Algarve Letters

Silves Again

It's been another wonderful week here in the Algarve. That's mainly because of three things.

First: the weather has been hot, hot, hot. I've been swimming every day: Nice! And the grapes are now ready, and so are the first of the figs. They are really luscious. I am about to be deluged with them as I have access to about a dozen trees.

Second: there has been the last couple of days of the Silves medieval fair, which I attended again. I really enjoyed it. It's worth at least a couple of visits. The sheer fun and entertainment is well worth the trip. There were oriental style dancers, medieval style drummers, and entertainers, hog roasts, and even a burst of evening cries from the top of the minaret.



That isn't something I would normally go for, in fact I once left a certain Sudanese town over a closed border to escape the four a.m. muezzin's call. Naturally I was immediately put under house arrest when I arrived in christian Ethiopia, but that's another story. Let me know if you want me to write up these silly stories, and I'll put them in the blogs.

Anyway, here's the link to the new movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_MmEnY1-cg&feature=youtu.be

Third: it's been a quiet week with no bad news getting through to my retreat above the estuary. I have deliberately kept away from the local news vendors so as not to get upset. Portugal can go to hell in its own handcart. I'll look the other way for a bit longer.

So, a good week all round.

Now I need to get stuck in to some serious fig destruction. How the heck am I going to eat my way through all those trees? This is going to be a tough assignment!

john