Showing that the municipality of Silves is much more than Armação de Pêra beach was the objective of yet another fam trip, a familiarization trip for journalists and travel agents, promoted by the Algarve Tourism Region, in close collaboration with the Silvense City Council.
In what is the second largest municipality in the Algarve, the fifteen participants got to know the secrets of São Marcos da Serra, São Bartolomeu de Messines, the mountains and the lynx, and also the Castle of Silves. Because, despite being the second most visited monument in the region, the centuries-old castle still has many stories to tell.
A fam trip, whose guide was unexpected and always full of enthusiasm, the Mayor Rosa Palma herself, then started in São Marcos da Serra…and it couldn't be better. In a room next to the Parish Council, in Largo da Igreja, a mountain breakfast was served with golden slices, dreams, donuts, farinheira and other local sausages, good homemade bread, all accompanied by coffee, herbal tea…or a few cups of medronho or honeydew brandy.
The motto was set for a day where good food was the rule. Because, as Desidério Silva, president of the RTA, explained, «tourists also get caught in the stomach», with gastronomy and wines being one of the reasons that are increasingly mentioned by visitors to the Algarve. Furthermore, taking into account that the Mediterranean Diet is a World Heritage Site.
Three presidents, Rosa Palma, from the Chamber of Silves, Desidério Silva, from the RTA, and Luís Cabrita, from the Parish Council of São Marcos, toasted the future of tourism and the products of this mountain region.
This was followed by a visit to the Main Church of São Marcos da Serra, a small temple that still keeps Manueline elements in its interior, from the time of its construction, in the first quarter of the XNUMXth century, as explained by Jorge Correia, technician of the Culture Department of the Chamber of Silves.
The next stop was the Museum of Costume and Traditions of São Bartolomeu de Messines, in this town in Barrocal. The president of the Parish Council, who received the group of visitors, highlighted the difficulties of a territory that “is only 20 kilometers from the sea, but suffers from an enormous interior”.
The visit to the small but interesting Museu do Traje, which mainly houses the ethnographic collection gathered over the years by the Rancho Folclórico de Messines, the first in the whole Algarve to be accepted by the Portuguese Folklore Federation, was accompanied by one of the young people from that group, Diogo, dressed up as a rich farmer.
«Messines was very strong in the commercial and agricultural area. But in recent years, within a radius of 50 kilometers, several large commercial areas have opened that have come to stifle our small business. We still have two oil mills, some carob, but almond trade, for example, no longer exists», explains João Carlos Correia, president of the Parish Council.
“If tourism and gastronomy aren't attracting more people here, I don't know how it will be in the future”, he adds.
Rosa Palma, mayor of Silves, tunes in the same tune: “there was a setback and now policies and measures are needed to keep people here. This involves, for example, showing our tradition and identity».
Now, showing this reality of the interior, especially in autumn and winter, when it becomes more desirable to know the Barrocal and the Serra, is precisely the objective of fam trip and it is part of RTA's strategies, guaranteed Desidério Silva. "But for this to be possible, there has to be a shared effort between the official entities, and between these and the private ones."
Still discovering the town of Messines, the group of journalists and travel agents then visited the Casa-Museu João de Deus, received by Hélia Coelho and where Lizete Martins, presented by Mayor Rosa Palma as «the greatest actress in the municipality and founder of Grupo de Teatro Penedo Grande», declaimed some poems by that poet and educator, who was born nearby.
It was then time to walk through the streets of the historic town of Messines, partly taking the Via Algarviana route, which passes through it, to return to the Igreja Matriz, dedicated to São Bartolomeu. It is a temple that stands out from the outset for the contrast of the exterior details of the stonework in red sandstone and the whitewashed walls, which still keep some Manueline elements, but which stands out as an example of Baroque.
Inside, in addition to the gilded carvings, the highlight goes to the pillars, also in Silves sandstone, twisted…and to a fact of one of them twist on the contrary. Finding out which one it is is a task for the most attentive visitors. The visit to the church with three naves was followed by Father Atalívio Rito, who has been, for a little over a month, the new parish priest of the village.
The «O Caixeiro» restaurant, in Fonte João Luís, very close to Messines, received the group for lunch. The welcome was given by the sparkling Q, from the Silvense Quinta do Barranco Longo, followed by a variety of starters (fresh cheese, lard meat, sausages, olives, seasoned carrots…) and then a delicious chickpea stew. All this washed down with Barranco Longo wines. For desserts, those who still had room for them could try Messines puff pastry, orange and carob pie. To finish off, a small glass of arbutus produced in the parish.
And then followed the most relaxed moment of the day. On the esplanade of 'O Caixeiro', Desidério Silva and Rosa Palma, as well as two other members of the group, enjoyed a noisy and very disputed game of table football. Desidério, as you know, stayed with the Sporting team, helped by the mayor of Silves. After all, a good table football game is also part of tourist entertainment.
After the visit, in the distance, to the Iberian Lynx Breeding Center, peeking through the telescope at the felines that stretched in the sun, and a passage along the beautiful banks of the Fennel Dam, the fam trip ended at the Castle of Silves.
At the door, Mayor Rosa Palma revealed that the 205 visitors registered in 2014 were already surpassed in October this year. Inside, the highlight was the initiative sunset secrets, which takes place during the summer always at sunset on every Thursday, with lots of music, some dancing and poetry. Thanks to the success of the initiative, «we now want to promote these Sunsets more days a week, but we are dependent on human resources, which we lack," admitted the mayor.
At Café do Castelo, the restaurant located inside the monument, the day ended as it began: eating the best that the municipality of Silves has to offer. And if, in São Marcos, it was tradition that was put on the table, here it was innovation, based on what is traditional in the products, that proved itself.
And what was tasted? A trilogy of orange, carob and gila and almond pie, accompanied by orange juice from Silves and sweet potato (to cut the sourness that the orange still has at this time of year), which ended with a amouse-bouche of dried orange, goat cheese, jam and roasted almonds.
Along with this, the lute and the voice of Eduardo Ramos sounded, making the two dancers of the Raks al Amar group wave among veils and sway.
In the end, as a balance of an entire day dedicated to discovering Silves' secrets, the president of the RTA stressed the need to "know what exists to value". “The local economy will be favored if there are more people sleeping in the mountains and in the barrocal, more people eating in the restaurants in this area, visiting its museums and monuments, purchasing its handicrafts”, stressed Desidério Silva.
The mayor of Silves, for her part, underlined the fact that, within the county, the offer of accommodation is growing, not with large developments, but with «hostels, agritourism, local accommodation». This, said Rosa Palma, guarantees "a greater proximity between those who visit us and the local people" and, ultimately, ends up "leaving much more money in the municipality".
«We have to publicize not only our beaches, but also everything that the interior, the Barrocal, the Serra, have to offer, from the products – medronho, honey, cork – to the places of interest to visit, to the landscapes », said the mayor, ending up leaving an invitation: for the people of the Algarve to go to the parish of São Bartolomeu de Messines, between 28 November and 6 December, to "be able to taste the best" in the Gastronomic Week.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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