The Farm is opened to the general public, everybody can visit the Farm and see the animals and some of the traditional agriculture, for the ones who are more interested they organize guided tours, they organize traditional games and the traditional festivities.

This is a wonderful place to take our children and to teach them, and give them a chance to see the animals life, such as chickens, rabbits, horses, cows and so on.

I visit this place often and I thought I should share it here, please find below just some example pictures of some of the animals.

Or Check this youtube video:

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=6NFYRVcJl7Y

Hope you enjoy, Regards...

Vilamoura

Possibly the most developed town of the ones I want to talk about. For people that like the town, the technology, this is the right choice for them.

Like we can see in the photo, this town has a great view, close to the sea where rich people park their boats.

Things to do? All kinds of things, the town has discos, golf fields, casino, tennis, diving club, big beach, many 5 and 4 star hotels and for those who like to fish, here we can borrow a boat to go fishing, more precisely shark fishing.

It's the most expensive town of the five.

I recommend to people that don't care of expending more money in their vacation to enjoy it for real.

Albufeira

I can say, because I am Portuguese, that this town has possibly the most habited beach of Algarve, it receives dozens of tourists around the world all years and it's very clean and nice. Another entertainment that this town has is the disco that on Summer nights makes a lot of money thanks to the big number of people that go out at night. I recommend this place to people that want to meet other people of different cultures since that very nations come to this place.

I recommend to people to like to party and meet people.

Tavira

When I go to Algarve this is one of the places that I always visit.

This is a photo that represents the low sea times; fishermen go to the sand to catch crabs.

It's a normal town with many stores for tourists where they can find all kinds of products.

The most attractive part of this town is the island, “Ilha de Tavira”, to go there we must pay the boat trip that lasts between 20-30minutes. Once there we can see a small beach with some fisherman, then, by going in the island we can find a big territory of camping for people that don't want to go to the houses back in the town. At the end of the road we find several restaurants and an HUGE beach, with a football field and volley field.

I recommend to people very interested in a good beach and nice environment.

Portimão

Unfortunately, I can't say much about this place, I apologize to the readers but I like to write articles about what I know, what I saw, what I am sure of saying, not search the different opinion of others (I respect their work and for that I am not going to copy paste their work).

What I can say is that the beach of Portimão, “Praia da Rocha”, is an international known beach that receives so many tourists as the beach of Albufeira.

I recommend to people that want to explore more this town and, again, I apologize for my weak knowledge of this town.

Fuzeta

My favorite place to go in the Summer, not only is calm and nice but it's also a town with great beach, great environment and sociable people.

Since 1998 I go there and since then I always liked. The years pass by and I see more and more people coming to this little “village” (village compared with the other towns I have spoken of).

This town has a camping field near the beach, “Praia da Ria Formosa” or “Praia dos tesos” (this last one is named “tesos”, that means poor), and near the place where the boats go to the “Ilha da Harmona” or “Ilha da Fuzeta”.

About the first beach I can say that it is a very calm and relaxing place with the water hotter than the one in the island (almost every time) and sometimes clean and other times with seaweeds and dark. When the sea is load many people go to the right of the beach to a kind of abandoned house to catch crabs to eat or use has bait to fish

About the island I can say that the beach as approximately the same size as the island of Tavira but the island is smaller in length. Has a lot of homes to people that want to be there the all day, sleep, etc; it has one restaurant, one snack place and one meal place. The beach is simply beautiful, clean, crystal water but sometimes has seaweeds, good environment and so on. When the sea is low we can catch on the sand kinds of shells with sea food in it. Far from the center of the beach we can find some fishermen depending on the weather conditions.

In the town we have fairs on the first Thursday and the first Sunday of the mount where we can find antiques and other stuff that fairs normally have.

At the night the town is full of coffee houses, some in poor places, and other in rich places (poor-rich to distinguish the places in the same town that can be evaluated this way). Nights of July we see religious events, next to the camping there is a football field (5vs5) that shows games and live music. Nights of August I only remember the great number of people compared with the other months, I don't know much because I only went once on August and I was too young. Nights of September are pretty normal, nothing of interesting happens; it's the month of less people.

I recommend this place to people that like what I described, calm, not the destiny of many tourists, has the minimum requisitions to a relax vacation

Hope you like this article and help you decide where to go in your Summer vacations.

In case of doubt, ask me whatever you want and I will try to help.

 

An earthquake struck the country in 1755 further causing destruction to its already weakened economy. In 1910, a revolution deposed the monarchy. In 1926, there was a military coup d'etat that established dictatorship until 1974. Another coup established reforms and instituted democracy in the country. Portugal is member of NATO, OECD, EFTA and recently European Union. During World War II Portugal remained neutral.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes. At the end of World War II, a small number of the population in Portugal comprises the upper class, middle class and urban working class. Majority of Portugese were rural peasants.

