Newsletter December 2014

Margarida Sampaio @


HoHoHo!  Christmas is coming, but as it is every year here in Carvoeiro it is almost impossible to tell that it is at all! 

The weather has of course not exactly helped, veering between arctic blasts of wind and 23 degree rays of sunshine (and sometimes in a single day) but you will all be pleased to know that despite some pretty stormy weather and rain of biblical proportions the beach in Carvoeiro still has its new sand on it and appears to be holding up well – I am not so sure about my hair though.

 

Christmas in Carvoeiro

I am usually of the bah humbug sort of temperament but I do enjoy a good bit of Christmas cheer and although it looks like Carvoeiro has forgotten it is Christmas at the moment there is sure to be plenty of fun and festivities as usual at the upcoming Christmas fair.

This year the fair will be returning to Carvoeiro complete with little stalls, entertainment and perhaps even that oil drum filled with scrappy bits of wood will be set on fire again for warmth.

The fair in Carvoeiro takes place this year between December 19 and December 21 and this year we are being promised something bigger and better than ever before with as many as 70 exhibitors signed up for the event.

Entertainment over the weekend will include a Santa parade, Zumba lessons, singers and street artists with a Christmas piece of theatre for the Children and a bouncy castle on the beach to help them get rid of any extra energy they may have after consuming a lot of sugar.

Look out for the pre-school Children on Friday morning who will be making their way around the town aboard the little train dressed as little mother and father Christmases and be sure to come down to the Carvoeiro Christmas fair this year to support all the local businesses.

 

Christmas activities

While of course the Carvoeiro Christmas fair is sure to be the best event going this festive season there are a few other bits and pieces going on in the local area and across the Algarve for anyone who is looking to get into the spirit of things.

Why not combine a trip to the Christmas fair down in the square with a visit to Taste on December 21 where they will be hosting their annual market complete with delicious mulled wine and barbeque food.  Up in Rascals there will also be a Christmas event including a visit from Santa himself on December 20 from 2pm while along at Harrys Bar they will be serving up mince pies and mulled wine on December 24, so you don’t need to travel far for some festive fun!

It may be a little distance to travel but it will be well worth while taking a trip across to Vila Real de Santo António this month as the city has been decked out in loads of lights and a Christmas village has been constructed in the centre along with a Santa’s grotto, Christmas market stalls and even a 200 square metre ice rink!

We have the usual selection of other Christmas markets taking place more locally including the Lagoa Christmas market outside the auditorium on December 13, 13 and 14 and then there is the Arte Nata Christmas market in Ferragudo along by the riverside on December 6,7 and 8 – again with lots of stalls and entertainment each day.

Down in Lagos (well a bit further along into the wilderness) we have the Natalandia taking place again at Lagos Zoo, this is a great one for the kids with plenty of Christmassy activities and Santa of course as well as the usual array of scratching monkeys and screeching birds.

There are of course loads of other activities taking place for Christmas this year in the Algarve so have a look around in the local press for details of all the events and offers taking place – you may actually be surprised at just how much is going on here at this time of year!

 

New Year celebrations

Shhh don’t tell anyone but we will be moving into a New Year on January 1.  This may sound odd but if you are trying to find out information about what is going on for New Year in the Algarve then this will make perfect sense.

It really does seem like every year most of the businesses about are taken entirely by surprise by the New Year and have forgotten to let anyone know if they will be open, what they will be doing and how people can find out more.

This of course makes my task of being able to let you know what will be happening in Carvoeiro for New Year pretty tricky indeed.  However what I am quite sure of is that we will not be having fireworks to celebrate in Carvoeiro itself – we just don’t have the money!  Although with the new people in the Câmara in Lagoa I could be wrong and a little sparkle may come our way – so look out for updates.

I can confirm that there will once again be the massive party on the beach in Albufeira with a huge fireworks display, live music, TV cameras and all the rest of the street entertainment, so if you want to be sure of a party atmosphere then head over yonder.

A good few places will be open for New Year, so far I know that Harrys Bar and Taste will be opening their doors for the big night and I am sure many others will be letting people know soon about opening times not only for New Year but also for Christmas as well.

This year the Centro Congresso Arade in parchal will be opening up its doors and letting the moths fly out to host what is being billed as one of the biggest parties in the Algarve.  So if your idea of New Year is dancing about to very loud music in a dark room with thousands of strangers then this one should be right up your alley. 

In fairness this event has actually got some big name DJs on the bill and it could be the best bet for a local (ish) party night to welcome in 2015.

 

Carvoeiro sports

FCCU is the latest obsession in Carvoeiro and the team have managed to gather up an unlikely band of hugely loyal fans in a very short time.

Saturday afternoons in Carvoeiro have become somewhat ghost like as hundreds travel to the games to cheer on our international band of orange wearing footballers and although the scores don’t usually go our way, the crowd remains lively to the point of extra policing required.

The heady mixture of British football chants, mixed with emotional screams from WAG’s and the cheers of the children make for an interesting experience to say the least and the team have certainly made an impact at every game thanks to the cheers and jeers from the side lines.

FCCU have managed to score a good few goals recently with a win in the cup game but have not been so fortunate in the league where some shocking refereeing decisions have seen them drop down to 10 men most weeks and with goals disallowed left right and centre.

I would say that I am hardly biased at all but you have to admit that when a player gets two yellow cards and is still allowed to play on for the other team, it does seem a little unfair for our poor Carvoeiro United team.

I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles and all that and it doesn’t matter about the score in the end when we have a massive flag, a bongo drum and a mega phone among the crowd – mainly because nobody is at that point even looking at the pitch!

While Carvoeiro united have managed to build up their number of fans they still badly need financial support to help them to pay for policing (they need loads) ambulances (one usually shows up most weeks) and to pay for the flood lights to be turned on so make sure you come down on every other Saturday to the stadium in Estombar to watch them play and to buy t-shirts, caps, bags and other bits and pieces.  Alternatively you can sponsor an individual player or make a donation to the team fund in general – they appreciate all the help they can get!

 

Until 2015

This newsletter marks my fourth anniversary sharing all my news and bits about Carvoeiro with you and it has been a pleasure so far.  Remember to contact us to let us know if there is anything that you would like to hear about in the upcoming newsletters and thank you for continuing to read my waffle and rants every month!

I will be back in 2015 with more from Carvoeiro but until then I am going to rearrange my jingle bells ready for the big day

Until then,

Bjs

Margarida