Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 3 August 2022
Good morning and we start this report with the news that the weather in the Algarve continues to be very warm and intense. Whilst the region is used to warm and sunny summers the intensity of the heat currently is something many people who have lived here for many years and those native to the Algarve have not seen for years. The Region also saw one of the largest 
fires for some time last week in the São Marcos da Serra area of Silves municipality. 574 firefighters with 201 vehicles and 6 air assets were eventually able to bring it under control but not before it caused the destruction of at least one second home and a haystack but did not cause any damage to first homes.
Now a look at some of the other news from the region in the past week.
PSP detains man and seizes almost 1,500 doses of drugs
The Portimão Division of the PSP detained a man and identified a woman on suspicion of drug trafficking and seized 1,459 doses of narcotics during a patrolling action, the Faro police command announced today.
The two suspects, aged 21 and 20, were intercepted after police officers “detected movements that indicated the imminence of a drug transaction, something confirmed after a few minutes of observation,” the PSP said in a statement.
During the operation, 1,243 doses of heroin, 201 of cocaine and 15 of hashish were seized, as well as various weighing and packaging material for narcotic products. 525 euros were also seized, money allegedly “from illicit activity”.
The 21-year-old detainee was heard in the first judicial interrogation, and the coercive measure of terms of identity and residence was applied to him.
Man identified who threatened neighbour with firearm in Alcoutim
In a statement, the GNR stated that, on 30th July, it seized an illegal firearm in Alcoutim and identified the owner.
The same source reports that, following a complaint that reported threats between neighbours using a firearm, the military went to the scene, where they found that a 60-year-old man, after an argument, wielded a gun. long fire and threatened the victim, another 64-year-old man.
In the course of police investigations, it was possible to find the weapon hidden among bushes, on agricultural land, nearby. The weapon was seized, and the GNR found that it was not registered or manifested.
The 60-year-old man was identified and the facts sent to the Vila Real de Santo António Judicial Court, concludes the same source”.
Recreation of the atmosphere of the fish market whets the appetite for the Sardine Festival
To mark the premiere of the Sardine Festival, which will take place in the riverside area of Portimão between August 03 and 07, the municipality of Portimão promotes, from 09:00 on next Tuesday, August 02, the recreation of the traditional to the sardine canasta on the city pier.
The fish will later be made into a popular sardine, ending this day with a sunset with music from other times, by the Lucky Duckies.
On this occasion, the hustle and bustle of the old fish market will be evoked, with the mooring of the trawler “Arrifana” and the envoy “Moira” and the participation of fifty extras, who will play the role of fishermen, stevedores, buyers, salting women. and restless children, who gave life and color to the pier, broadcast online on the municipality’s Facebook page.
Some of the main activities that took place over time at the siege auction will be portrayed, from the arrival of the boats loaded with sardines, when the siren calling the buyers was heard, followed by the old “by mouth” auction. , which consisted of a sung litany of numbers in descending order and that the seller only interrupted when the buyer finished with the purchase order “Chui!”.
After the auction, the fish will be unloaded, a kind of choreography perfected by experience, in which the men would fly full baskets from the deck of the trawler to the worker who received them on the wall, immediately pouring the fish into boxes to be chilled. or salted, before heading to your destination, packed in the transport of the time, including bicycles, vans, and other vehicles.
In the course of all this activity, one or two sardines were diverted by the kids who sieved around, generating a lot of noise, while the company fish or a small teacup of sardines was sold here and there. Around lunchtime, the stoves started to smoke, roasting the sardines to feed many of these auctioneers.
The fresh sardines unloaded in this historical recreation will later be used in a popular sardine dish taking place at the festival grounds, between 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm, and for which interested parties must collect the respective tasting voucher at the venue, in order to free use of two sardines grilled on bread and a drink at the indicated establishment.
These are the activities chosen as the theme for another edition of the Sardine Festival, recently considered the best summer gastronomic event held in Europe by the well-known travel site Big 7 Travel.
