Olhão & more Tavira

In addition to going “out of town” again this week, we’ve continued our discoveries in Tavira....but first on the agenda was Saturday Market Day in Olhäo - the largest fishing port in the Algarve. Previously just a tiny village with a few straw huts where people lived, it only became a town of note in the 19th century. With early traces from the Neolithic period and the late Bronze Age it was, like other parts of the Algarve, under Roman occupation between the first and third century......from that era, a number of salting tanks, used to preserve fish, have been found in what is now the fishing harbour. The commercial links with Africa can easily be seen from the Moorish-style houses throughout its old-town. Sometimes known as the “cubist city,” much of its architecture is Moroccan, with flat roofed houses and oblong (cube-like) chimneys. The first official mention of Olhäo was in a document dated 1378, but it was quite a few centuries later - in 1679 - that it became important enough to build a fortress to defend it from pirates. The Fort of S. Lourenço which was built to protect the harbour mouth is now, unfortunately, submerged in water and buried in sand.
The Saturday market in Olhäo is somewhat legendary in this part of the Algarve, so we expectantly boarded an early train for the 20 minute journey, arriving in plenty of time to stop for breakfast once we’d arrived. The walk from the train to the harbour-front takes only 10 minutes.
Olhão has two market buildings that sit by side on the waterfront - they’re open 6 days a week.....but it’s Saturday when the crowds fill this area, attracted by a large number of additional vendors & farmers who come in from the surrounding countryside. One market building sells locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables along with local cheeses and preserves, etc. We toured this building first and although impressed with the offerings, decided that our market in Tavira is just as good. We next entered the other building, which is the fish market - easily the best that we’ve ever seen! It was by this time late morning, but the stalls were still full of fish, and the people selling it were busy cutting, weighing and serving a huge variety of glistening species caught fresh from the local waters. A boisterous atmosphere prevails in this part of the market, and apart from selling their fish, the vendors seem to be entertainers too - keeping up a constant patter of “sales-talk” while skilfully skinning and gutting the fish, according to their customers' requirements.
After leaving the attractive market buildings, which were built in the 1930s, we browsed the outside stalls which were selling everything from fresh vegetables to slabs of honeycomb - with even one stall selling live chickens and rabbits! Joining all of these sights, and many different odours, was the smell of deep-fried churros - a popular item in this crowded area - luckily for us, we’d just eaten breakfast!
After thoroughly exploring almost every stall, we left the market area for a long walk along the waterfront promenade, starting at the port end of the promenade which has lots of fishing boats and is very industrial looking. A large number of ferries and tour boats leave from these docks, offering everything from full-day fishing tours to sunset dolphin cruises.....and during mid-August they’re very popular! A simple ferry ride over to one or both of the 2 offshore islands is also available..........again, there were huge line-ups and the boats were packed! One of the islands - Ilha da Culatra is well known for diving and snorkelling - it’s surrounded by clear water, with many species of fish. Ilha da Armona, the closest island, has a few restaurants and holiday chalets - plus a large expanse of golden sand, for which these islands are known.
We turned from this least attractive end of the promenade and walked in the opposite direction - enjoying a lovely long walk along a paved area - which has some cool shaded gardens along the way - Jardim Pescador do Olhanese is a great place to escape the heat of the sun! At the very western end of the waterfront there are signs of new development - 4 modern apartment buildings and a 5-Star hotel, The Real Marina Hotel & Spa, look out over the water.......and at this end of the promenade we saw a couple of booths selling customized boat trips for the areas more “well-heeled” customers, who may prefer not to hike down to the ferry docks and join the crowds! We did take a little wander around the hotel, though - and it’s a very nice place if you’re in the area!
Deciding that it was time to see more of the historic part of the town, we walked back along the promenade and turned up a road that runs between the 2 market buildings. Almost immediately we entered the tiny streets and alleyways which are typical of the Algarve. The former homes of wealthy merchants can be seen here - elegant buildings - some restored, some not - they're now a mixture of flats, shops, restaurants and cafés. The buildings are lovely - with wrought iron balconies, carved stonework and tile decorations. Olhäo has long been a town inhabited by artists - and their number seems to be growing, as evidenced by the many artisan shops within the historic heart of this city....obviously it's a place that suits the artistic lifestyle!
The church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário (Our Lady of the Rosary) was the first stone building in Olhäo. Built in 1698, it sits in the centre of town, in the Praça da Restauraçäo. This old building, which was made possible by contributions from the fishermen, has an attractive baroque facade. Sitting just behind the church, on the other side of the square, is the Compromisso Marítimo building - the fishermen’s mutual society, which was founded in the 18th century. Now the home of Olhäo’s museum, it has a statue of Nossa Senhora do Rosário in a niche above the doorway.....but unfortunately the outside of these buildings was all that we were able to see - opening hours are limited.
