Christmas lights in Vila Real Santo António
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The festive period is upon us after what has been an exceptionally difficult year for everyone. I don’t think I have ever seen the Algarve so quiet. Although the Covid cases here are very low, many people are preferring to stay at home this year rather than venture out, and there seems to be generally very little movement on the streets.
We went to Vilamoura on Saturday, and it was a ghost town. This is not normal for anywhere in the Algarve, especially for the marina in Vilamoura, which is usually pretty vibrant even in December.
That said, we also stopped in Mar Shopping on our way home, which was absolutely rammed, to a point where there was very little parking, and they had to close the doors for a while. Perhaps the entire population of the Algarve had just decided to go Christmas shopping on Saturday.
Cabin fever has well and truly kicked in, and we, like everyone else are fed up with being at home all the time. A couple of nights ago we decided to go and have a walk around Vila Real Santo António, just to get out of the house for a bit, and to see the Christmas lights.
Vila Real is a small town, so we didn’t really have high expectations, but as you can see from the photos, they have done a pretty good job in the town centre. Granted the whole town is not decked out in lights, mainly the main two streets and the square, but at least there is a bit of festive spirit to lighten the general apathy that seems to have taken hold this year.
We must also go into VRSA during the day and have a look at the nativity display that they put on every year in the cultural centre. The miniature scenes are really intricate, must take hours to construct, and are always excellent in my opinion.
I have also seen several posts on social media from Castro Marim council encouraging residents to put up Christmas lights, so we will go and have a wander around over the next few days.
I for one, have had enough of lethargy, so I have decided it is about time to re-emerge from my sloth like existence of late, and get out a bit more. OK, we can’t exactly travel the world at the moment, but at least we can make a bit of an effort and enjoy wintertime in the Algarve.
Will keep you posted.
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