Lagos hospital receives fake bomb threat
The Terras do Infante Hospital Unit, in Lagos, received yesterday, July 31, a false threat of an explosive device, announced the Board of Directors of the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA).
The bomb threat took place shortly before 21:00 and security protocols were activated.
According to the statement, hospital activity “proceeded with normality” and the Board of Directors thanked “the competent authorities, our employees and hospitalised patients for the calm and care taken in the necessary operations in these situations”.
Shared bicycle project announced at the Cidades e Vilas Forum
The experience of Faro, which since June 1st has 75 bicycles (25 electric and 50 conventional), in the city and parish of Montenegro, was shared at the II Forum Cidades e Vilas – Sharing Experiences of the Systems, which took place on the 20th of July, in Lisbon.
“We were at this event, organised by the Portuguese Federation of Cycling Tourism and Bicycle Users (FPCUB), seeking to highlight the success and importance of this pilot project, the first to be implemented in an Algarve city”, explains Sophie Matias, councillor for the City Council. Municipality of Faro, who represented the municipality at the event.
“We made an investment of close to 200,000 euros (precisely 199,050 euros, plus VAT), which allows everyone who lives or visits our city to have a means of transport that is more environmentally friendly and provides physical well-being”, added the mayor and concluded: “We already had scooters and we are making considerable investments in creating clickable infrastructure, investing in road safety strategies, because we effectively want to be a capital of the future, which is concerned with lowering pollution levels. and maintain a relationship with ecosystems that brings progress and attractiveness”.
This was, in fact, one of the key points of the initiative, in which several municipalities and entities were present. The presentation of good practices was one of the main objectives, as well as the debate on topics such as intramodality applied to ticketing and the use of these means of transport; the sustainability of these systems the contribution they make to the sustainability of mobility in cities; maximising the possibilities of maintaining stations with an adequate level of supply and the business model of bicycle-sharing systems.
“Our experience, although it has a short period of duration, is already a success, with very significant levels of use and very positive feedback from users”, stressed Sophie Matias, reinforcing that “Faro has great potential to this level, and we will do everything in our power to continue to be a pioneer in the implementation of programs and initiatives related to smooth and sustainable mobility”.
‘Arrebita’ once again takes the best chefs in the country to the streets of Portimão
Arrebita – Local Gastronomy Festival is preparing to return to Portimão in what will be the 3rd edition of the gastronomic festival that has already become a summer classic in the South.
On the weekend of August 20th and 21st, more than 25 chefs from different parts of the country will occupy the main shopping streets of the historic centre of the city and serve delicious street food dishes, in an event with the support of Portimão City Council.
With free admission, Arrebita Portimão will have a strong cast of chefs, including established names and young cooks, prepared to surprise all visitors with new flavours and refreshing and unusual proposals, including savoury dishes and desserts with a single cost of six euros. This will be the case, for example, of the “starred” Louis Anjos (Al Sud, Lagos) and André Cruz (Feitoria, Lisbon), both at the helm of Michelin-starred spaces.
In a festival that celebrates the best that Portuguese gastronomy has to offer, Algarve cuisine naturally deserves a prominent place, with the presence of chefs Wilson Costa (Amendoeira Clubhouse, Alcantarilha), João Viegas (Atlântico, Vila Vita Parc Resort, Porches), João Marreiros (Loki, Portimão), Alípio Branco (Casa Velha, Quinta do Lago, Almancil), Nuno Martins (Numa, Portimão) and João Dias (À Mesa, Tavira) – in addition to the aforementioned Louis Anjos, who is back at Arrebita Portimão after a successful foray last year.
Another highlight of this festival of gastronomy on the move is the presence of international chefs who chose Portugal to make their cuisine known. This is the case of Shay Ola, the creative mind of Queimado, in Costa da Caparica, or Alessandra Borsato, the young sous chef of the Lisbon restaurant Senhor Uva.