Change

When first visiting a new place you tend to think that the way it is now is as it has been and that if you visit again you will find it the same and, of course, this applies especially to those things you liked or people with whom you felt some attachment and hoped to see on return. But, of course, over time, things do change or even cease to exist and we have had a few such experiences here in Albufeira that have created a palpable feeling of loss - not devastating, but important nevertheless - which I would like to mention.

When Ruth first came to Albufeira the old town beach area, fishermens' beach, was the place where the local fishermen pulled their boats on shore after a "day's" fishing. The clutter, a bit like these 2 images from nearby Armacão de Pera, of characteristically colourful fishing boats and assorted equipment created, for her, an appealing ambiance of unique sights, sounds and smells, the atmosphere of the traditional occupation of so many Portuguese people and one of the mainstays of the Portuguese economy, fishing.

And because of the sea level location in this "hilly" community, one could either walk among the boats and paraphernalia or enjoy the view looking down from the adjacent hill on the bustling activity among the medley of coloured boats, nets and heterogeneous bits of equipment necessary for catching fish. Sadly, this link to the past is no more. It has been transformed into a large open beach and paved square for folks like us, the tourists, who now have more beach for walking, sunning and serious enjoyment without the clutter of fishermen, fishing boats and their accompanying stuff getting in the way.

Ornamental fishermen

The photo to the left shows what remains; one boat and a few stone sculptures representing those who, until recently, plied their trade in this space.
For us it is a disappointing loss. But, what about the fishermen? Is it worse for them? or better that they are sheltered now behind a nearby breakwater in a marina where, I assume, they no longer need to pull their boats up onto a beach? I don't know. 

While John and I were on our morning walk, during one of my early visits to Albufeira, we passed a low white building with a small yard. In the yard was a table with some stone carvings of fish and dolphins and other sea creatures that I have now forgotten. We stopped to have a look and Lionel emerged from the back of the building to greet us with his characteristically friendly orthodontically imperfect smile. He was a smallish, thin, kind of wiry looking man, and his dress and location suggested someone of limited means and likely limited education.

Pre-dolphin

Fortunately, however, his command of English far exceeded ours of Portuguese, so we managed to communicate and we were able to learn just a bit about him. It seemed Lionel had a dream or maybe more like a hope. His means of earning a living was doing odd jobs and during one of these he helped a friend who worked with rocks and in the process found that he had a skill for carving rock figures. At one point he decided that he would pursue his carving skills with the hope that he could do what he enjoyed and possibly earn at least some of his living carving sea creatures from rocks. We didn't learn much more about Lionel but here he was with a few of his sculptures on display around the small yard.

Our dolphin

We met and chatted with him several times on our walks by his place and one morning met him coming from the beach with a plastic bag full of pre-sculptured rocks. Another morning when meeting him at his gate I asked him if he would carve a small dolphin for us which he agreed to do, for 10 or 12 Euros, I think. 

Lionel doing the finishing touches

We liked it so much that the next year we asked him if he would do another for a gift for a friend - again he agreed this time showing us a bit about the process he used to place the eyes and to finish the piece. The next year he told us he was having problems - people would climb the fence and steal or destroy his sculptures which made it difficult for him to sell his work. We saw less and less of Lionel and his sculptures as he seemed to need to be off painting or doing some other odd job to keep enough money coming in. Last year we did not see him at all though there were still some indications, items on the clothes line for example, that he was still around, though no sculptures were visible.

Padlocked gate

This year the gate is padlocked and the yard is empty. There is no sign that our friend, which he was in a way, is there. Each time I walk by I wonder what has happened to him or where he is. I'm glad I met Lionel and I'm sorry he is no longer at his place. I hope he is well.