Portugal Trivia: Algarve Facts
Faro, Sagres, Cabo de San Vicente, Carvoeiro, Tavira, Lagos & Silves
Southern Portugal: Information and statistics on the Ria Formosa, chameleons, chapels made from bones, dolphin-watching, slave trading, salt pans and cork museum.
The Algarve, the southern region of Portugal, is one of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations in Europe. Here are some facts, trivia and information that may be useful if you travel there.
- The major city of the Algarve, Faro, was once the capital of a Moorish principality.
- Cabo de San Vicente is Europe’s most southwesterly point. It is named after a Spanish priest who was martyred by the Romans. Legend has it that his bones arrived at the cape on a boat, accompanied by ravens and carrion crows.
- At Carvoeiro you can learn to dive in a particularly spectacular setting – courses are run in a unique cave.
- The Museu de Cortica in Silves is a museum entirely devoted to the history and manufacture of cork. A bit of a specialist subject, you’d think, but it still pulls in plenty of visitors every year.
- If you like your attractions nice and grizzly, head to the church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo in Faro. Behind it is the Capela dos Ossos, a little chapel made entirely out of the bones and skulls of monks.
- In the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa you will find plenty of wildlife – including lots and lots of flamingos. You can also see (well, not if it’s disguised itself properly) the Mediterranean chameleon, which is the only chameleon that can be found in Europe outside of a zoo.
- The large, Siberian-looking fields of white stuff near Tavira are actually salt pans. Much of the country’s table salt is harvested in this region.
- Those who love dolphins can book themselves on a dolphin-watching tour from the town of Lagos. Sightings are practically guaranteed.
- The Praca do Infante in Lagos has undergone something of a transformation in terms of cultural enlightenment. In the darker times of the 15th century, the square was used as a major hub for slave trading. It now houses an art gallery instead.
- The fortifications of Sagres took one hell of a pounding in 1587 when legendary English privateer Sir Francis Drake captured the town. He was trying to stop supply lines getting to the Spanish Armada, but left a trail of destruction in his wake.
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