Outside
Casa
Martin has its own swimming pool (5m x 5m with a maximum depth
of 2.5m) which is surrounded by plenty of sunny terraces in all directions
for soaking up the sun on the comfortable loungers. There is also a good
sized shady terrace directly in front of the house which is ideal for
getting out of the blazing sun in the summer. As well as the tiled table
and benches on the barbecue terrace there is a dining table and chairs
for use on the pool and house terraces. Many of the flower beds around
the pool and house are planted with aromatic and colorful plants.
We
are proud of our barbecue area - we should be as we built it ourselves
back in the late 1980's to replace a rather sad lawn! It features a large
built in barbecue with plenty of tiled work surface all round. The table
and benches are tiled in the traditional Portuguese style. There is a
powerful halogen lamp to illuminate the area so that you can sit around
the table until late into the night. The cookbook
on this site has lots of recipes that benefit from being cooked on the
barbecue and there are plenty of cookbooks in the kitchen for more inspiration.
The local butchers and supermarkets sell beefburgers, ready marinated
meats, poultry and sausages - both English style and local Portuguese
varieties for the more adventurous - try linguiça and chouriço
During
1998/99 we had a bore hole sunk to guarantee us an uninterrupted supply
of water - there is no mains water outside of the major towns. When we
were doing this we built a new room to house the pool filter etc and the
water pump which enabled us to extend the terrace area and we took the
opportunity to install underwater lighting in the pool for late night
swimming. It isn't of course necessary to go swimming to enjoy the magical
glow that the lit pool imparts to the whole of the terrace area after
dark.
The
gardens immediately around the house are planted with beautiful flowering
plants such as oleander, hibiscus, bougainvillea, bignonia and colourful
geraniums. The buildings are surrounded by beds planted with colourful
and aromatic herbs, bulbs, shrubs and perennials. Further away on our
land there are fruit trees - mainly fig with almonds, quince, olives,
plums, oranges, tangerine etc which you are welcome to pick if you are
staying when they are in season. In spring (which comes early down here
- February onwards) the rough land is covered with beautiful wild flowers.
If you are interested in gardening in such a hot and dry climate as the
Algarve or if you have any experience of gardening on chalk soil then
there is a page with lots of photos of our plants
and flowers here and I am always delighted to hear any comments or
suggestions.