Great expectations - Silves Medieval Fair

Everyone I had talked to spoke highly of the medieval fair at Silves, so I had to see for myself. Here are some of the photos I took.

 The streets were lined with stalls.

 

There was music and dance at the main door of the cathedral. 

It's a beautiful building!

Behind the cathedral there were more stalls and more eating areas.

Hmmm? Did they have stainless steel in the Middle Ages?

I had great expectations but, having visited other fairs of this type, I was disappointed that in such a beautiful setting the atmosphere wasn't that of medieval times. It felt more like an arts and crafts fair to me. Street animation was promised in the programme, but I didn't see any. I was hoping to visit the castle but the only way to do that was to pay an extra 3 euros to see a show inside. To watch the jousting, it was another 3 euros.  The Archeology Museum was open and well worth the visit but some other exhibitions closed very early.

Having said this, I'd still recommend a visit, but be prepared to pay more than the basic entrance fee of 2 euros if you want to be entertained and wear sensible footwear because the cobbled streets are very slippery. This fair ends on the 11th of August.

Cee's Fun Foto challenge: Textures

Prickly Aloe in flower

 

Flaky - from the hills around Silves

Exposed layers - after clay extraction, Algoz

 

Rocks at Galé Beach

Cliffs at Albufeira Beach

Dried fruit stall at the Castro Marim Medieval fair

For other textures, pop over to Cee's photo blog.

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Metal

From the traditional ...

Wrought iron band stand, Portimão

Wrought iron gate to a former factory, Silves

Bridge, Alcácer do Sal

Looking up at the structure of the Dom Luis Bridge, Porto

Recently painted bridge over the Arade River, Portimão

... to the modern...

Metal-roofed congress centre/concert hall blending into the landscape

http://ceenphotography.com/fun-foto-challenge/
Cee's new blog url updated on 9th November 2013.

Who took my nest?

or The Last Thing the Algarve Needed!

These could be the thoughts running through this forlorn stork's mind one week after part of Silves' centre was ravaged by a tornado. 

On Friday, 17th November, the Algarve got first-hand experience of that rare weather phenomenon we know is not at all rare in North America - it ripped through Alvor, Carvoeiro, Lagoa and Silves, causing terrible damage. Three people were seriously injured and, having seen the videos and photos, I'm surprised there were no fatalities!

If you have read my posts about motor-home owners spending winter in the park by the river you will remember that area was still full in February. This is how tranquil the full park looked then.

By the end of October many motor-home owners had returned, in time to get the fright of their lives. Winds reaching 260 km/hr picked some of their homes like they were little toys and "played" with them.

Now some have left but many have just moved to the other side of the municipal swimming pool while clean-up is taking place. This is how the same area looks now, one week after the unfortunate event.

One week after the tornado

Over the weekend municipal workers and around a thousand volunteers removed the debris and cleaned up as much as they could. They did a wonderful job! The town looks almost normal.

Parts of the walls of the stadium came down and you can still see a large metal structure all twisted and leaning on the building next door.

The municipal swimming pool lost roof and windows. The Town Hall and many other rooftops lost their tiles.

Abandoned factory rooftop

Huge trees were uprooted.

On the main road near the bridge.

Clean-up at the Al Mouatamid Ibn Abbad Square

And the clean-up continues ...


My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have been affected by the tornado, specially to those who were injured.

Update on Silves and motor homes

 

This was how one part of the car park around the municipal swimming pool in Silves looked in February. 

At the time I wondered if Silves had become motor home friendly. It obviously had because the whole car park had more motor homes than cars until very recently. 

 

Today this area was almost deserted, as you can see above. I wonder where they have all gone and if they enjoyed their stay.

On the other side of the swimming pool, however, many "temporary residents" still remain. 

Will Silves welcome them again next winter?

Related post: Has Silves become motor home friendly?

Storks and the city

As I was parking my car early on Friday morning I heard a flapping sound nearby, looked over the wall of a delapidated factory and found myself staring at about six white storks and their nests, right in the middle of the Silves town centre! 

 The sighting of these birds reminded me fondly of when I was a child growing up in a suburb of Salisbury (now Harare). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Stork

Storks (black storks, I think) were frequent visitors to the grassy plots next to our house, but they disappeared when those plots were built up. 

  

Did you know that in 2000 a stork's nest got tangled in power lines and caused a blackout all over Lisbon and southern Portugal? No? Well I didn't either, I was living in the north of the country then!

 

Now protected and off the endangered list, they continue to make their enormous nests in high places - on the top of electricity pylons and even on chimneys and palm trees in the centre of this Algarve town.

 

How could I have been going into Silves quite often for almost 3 years and have only seen them now?