People
THEN OLHÃO
FOUND US... ... and we weren't even looking! Hank and Carina's story of how they came to live in and love Olhão
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elcome to our monthly column celebrating Olhão. After exploring Portugal top to bottom from Braga to Tavira enjoying so many coastal and inland locations in our RV, we decided Olhão was the place to buy our home to celebrate our “golden years”. Olhão was not on our radar at first. In fact, the discovery of Eastern Algarve was a pleasant surprise with the scale of development so much less than areas to the west. A chance winter rental introduced us to Olhão, a place we quickly found attractive for many reasons. “Walkability” is, above all, a main highlight and each month we will introduce you to places only steps away from our front door. We hope you will enjoy our column! AUKAI... OLHÃO’S “HAWAIIAN” OUTRIGGER EXPERIENCE. As much as we enjoy our walks every day here, we also love the part we can’t walk on, the stunningly calm and beautiful Ria Formosa waters. One day last fall, we noticed something new. Located right next to the marina loading ramp inside the Island View complex, two Hawaiian
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style outrigger canoes appeared. Soon after that one morning, I watched as a crew of six, guided by owner Caio Mathias, carried one of those canoes down the boat ramp and silently paddled away into the Ria Formosa waters. What a way to travel! I decided to enlist for a morning tour. Caio says they launch several mornings every week. Paddlers do a bit of prep before heading out for the trip. This “Canoa Havaiana” local club is joined by sister clubs in Porto and near Lisbon. Together they silently challenge each other in friendly competition with another Algarve club to be located further west joining the fun soon. I signed up on the Aukai website (www. aukaivaa.com). They offer single classes and group tours and they declare the boats are stable and easy to paddle. The smiles on the faces of returning paddlers suggests this is a great way to enjoy being on the water. When I shot the photo of Caio returning from a recent Saturday morning tour, he exclaimed, “I love being in the water!” I’m pretty sure he meant “on” the water so I will hopefully soon enjoy my own tour with him soon paddling along the quiet and beautiful Ria Formosa waters..
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