europe represented the sea. plunged into a mysterious oblivion.
The Algarve is the ideal place for a rigorous rest and extensive relaxation. . . where well-traveled travelers descend at local speeds, paintings on tanned and flaming octopus.
Rick Steves (ricksteves. com) writes European guides, presents exhibitions on public television and radio, and organizes European tours. You can email Rick at rick@ricksteves. com and follow his blog on Facebook.