SNOW OF THE ALGARVE

In the Algarve, the first blossom of the calendar year is the almond blossom. Around the third week of January, the buds slowly burst open and ‘dead-eyed’ old trees suddenly turn into bright, cheerful and full of life. In February, the blossom falls out and locals call this the ‘snow of the Algarve’. Under the almond trees there is often a pack of white almond flowers for several days, and if the wind blows hard it sometimes looks just like snow.

Towards the Spanish border, in the village of Alta Mora in the municipality of Castro Marim, the ‘Festival das Amendoeiras em Flor’ is organised in early February. So almond blossom is celebrated in a big way there too.
In Vila do Ouro, we have about 15 almond trees and the areas around us have even more. After the blossom, the trees start getting leaves. Almond trees remain green until mid-summer. Then the leaves turn yellow and brown and quickly fall off the trees. With the summer drought and bare almond trees, the Algarve then looks even drier. By October, the almonds are ready to be harvested.

Simultaneously with the almond blossom, the days get longer again and it feels like spring here. This week, we are still in winter. The past few days there has been a lot of wind and heavy rain. Thankfully, because we welcome every drop of rain. The temperature has been good this week, around 20ºC and around 12ºC at night. After this rain comes the north wind and then the temperature drops by about 5ºC. The forecast for next week is lots of sunshine and temperatures rising again to around 20ºC.

In winter, Vila do Ouro is closed. There is always major maintenance. For the coming season, there is a lot of news again. Anyway, this website has just been online for a week! Of all the other new things in Vila do Ouro, we will keep you informed here on this blog. So the almond blossom in Vila do Ouro is not on display for our guests, but the garden is much more colourful in season. June is the peak month in terms of flowers. We still have availability for the whole season, although it is increasingly limited for the high season. Hope we can welcome you to Vila do Ouro in the coming season too!