The upper class included industry leaders, financiers, high-ranking military personnel, the Catholic episcopate, the Alentejo large landholders, some professionals, and some government officials. The middle class is comprised of smaller rural landowners, some military officers, small business owners, civil servants, and schoolteachers. The lower class (o povo) consisted of the urban and rural working poor.

Social mobility is not observable and the distinction was between those who worked with their hands and those who did not. Social status was maintained by marrying of same class. Before 1974, the State was made up of corporative bodies comprised of different groups such as the military, the Church, landholders, workers' syndicates, etc. The Corporate State intends to promote class interests but in reality the intention is often influenced by personal contacts.

The rural south comprised of huge numbers of landless laborers was more hierarchical than the rural north. This is the reason why the Communist Party and class consciousness are more predominant in the south after the 1974 "revolution." Social stratification in the villages of the north was not as pronounced as in the south. Very wealthy elites were also limited.

The 1976 constitution desired to make Portugal a republic made up of a classless society. The Marxist ideologies no longer made up a huge part of their constitution. Portugal is not as socially rigid as in the past and education becomes more accessible as the country gears toward a more service-oriented economy. Education is also a way to gain social mobility. The number of people comprising the middle class has increased and the peasant population has decreased but the distance separating the social, economic, and political elites from the majority of the population remains.

Portugal - Social Classes

Before 1974, the Portugal's elite were be divided into five groups: the nobility, the large landowners, the heads of large businesses, the members of learned professions, and high-ranking military officers.

The Portugal's social structure had been known to be remarkably stable for centuries. The society was patterned after premodern, quasifeudal mold. Rank, place and class were given much consideration. The system was composed of small elite at the top, majority of peasants at the bottom and nobody in between. Industrialization in Portugal came so late that it was only in the late nineteenth century that the country experienced class changes. When the country became industrialized, the dictatorship under Salazar prevented sociopolitical effects to be felt until the 1974 Revolution transpired.

Portuguese historically has two classes - those who work with their hands and those who do not. Land ownership comes with prestige, power and prosperity. The small middle class comprised of soldiers, merchants, artisans and bureaucrats did not have the unity needed to give recognition to their class or gain political power. Ninety percent of the population comprised the underprivileged who worked as farmers, serfs and peasants. The opportunity to up one's status in life was nil. The poor often accepted their fate as part of God's laws. This social structure continued through generations for centuries.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a "new rich" class emerged due to commerce and investment. The members of this class bought land, intermarried with the old elite preserving the two-class system. The new middle class that emerged followed the upper-class ways such as dislike for manual labor, being refined and staying away from the lower classes. In the era of industrialization, Salazar dictatorship effectively quelled the working class bargaining power which further maintained the two-class system.

Salazar regime knew that the continuous existence of his government relied on the preservation of conservative elements such as low literacy rate and deteriorating road system in order to prevent increase of mobility, urbanization and threats to his power. He isolated Portugal from Europe. The corporative system he established benefited workers but also put them under his tight control. During Salazar's rule, Portugal suffered in terms of housing, education and health care.

Despite the obstacles, changes to the class system are showing due to modernization of the economy. Some groups particularly the elite were losing their traditional status and social power and were being displaced by growing number of middle class which are better able to function in the evolving economy.

Portugal Development

Economic development for Portugal was steady from the 16th centurty until the Carnation Revolution in1974. Economy collapsed in Portugal after the coup. It just recently recovered after it was granted membership to the European Union in 1983.

Britain used to be a colonial power with vast colonies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The same goes for Portugal which used to be a superpower with expanded colonies in Asia, Africa and South America. Their influence though decline through the years particularly in Portugal when it lost its final overseas empire in 1975.

The 1974-75 revolution in Portugal that led to the current Second Republic and the its succeeding withdrawal from its territories in Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Angola, and soon after, followed by Portugal's membership to the CEE/European Union (l986), showed dramatic duality of imperialism, under-development, and decadence that, under Salazar's regime (1932-74), made small Portugal looked like an European “backwater”.

Portugal for more than 200 years was actually a British protectorate. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was based on financial and diplomatic dependence with political independence. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance dates back to 1373 when both England and Portugal were feudal monarchies of equal stature but facing similar enemies particularly France and Spain.

Portugal's economy recovered after its entry to the EU. After experiencing recession in 1993, the economy saw an average of 3.3% increase, hugher than EU averages. In 2006, it's GDP growth was pegged at 1.3% the lowest in all of Europe.

1. The Reina Sofia Museo de Arte in Madrid:

   For really big goose bumps, view Picasso's Guernika at this art museum in Madrid. The stark awfulness of this painting will take your breath away. This gigantic masterpiece gives you chills when you imagine the chaos, the horror and the insanity of what happened that fateful morning in the small Basque village marketplace. Picasso captures the essence of the event, giving you a view of his frame of mind when he painted the world famous Guernika. We don't even have to wonder what the master was thinking when he painted the canvas.

