Newsletter October 2018

Margarida Sampaio @

Well that was a hot one!  It turns out that my moaning about the weather being unseasonably hot all month was actually well founded as it was officially announced that September this year was the hottest on record for the country!

And the hot weather continues, except now I am not really complaining all that much because by the time it gets to October I am instead feeling rather smug about the whole thing as I see posts on Facebook showing grey days and cold mornings.

Before anyone not living in the sunny Algarve starts to feel all sad they are missing out on the great weather, please remember that we had the worst start to the summer ever with rain all the way through June and into July – so we deserve a few more weeks of the warmth before we plummet into winter.  As anyone who has spent a good deal of time here will know, we basically now have only two seasons in the Algarve – Summer and Winter, and it generally switches between the two on a single day!  So I know that while the weather report shows sunny days ahead for the next week or so, this could all change literally overnight and this is helping encourage me out to the beach whenever I can to soak up the sunshine.

ROAD WORKS ON THE WAY

I’m actually pretty impressed that we have been given fair warning of these roadworks in Carvoeiro and I actually found out about it on Facebook rather than having to trudge down to the local parish council office (which is always a hive of information!).  So we have been informed by the council that there are going to works done on Rua dos Pescadores (the “in” road) at the entrance to the village.  According to the warning from the council the works are due to begin on October 4th and are set to finish on October 12th but during this time only conditional traffic will be allowed to go down the road and there will be no parking either. So start to plan your routes accordingly!  I am not sure where they will be diverting to or from but if you usually come in to Carvoeiro this way then make other plans instead!

GET YOUR TRAINERS ON!

It’s that time of the year again when you need to get yourself down to the riverfront in Portimão to take place in the Mamamaratona event!  Taking place on October 7th this is one that the entire family can get involved in and is for a very worthy cause, to help fund the fighting of breast cancer in the Algarve.  You can either run or walk the 6km route around Portimão and the money raised from the event goes to the Algarve Oncology Association.

You can sign up before the event or on the day itself, but be aware that you will need to get there good and early if you want to do it on the day as it does take a bit of time to register everyone taking part in the run/walk.  The cost of taking part in the event is €7 if you sign up before and €8 if you sign up on the day.

You can get all the information that you need to sign up by visiting www.mamamaratona.com .

This is one of those events that will make you feel great and many foreign residents take part in it as a show of solidarity in the Algarve – so it is also a great opportunity to be able to catch up with some familiar faces that you may not have seen for a while!

If you fancy getting fit, are looking for something different to do on a Friday night or have always wanted to try Zumba then sign up this month for the Zumba Masterclass taking place on October 5th at the Centro Congresso do Arade in Parchal.  This is a free event and is open to everyone and it will be held in the car park of the centre between 7pm and 11pm.

Also taking place at the Centro Congresso do Arade in Parchal this month is the International Dance Championships on October 20th and 21st. This event is one that you have to pay to attend, with tickets costing from €3 to watch one of the sessions and then €10 to attend the gala being held on the evening of the 21st from 9.30pm.  If you enjoy dance then this one is for you and promises to showcase some of the very best dancing talent out there!

Plenty of opportunities there to get fit while you are in the Algarve and if you are looking for other activities then pay a visit to the Carvoeiro Club de Ténis where there is everything on offer from tennis lessons, to martial arts and even ballroom dancing!

BETTER LIVING IN PORTUGAL BLiP

Anyone living here or owning a property will know that often problems occur simply because we don’t have enough information!  Despite being able to get by pretty well in Portuguese I still find myself coming up against problems because I am just new to a system or literally have no idea what is going on and no clue where to even begin!

Last week I found a water bill that I missed the payment of (we won’t talk about the fact that the bill was around €13 but the fine were an extra €17!).  The last time I forgot to pay a water bill was years ago so I went over to the pink council building in Lagoa to pay up where I was told that this no longer takes place here and I was to head off to the main council building next door.  Wow, things have changed somewhat in there!  I have no idea how long it has been like it but now we have fancy computer screens, a vaguely understandable ticketing system and lots of modern looking odd shaped sofas to hang about on.  I was pointed in the right direction to sort out my problem by a lovely lady who spoke to me in English and then it took a miraculous 15 minutes to solve everything – success!

My point here is that had I not had experience in paying a late water bill I would have had zero idea about how to go about this – the bill I was sent had vague information on it and if I could not speak Portuguese I expect that calling up the number on the bill would not have been very useful.  So what do you do when you need information about living in Portugal? You become a member of AFPOP!

I would like to state clearly that I am not being paid by AFPOP to talk about them at all but I know that this association is perhaps one of the most useful resources you can have if you are living in Portugal as a foreign resident.  The multilingual team have helped out so many of my friends and family with everything from sorting out residency, to importing cars or even learning about the laws regarding clearing your land because of the fire risks.

The team are based in Portimão and members of the association (you do have to pay up for this but it shouldn’t break the bank) get lots of info and support from them to make life here that little bit less stressful or daunting.

Whether you are interested in becoming a member of AFPOP or not, every year they hold their Better Living in Portugal event (BLiP) at the Portimão arena, where you can chat with the team, sign up if you fancy it and even better still they bring together many businesses that you may find useful if you are living here – from lawyers to doctors, to home specialists and much more.

This year BLiP is taking place on October 13th and 14th from 10am on the 13th until 6pm and then from 11am on the 14th until 5pm.  The event is free to enter and there are often lots of discounts and promotions there to take advantage on.  Getting great information is so important and I would recommend this event to anyone looking for a better life in Portugal!  You can see more information about what businesses will be attending BLiP this year by visiting www.bliportugal.com

AND FINALLY…

I have done my best to find out information but you know what it is like around here trying to find out about events more than a couple of days ahead!  So we have Halloween coming up on October 31st and for the past couple of years we have had a parade on the evening with music, lights, smoke machine and lots of scary folk (that’s not just us resident) getting dressed up for the night.  There is still no news on if it is taking place but there is a good chance it will be so if you are over here for Halloween look out for the parade and get into the spirit of things (sorry I couldn’t resist).

So I’m off to dust down my broomstick in preparation…

Until then

Margarida

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If you are used to visiting Carvoeiro and the Algarve during the summer, then perhaps our new article giving you 7 Luxurious Reasons To Visit Carvoeiro For Less in the Winter will make you think again!  We have put together a list of all the great activities and benefits of coming to the Algarve between November and March and you may be surprised about all of the luxurious things you can be doing in the local area once you save money not having to pay premium prices during the summer.