With a lot of “steps” done - and breakfast quite a few hours in the past - we returned back through the picturesque narrow, cobbled streets to the market area, where we spent some time staring out at the water, watching the boats and listening to jazz music which was supplied by a local sidewalk musician. A great spot to have a snack and cold drink while watching both tourists and locals going about their day!
Meanwhile......back in Tavira......we’ve managed to be more successful at suspending our laundry on a purpose-built contraption that hangs from the balcony of our upper floor window - only dropping 2 more items onto the pavement 3 floors below.
We’ve been given a tour, by the owner, of a tiny romantic boutique hotel that’s hidden behind a door in one of the busiest squares in town. This charming lady who was born in Brazil, was just returning home to her establishment and found us trying to peer inside (we believed it to be closed - their attached restaurant never showed any sign of activity) .......she opened the door from the street and happily led us through the breakfast-room, “common-areas” and into a whitewashed, picture-perfect private courtyard - complete with olive trees, tables, chairs and a small plunge pool that’s for the exclusive use of guests in this 6 guest-room slice of heaven!
Continuing our interest in hotels, we also took a quick look at the grounds and the inside of the beautiful - and expensive - Pousada Convento Tavira. Housed in a 16th century monastery, and almost within “touching-distance” of the castle walls, it is stunning.....but a welcoming atmosphere is not to be found here......we’d take the tiny boutique hotel any-day!
One last “hotel discovery” has become a favourite - the rooftop terrace/bar of a modern hotel, The Maria Nova, which we found while walking up a small, but steep hill, just on the edge of the historic old town. It’s a spacious area with a glass enclosed balcony and an equally attractive bar/lounge inside - where no-one sits at this time of year! On one occasion a singer and an accompanying pianist were entertaining - but other than that, it’s a quiet spot - neither empty nor full .......and after a couple of visits, the server remembered our drinks order - which is always a nice touch! We've watched the sunset from up there, and we’ve enjoyed nights when the moon has been full....with the lights from the town below, it’s a sight that's the ideal picture of a whitewashed town in the Algarve.
We’ve also managed to see a couple of the churches in Tavira (there are lots of them), one of which we've often passed but never seen open until one day, unexpectedly, it was! At first we thought it was just the garden that was getting some much needed attention, so we wandered through the usually locked garden-gate to take a look around. The church of the old Convent of Säo Francisco, which was founded between 1250-1330, has certainly seen better days - it was once one of the most prominent buildings in the Algarve. The building that suffered through 2 earthquakes (early and mid 1700s), a collapse in 1840 and a fire in 1881 has seen a lot of rebuilding, reconstruction and refurbishment to bring it to the church it is today......amazingly some Medieval parts still survive! There’s a lovely high domed ceiling and some carved wooden choir stalls. Preservation work is ongoing - with peeling plasterwork and faded colours, the building has a shabby elegance that adds to its charm, but it doesn’t help the overall upkeep......entrance is free, and donations are gratefully accepted to help finance the many projects that are the subject of information boards inside the church.
A building that is on the other end of the preservation scale is the tiny chapel of Santa Ana. Also believed to have been built sometime in the late 13th century, its antiquity has long been a source of speculation. A quote on record from 1518, states that “the chapel is so old, there is no memory of who built it.” It is known, however, that the building was used as a private chapel, by the Governor of The Algarve in 1624, and its continued use led to various modifications that were carried out over the next 100 years - the year 1727 is engraved on the bell tower. In the 19th century, when the position of Governor was abolished, the army took control over the chapel and surrounding buildings until they were acquired by the Tavira Municipal Council in 1936. After the military buildings were demolished, the chapel was isolated - once again, alone outside the city walls. The chapel was finally restored in 2006......entrance is free.....and it’s beautiful. The alter is 18th century, but still has the late medieval image of Santa Ana. One impressive piece, a painting done in oil on wood, is by an unknown artist from the 17th century - it shows the crucifixion, with detailed side-panels depicting the “stages of passion.” Incorporating a few museum pieces, there are samples of 16th Hispano-Arabic century tiles and a wooden carving from the 17th century that is believed to be St Francis - unfortunately his face is missing! The outside of the Chapel of Santa Ana is stunning in its simplicity - brilliantly whitewashed, it stands alone in a small, cobbled courtyard that has lovely views overlooking the town.
Our last “big find” of the week was something completely different - a Thrift Store - that amongst other items sells books - many in English. With a view to maybe spending just a little time on the beach, we bought 5 paperbacks, for a total cost of €1 - certainly a good incentive to take the ferry over to Ilha Tavira and stake out a piece of sand for a couple of hours!