2. Balcony Flamenco, Easter in Cordoba in Andalucia:

   Easter is always an emotional time when Christians think about the morning that Jesus rose from the dead after being in the tomb for three days, as Christian lore states. Two thousand years later, you can join the processionals on the crowded streets leading form the Mezquita during the Easter pageant. From a balcony you suddenly hear the outburst from one Andalusian woman who pours passion and sadness into her flamenco solo. Everyone stops to watch and listen and the beauty of her dance will give you serious goosebumps.

3. Carnivale in Cadiz, in Andalucia:

   The Carnivale de Cádiz is quite famous in Spain. It is essentially a street party that goes for a whole week and apart from the drinking on the streets there are bands called Chirigotas that compete in a Best Carnival 2008 Chirigota Group completion. Imagine yourself in a brightly lit medieval walled city with thousands of colorfully disguised locals who are singing and dancing and laughing with strangers throughout the cold winter night. The feeling is welcoming during this authentic magically fun experience. Language is no barrier, so come and join the fun. Goose bumps are on their way!

4. Fairytale Winter Wonders in Granada:

   The Alhambra is a Moorish Jewel to behold, when it is breathtakingly lit up at night. The word Alhambra is from an Arabic root meaning red or crimson castle and likely derived the name from the colors of its walls. During the day, it is no less beautiful watching it from Albacin Barrio as the snow capped Sierra Mountains turn from white to pink and the Alhambra changes from yellow to orange to red. Have your camera ready to capture these unforgettable goose bump moments vistas.

5. Gaudi in Barcelona:

   Across the street from La Pedrera, you look up to see skeletal eyes and mouths staring down at you. This building actually covers more than 100 meters, and is designed so that the entire building gets sunlight at some point in time during the day. The rooftop is full of interesting architectural designs, with sculptures and chimneys embellishing it. During the summer months you can go on the roof in the evening for a glass of cava to the accompaniment of classical music. Inside the Casa Mila, each room gives you a sense of wonder as you contemplate the mind of Antoni Gaudi. The uniqueness of the building will give you giant goose bumps.

6. Noche Vieja Plaza Del Sol in Madrid:

   New Years Eve is best spent with a mouthful of grapes - 12 to be precise. Hours before midnight on New Years Eve, tens of thousands of people gather in Madrid's Plaza del Sol to await the chimes of the clock on the tower which dominates the Spanish capital's central square. The excitement builds up as the magic hour approaches. As the New Year begins and the city clock starts to chime, you pop a grape into your mouth until the final chime, when the Plaza Del Sol is inundated with grape filled screams of joy. Goose bumps will cover your entire body in that moment.

To find out more things to do on the Iberian Peninsula, visit Portugal Spain Both. Planning a visit to Europe and cannot decide. Portugal? Spain? Visit both!

The Marina, Lagos. December 2007.

Cheap Holiday Deals

We were lucky to find a real bargain flying with EasyJet and staying in the Magnolia Mar Beach Club out at Praia de Mos. We had an eight day break, self catering, for around £250 for the two of us including flights.

We found this deal online at the EasyJet holiday website. This isn't an advert for EasyJet; there were many other equally good deals to be had, so shop around. We've flown with "no frills" airlines before e.g. Jet2 to Hungary and have found them to be good value and reasonably efficient.

Weather

Overcast skies, Praia de Mos.

Overall the weather was mild. We had some heavy rain for two days during which there was a spectacular thunderstorm. Some English ex-pats who'd been there 20 years were saying this was very unusual. As a rule you can expect the temperature to be cooler in the early morning and from about 4pm onwards you'll need a jacket or sweater. In the middle of the day it was warm enough to sit and eat outside on the balcony in a sleeveless top and there was plenty of sunshine. When it was raining there was a wind coming in off the Atlantic which made for some pretty awesome waves, but otherwise just a gentle breeze.

Getting About

Railway station at Silves.

Our accommodation was about 2 miles from the town centre, although only a five minute walk from the nearest beach (Praia de Mos). It was possible to walk into the town but it was mostly up some pretty steep hills. We never did figure out if there was a bus service nearby but the hotel provided a once a day free bus service into Lagos leaving at 10am and returning at 6.30pm. If we missed this we used a taxi which cost around 5 Euros each way (about £3).

There's a good local train service from Lagos and we used this one day for a trip to the nearby town of Silves. It cost only 4 Euros each return.

Eating (and Drinking) Out

Typical pavement café.

Most places were open during the off season. There are plenty of small cafes where you can get a coffee, beer or a snack. The restaurants all offer much the same choice of menu, with plenty of fish. Prices vary of course. The best place we found was a tiny restaurant down near the police station called Jaou's. It was owned by a husband and wife in their fifties and was clean and welcoming without being ostentatious. The food was cooked as we watched and was superb. Try the "green" soup. Out of this world!

