Dear Editor,
As an American who has spent nearly every winter in Albufeira since 1970, I am becoming more and more disenchanted with “my town”.
I know that I have my detractors, but they are not native Portuguese. The modernisation has robbed a formerly charming fishing village of its character and turned it into a sleek tourist trap. Between this and the demise of the dollar, I cancelled my trip for this year. My heart belongs in Portugal, but no longer in Albufeira.
I hope that at some point the new young designers and architects realise that people travel to Portugal because of its history and quaintness.
Once that is gone, travellers will move on.
F.C.A. Cortland, USA
