Portugal Archive • Seite 2 von 3 • Die Meurers

Portugal – The Coast of Algarve

After having been to Madeira and the Azore island Sao Miguel in spring we now went to the mainland. We started at the Algarve. Already the flight was quite promising. First looking over the mountains with their special shape and then the view on to the steep coast. Great. Well, where to start if there are so many things waiting to be discovered? In front of your door. Right. The first beach was Praia do Paraiso. And soon you realize: Steep coast? That means a lot (!) of stairs and steps. A flight of stairs leads down to Praia do Paraiso. And when you have been down, eventually you have to climb up… Having said that… the beach of Carvoeiro is right in the center and can be reached at ground level. One of the exceptions. If you want to have a nice view over the beach though you have

How to make Cataplana

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

The pottery factory in Lagoa

On the Azores island Sao Miguel some might have noticed these beautiful road signs made out of white tiles with a dark blue painting. These tiles you can also find in churches or chapels or on walls of houses where they show complete scenes. If you want to know how they are made you should visit the workshop Viera in Lagoa. Here you can see the nearly the whole production. The clay comes from the island but has to be mixed with water so that it gets the perfect texture. Then the clay goes to the different work stations. At one place it will be cast. Here mostly hollow pieces are formed. After the casting each peace has to be reworked and finished. At the factory you will see hundreds of different forms. At another station clay is formed on a potter’s wheel. Here also wonderful pieces are made like

Culinary Arts on Sao Miguel

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

Europes only tea plantation

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

Week 44: Sao Miguel one of the Azores Islands

After one week on Madeira we went to Sao Miguel, one of the nine Azores Islands. We flew with Azores Airlines with a small prop airliner. The flight only takes two hours and starting from Madeira gave us a spectacular view over the island. This time we had already checked in online and therefore had nice window seats. Unfortunately we had to pay for our overweight luggage. Though the airplane has only been half full… We had to pay 24 Euros for 6 kilos. The airport on Sao Miguel is as small as the one in Funchal on Madeira. Our luggage came quite fast and we got again our rental car quickly. The stuff member of the rental car company did a car inspection together with us. The car was full of scratches…. Funny enough we got a message right after arrival that friends were in Ponta Delgada with a

The East Coast from Sao Miguel by Rental Car

Our second day on Sao Miguel started again with a rainbow over the bay of our hotel. What else do you need? Some clouds were in the sky but they disappear quite fast on the Azores. We started from our hotel Caloura and set our satnav to ‚avoid highway‘. The small and curvy roads are much more interesting. In Villa Franca do Campo we stopped to have one of these local tiny coffees called ‚bica‘. The places in the middle of a village are often very nicely designed have a small garden or park and the church fronts are wide. The flagging has a variety of pattern. We drove on to Furnas. Every now and then there is a parking lot or a lay by with a wonderful surrounding an a nice view. It is worth a stop. You should get out of the car and have a look. If

Discover Sao Miguel by rental car

On our first morning after arrival we were so curious about the Azore’s island Sao Miguel that we startet with our rental car to drive along the west coast. After we left Caloura we already found the first sign „Miradouro“. So we went there, because this is for „view“. And of course we had a great view from up there and there also has been a nice pick nick place. Here everything is very green… We took the small coastal road towards Ponta Delgada and suddenly spotted a nice beach in Livramento on the left. Black sand with a pink stripe. The pink colour comes from thousands of tiny shells. We were all alone at the beach and it is quite long and just wonderful. At the end of the beach you can spot a tongue. We drove some hundred meters to Rost Do Cao and climbed on the rocks.

Week 43: One Week on Madeira with Olimar Travel

Our 43rd week of waltzing we spent on the island Madeira. An absolute dream… But first things first. This time we could hardly drive by car. We had to fly. That meant that we had to reduce once again our amount of luggage. With your own car you tend to take some additional stuff with you. One small bag here and one pair of shoes fits in here. You have space. On the plane that does not work. Everyone has only one suitcase and one piece of hand luggage… That was somehow adventorous; but worked out in the end. Even Achim’s tripod fit in his suitcase. Though the suitcase afterwards was too heavy. But it works anyway. To the airport we went by train. The travel papers said that the train ride (rail & fly) would be included. So the day before our departure we went to fetch our tickets

Sugar Cane at Madeira

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