Ilha da Culatra

The harbour at Faro is reminiscent of Chichester Harbour, and we wanted to explore it, and the old town of Olhao. At the entance, the flood tide ran swift and powerful. Big whirlpools, and cross currents added to the excitement, then we were in. Quiet and calm returned, and we drop anchor, just off the village on the Ilha da Culatra.



The harbour is large. Withies, assorted flags, buoys, and fishing floats, mark the safe channels through the mud flats, fish-traps, and trammel nets. Local boat-boys zoom around ferrying the days catch to market, out to Culatra, or into the old town of Olhao, with It’s classic Portuguese buildings, and cobbled streets hinting at a distant prosperity, and its Roman and Moorish ancestry.

Back across the harbour, life is still tough. The men fish, the women manage the shellfish nurseries.



It was only in the late sixties and seventies, that an effort was made to support the community on the Ilha da Culatra, and water, electricity, and sewerage systems were installed. The single story houses are built on the sand. There are no roads, no cars or bikes – just a few tractors to relieve the fishermen of some of the heavy tasks, and outboards to power the boats.