Jimmy at The Three Monkeys.

Lagos has a number of bars and pubs quite a few of which are run by expats. If you like football the Fools and Horses has a big screen. For fans of 60's and 70's rock music then The Three Monkeys is a must. They play none stop (loud) music and will play requests if you ask nicely! The staff are really friendly and we had some very interesting conversations - despite the volume of the music.

Beaches

Praia de Mos. December 2007.

There are a number of beaches around Lagos. We stayed within five minutes walking distance from Praia de Mos, which was breathtakingly beautiful - and practically deserted in December. Not a time of year for sunbathing. Even though there was wall to wall sunshine it was pretty chilly down on the beach. Not everyone was put off though.As we relaxed with a coffee at Antonio's beach restaurant, we did spot the very brave soul pictured below!

December surfer……brrrr!

The Old Town

The Old Town Wall, Lagos.

The Old Town was once surrounded by a wall of which only fragments seem to remain. The streets are narrow and paved with unusual mosaic cobbles. It's a bit of a maze at first and easy to get lost but after a while you somehow manage to instinctively find your way a round. It was particularly attractive when we saw it because of Christmas. Decorations and lights were up and there was a carol service held in the Old Town square. If you like your Christmas uncommercialised you'll love the atmosphere.

Christmas lights in Lagos.

A typical street.

Shopping in Lagos.

Old Town Square.

The summer vacation 2006 has been all this for me. To enter Portugal has been very intriguing, it has been like putting a foot into a parallel world, like feeling part of the Europe because it is still situated on the Mediterranean Sea, but also living some days in a distant dimension, full of influences of people so much different from us, came also through the Atlantic Ocean.

I have wanted to live in my way this vacation, I wanted to feel this always desired travel experience in my veins, I felt on my skin the climate changes from a State to another one, leaving Italy by motorcycle, passing through the windy zone of the Southern France and through the very arid one of the Central Spain, to finally reach Portugal at the level of Lisbon; it has been wonderful to set back immediately of one hour the hour hand of the clocks and to discover a gentle and pleasant breeze, cropped lands with vineyards and cork oaks and villages completely made with white little houses.

Another fascinating fact for me, even if unexplainable, is that I did not understand yet how before I always had understood quite well the language through the radio and TV stations and on the contrary I was not able to distinguish a word staying in that place for some days.

During the trips it is often impossible to find hotels or camping areas in the big cities, even if for Portugal I wrote down a lot of details, but a bit because of the tiredness due to the travel and a bit because it is always hard to ride in the traffic I opted for small villages but quite close to the urban settlings, to avoid the high prices and to rest in peaceful sleeps outside the big cities, it is not absolutely hard to find a receptive building in Portugal because everywhere you go you see in front of you a multitude of bedrooms for the night, called ?quartos?, often with the bathrooms inside them, situated along tiny streets and onto narrow staircases, into ancient buildings, but always furnished with simplicity and taste. I have found very affordable prices with open and closing times nearly non-existent, because often in Portugal the receptive buildings have all-day opening, really not bad for the tourists.

Something which you can notice immediately in every village, big or small one, of Portugal are the ?azulejos?, hand-painted ceramic tiles which get the name from the colour of the pigment used, that is the azure-blue, you can find them almost everywhere and they give an Arabic atmosphere to the walls.

Another fascinating aspect of the Portuguese culture is the cooking, strictly connected to the products of the ground and it is also a mixture of influences carried by the sea and the ocean which makes you feel familiar to it and stranger at the same time. The typical dishes are represented by the ?bacalhau?, that is the codfish cooked everywhere along the streets and into the restaurants and in a lot of ways, especially smoked, by the ?açorda?, that is a soup of little pieces of bread and olive oil, cooked in a very folksy and immediate way and because of it very appreciated by the Portuguese people, by the vegetables sold along the streets such as the ?galegas? and the ?favas?, that are cabbages and broad beans, by the ?leitao? meat, that is the small pig, by the fruits such as the ?melhao?, that is the yellow melon, and by the typical desserts such as the ?pasteis?, that are the pastries, and the canapés with custard, in sum Portugal represents also a triumph for the taste.

Walking across the streets of the small villages and of the big cities, without distinction, you can feel a way of living in harness with the nature?s rhythms, despite the progress have invaded also this corner of Europe, in fact it is typical the slowness of the Portuguese people, I have noticed it by myself, no one who barks in the traffic, no one who runs and has breathlessness along the streets, quiet smiling faces everywhere, I am sure we could learn a lot from those people.

In sum, I think it is worth to travel to Portugal, anywhere in that State, because you can have a unique experience which surely makes a mark in your heart.