Food

At the coast of the Algarve you will get – oh wonder – a lot of fish and seafood. We tried out some restaurants and were also allowed to look behind the scenes. Our first restaurant was spot on: A Boneca. In the middle of grottos and caves but with sea view. Here you can get freshly caught fish which is grilled on charcoal. But also seafood and other Portuguese dishes are on the menu. And the sunset watched from top of the rock right beside the restaurant is stunning.  A reservation is necessary. In the hinterland near Monchique there is a small but fine nice garden restaurant. Jardim das Oliveiras. In the middle of cork trees it offer Portuguese meat dishes. But also vegetarians find something on the menu. Both owner who speak different languages look for quality and put some effort in buying from the local neighbours and

In a copper pot you put some slices of potatoes. Add some sauce that has been cooked before made from peppers, onions, tomatoes and garlic. Put on some pieces of different fishes. Add more of the sauce. Add some water, white wine and sea food stock. Add spices. Let it cook for 20 minutes. Add prawns and mussels. Let cook for another 10 minutes. Finally add some fresh coriander and serve in the copper pot. Enjoy your meal! Thanks to the restaurant ‘A Vela’ in Carvoeira to let us have a look! While the Cataplana was cooking, we had the chance to taste some dessert. Maybe you want some of that after the Cataplana… Restaurant ‘A Vela’-508, R. do Barranco 54,8400 CarvoeiroTelefon: 969 607 116 Website Restaurant ‘A Vela’ All Photos © Waltzing Meurers

Every country and each region has their own culinary delicacies. Also on Sao Miguel connoisseurs get one’s moneys worth. Cheese When you drive around on the island or are hiking you might notice a lot of cows. Those cows deliver much milk. And from that many different excellent cheeses are made. Directly besides the market hall in Ponta Delgada we discovered a cheese shop which was not only stacked up to the ceiling with shelves full of cheese but also offered more than 40 different varieties. We choose ten, e.g. we asked the sales person to pick ten for us. All of them very really yummy. A nice regional bread to go with it. Fantastic! Fresh fish For the main course we searched for fresh fish and found it everywhere. At the Azores there is a wide fishing area and nearly all fish offered was caught fresh and near the

There is indeed a tea plantation in Europe. And that is on the Azores island Sao Miguel. The hedge like tea bushes grow in rows but also in wave like patterns on the hills in the village Riviera Grande. 7 years the plants have to grow before you can start harvesting. Then they are harvested every 2 or 3 weeks from April until October. After that the plants may rest and are even allowed to bloom. But this will happen in December. Exceptionally we were allowed to drive into the plantation with a tractor and watch the harvesting. Harvesting is not done any more by tender women’s hands but with a kind of a hedge trimmer. A handful of men carry the heavy machine some centimeters above the bushes and thereby cut the upper leaves of the tea plant. Thus only the fresh green leaves are harvestet. The first three

We were quite buffeled when we learned that on Madeira not only sugar cane is still grown but also processed in a small factory. So we had to see that. First of all we looked for a sugar cane field. How does it look like? Long poles. Right. But. We were surprised to see that they are kind of purple. But nice. They feel hard and the leaves have sharp edges. Shortly before harvesting the bushy leaves are taken off. A hard work. Not only because it is done by hand without any tool but the fields are nearly all at a steep slope. Without the leaves the canes stay some time on the field so that they can develop more sweetness. After that they are harvested and carried by lorry to the sugar cane factory. All the sugar cane is processed on the island. Nothing is being exported. The sugar

In the middle of the island in a small village there is a banana plantation where you can walk through freely. On a small path sometimes separated from stone walls you walk along. But you still can get very near the banana plants and can even touch them. The plants grow surprisingly high and have very thick stems. Nearly like trees. A lot of plants are supported from sticks so that they can carry their heavy burden. A stalk can weigh about 30 kg. At the plantation you can also see the watering system. It is a very tricky system that brings the water down from the mountains to the valley and into the fields. By the way you can hike along this water system which is called „Levadas“. But this is a different subject. At the plantation there are young plants and old ones. Cut trees and right besides