PEOPLE Hank & Carina

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

Welcome 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 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..

PSST!

Here is an experience many small business people would recognise and remember well. It is this...the people closest to you are suggesting you are crazy. This usually occurs when what you are suggesting for your future business is something untried like - Psst! Okay, so start with a vehicle that is cute as a button, but destined to pretty much stay in one place, then get enough people to come by for coffee and croissants so that maybe, just maybe, your loved ones will gradually nod with their approval. Telma Cristina Afonso Amaro has been serving her customers here in Olhão from that non moving vehicle for almost 4 years and she considers herself lucky. Like so many local people trying to forge a living in a tourist based economy, the 4 month high season meant much of each year for her was spent waiting for work to return. Not any more. Psst!, located on the esplanade that fronts the marina across from the Real Marina 5 star hotel, may not be open every day all year, but if the weather is reasonable, which it so often is, you’ll also feel lucky to be enjoying coffee and a fresh croissant in the sunshine. As a bonus, you’ll be gazing out to the Olhão marina with all the fancy boats and maybe dreaming of commanding your own vessel towards the next port of call! Ahoy matey! Or... you can just settle down, be grateful for good health and sunshine, and calmly relax while enjoying the beautiful view. Why worry about maintaining your fancy yacht when the cost of just one month of berth fees will get you all the local Ria Formosa tours you could hope for from the row of trip vendors right next door! Psst! enjoys a full crowd most days. Be patient and know Telma adds tables if there are any left in the back. Cash please...

For our full introduction, see our first column online in the December 2021 issue. www.eastalgarvemag.com

Fine Print – Questions or Comments? Write to us at hankryan2003@yahoo.com We choose to focus on businesses here in Olhão where we have actually been customers first. Any future advertising from these businesses that supports the East Algarve Magazine is purely coincidental :-)