of fish and progress

Back in the dark days of the previous century we went to the Algarve for our honeymoon.  It cost £99 each - it was a late booking and all we knew was that we would go to somewhere in Portugal but until we arrived we didn't have a clue what our accommodation would be like or where exactly we would be.  We struck lucky and had a villa that was meant for 6 people, there was a pool, a view over Albufeira and it was just fab.  Whilst there we went to the harbour in Portimao (I think) and ate sardines by the harbour while watching the fishermen unloading their catches.  It was the most basic of cooking and eating; a few shacks lining the harbour, in front of each shack there was a barbecue and the fish were cooked on the coals whilst potatoes and salad were put together in the huts.   You ate with an audience of gulls and cats grudging you each mouthful.  Before you got to your plastic table by the quayside you had to navigate coils of ropes, lobster pots and bits and pieces of boats - It's the sort of thing that I like to imagine was put on the earth purely to distress the Health and Safety committee that the world seems to be turning into.  And it seems that H&S are winning here now.  'The old traditional restaurants have been recently transformed by a huge and successful redevelopment of the quayside area, bringing new walkways and fountains to complement the existing character of the harbour.'  Bah.
 
So, shunning progress, this time around, we took ourselves off to Ferragudo where we annoyed the owner of the posh fish restaurant by eating cheap sardines while occupying one of his better tables.  Well, if he doesn't want people eating cheap food then he shouldn't put it on the menu.