jjcleaver

[jjcleaver]

It might strike you as odd that a hostel would be considered a ‘Hidden Gem’ however, the recently opened D’Art Boutique Hostel located in the heart of the historic centre of Portimão has uncovered some long hidden secrets that more than qualifies it. Allow me to explain…

[jjcleaver]

Become a citizen-scientist and help Vita Nativa with their new ‘Chameleon Project’.

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"Lovely little curly wurly willy dancing man orchid, or are they dancing ladies with tails?”

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Your guide to the perfect present.

[jjcleaver]

One of the words I find the most difficult to pronounce in Portuguese is ‘laranja’. I don’t know why, I feel like your tongue has to do a little bit of a flick in the middle of the word, and mine tends to trip over itself if I’m not careful.

[jjcleaver]

Have an adventure around the countryside with water, wildflowers, stepping stones and boatmen.

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Vita Nativa joins the new network of ‘night butterfly’ stations.

[jjcleaver]

The Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges once said, “I have always imagined paradise to be a kind of library”.

[jjcleaver]

How can something disposable be made of something indestructible?

[jjcleaver]

Do you ever feel like it's all just bad news? People always tell you when things go wrong, but they seldom tell you when things are going right

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After a long hot summer here in the Algarve the heavens finally opened last week, and amazingly the first burst of colour can already be spotted, quite easily, amongst the golden dry grass and leaf sodden grey ground.

[jjcleaver]

Every year after the first rain in autumn, along with nature’s rapidly growing green winter beard, the first floral displays to start decorating the ground with an explosion of colour are these pretty little yellow flowers.

[jjcleaver]

It’s November and dare we say that Christmas is just around the corner. Maybe now would be a good time to learn to make Portuguese Christmas cakes fit for a King - no matter where you are in the world.

[jjcleaver]

The Algarve Classic Festival, the biggest classic car event in the Iberian Peninsula, is on again at the Autódromo International do Algarve, in Portimão, from 6 to 8 November.

[jjcleaver]

If you are at a loss for something nice to say to somebody you care about (and you want to be a really smooth Spanish encantador) you might consider this: “Quiero hacer contigo lo que el invierno en el Algarve hace con los almendros" 💮

[jjcleaver]

The environmental associations plan to bring in the wild birds to tackle the pests at large. 🐦🦅

[jjcleaver]

A few months ago I was walking around the Pingo Doce in Vale do Lobo and the ‘word in the aisles’ was that to celebrate their 40 year anniversary, the Portuguese supermarket was doing a competition that any of their staff could enter and have the opportunity of winning a new Fiat 500.