Dear Editor,
As a Yankee dog who has been coming to Albufeira since 1971, having had the good fortune to have acquired land and built a home in the 1980s, I couldn’t resist responding to the comments from my fellow Americans Cortland and Cortland-Martin printed in the January 16 edition, “Disenchanting Albufeira” and “Portugal losing integrity”.
Sorry that their idyllic vision of a charming village has not been preserved but I cannot feel their pain. My fishermen friends have spoken about a dock ever since the 70s and now finally can moor their boats in a safe harbour in lieu of manually launching them from the beach and running risks of overturning while launching and landing.
Sorry for the absence of another photo-op for tourists! The character of this still very charming town exists intrinsically in both its physical beauty, cleaner than ever beaches I may add, and especially the very kind and gentle nature of its people.
As for me, I’m now retired, able to spend half the year in Albufeira as I’ve always dreamt, and I can assure you, the reality even beats the dream! This american tourist is here to stay!
BARBARA KELLY, USA and Guia
