Two projects in particular have been our focus during the winter:
a) Improving the hot water and heating system.
b) Implementing Solar Panels and Batteries for electricity delivery.

​Originally, the Villa's water was heated using an antiquated gas boiler.  This has subsequently been replaced with an energy efficient heat pump and 270l hot water tank.  The heat pump utilises electricity to heat the water, so the second stage of our upgrades was to install solar photovoltaic panels, a hybrid inverter and batteries.  This allows the Villa to be energy (electricity) independent during daylight hours and minimises our reliance on fossil fuels during the night.  We hope by harnessing the abundant natural sunlight available, the villa will significantly reduce its carbon footprint.

Our next focus will be water conservation.  The Algarve is suffering from a significant problem with high water use and low water levels in reservoirs (see here for example).  If you have ideas on how we might achieve water savings in the Villa please let us know.

The Zipline (called Limite Zero) is situated on the Spanish side of the Guadiana river at Sanlúcar de Guadiana (which is on the opposite bank to Alcoutim in Portugal).  Alcoutim is an easy 30 minute drive from Drumlin Villa on good quality roads.  Tickets for the zipline can be bought online at www.limitezero.com/.  However, you can also give the Limite Zero team a ring on the day to see if they have availability and make a reservation.  To get from Alcoutim to Spain you will need to take a small taxi boat ride (which costs a couple of euros one way).  The Limite Zero office is located in the small square a short walk from the river.  The staff there provide the safety harnesses. Then its just a short minibus or jeep journey to the top and the start-point.  The views from the launch point were absolutely stunning and you will have a few minutes to take pictures.

The staff were very professional and safety conscious.  Once your harness is clipped to the zipline it's just a matter of lifting your feet and gliding/zooming towards Portugal.  The ride itself is exhilarating, with fanatastic views and is over far too quickly,  only about 30-40 seconds.  I'm normally scared of heights, but this experience was well worth the initial nervousness.  

Alcoutim itself is a small compact but picturesque town and a great place to wile away a few hours.  There are a selection of bars and restaurants, many with views over the Guadiana river.  There is also a small castle and museum museudealcoutim.pt/museum/museums/archaeology-museum/?lang=en) which can be visited for less than €3.  

I highly recommend a visit to Alcoutim and the zipline excursion.

The use of a car makes staying at Drumlin Villa effortless.  You can of course use Taxi/Uber etc. to get to and from the villa, but having your own hire car gives far more freedom.  Recently we've been using a car hire broker called Zest Car Rental to find the best car hire deals at Faro airport.  Previously, we had gone direct with one of the independents at Faro (Drive4Fun), but we've found that Zest often offers more competitive prices.

The other advantages we've found with Zest are:

1. Collision Damage Waver (CDW) insurance offered as standard and hence lower refundable security deposit with the car hire company.
2. English speaking help lines.
3. Free Cancellation up to 48 hours before the rental starts.
4. An easy way to compare the prices at Faro and filter the results.

Remember there will be add-on costs to pay direct to the hire company, for example, cross border charge (if you go to Spain), transponder rental and airport charge.  The airport charge is the same for all hire companies but the cross border charge can vary by company.

While the CDW insurance offered by Zest will cover most eventualities in case of an accident,  damage to certain parts of the vehicle are excluded
You have the option of taking out additional optional top-up insurance with the hire company to cover these or take out an annual Car Hire Excess policy.  A number of companies offer these policies and can be reviewed here. ​

and hopefully there will be something useful for those of you with dietary constraints.

First, if possible buy a 'Coeliac Card' or  Portuguese Eating Out Card.  Nuala obtained hers from the Coeliac Society of Ireland (www.coeliac.ie) for a couple of euros but I'm sure they're available from other national groups.  The card essentially explains, in Portuguese, that you are Coeliac and are gluten intolerant.  This card breaks down any potential language barrier when you're in a restaurant.

Breakfast. 
We tend to eat breakfast at the villa each day.  The important thing is to have access to gluten free cereal options or gluten free bread.  The shop with the best choice seems to be Continente.  Many of the other stores (Pingo Dolce, Aldi, Lidl) have some Gluten Free options but not the choice offered by Continente. 

Lunch.
Lunch is probably the most challenging meal of the day regarding choice.  Most restuarants do not offer gluten free bread options, therefore sandwiches are a non-starter.  Salads are always available and are gluten free, but a salad every lunchtime quickly becomes boring.  If you fancy fast-food then the likes of McDonalds and Burger King do an extensive gluten free offering (including gluten free beer!).

​Dinner
Dinner tends to be easier.  Most meat or fish based main courses are likely to have been grilled or fried.   The main thing is to avoid sauces and dressings that might contain flour.  Fries/chips are also generally served with everything and are safe as long as they are cooked separately from any other battered dishes (it's always worth asking).  On our most recent trip we found good options at the following restaurants:
Osaka, Monte Gorde - this is an all you can eat buffet type place.  We've always had great sushi there (which is totally gluten free) and it's excellent value at €15 per person.  Tripadvisor reviews are mixed though. 
Castelo Cafe and Restuarant, Tavira- An excellent steakhouse.  In the summer you can sit outside but during the cooler months it's best to book a table inside.  It's essential to make a reservation as they only have 16 seats inside.  The food is always excellent and the homemade chips/fries are totally gluten free.
​Maharaja Patiala Tandoori Restaurant, Monte Gordo - An Indian/Nepalese restaurant where the service is exception.  The host, Thakur, will certainly look after you.  Indian food is usually a safe bet for Coeliacs, with just the naan breads to be avoided.
Restaurante Dom Rodrigo, Castro Marim - A typically Portuguese restaurant, with excellent service and a great reputation.  Definitely advisable to reserve a table in advance.  Plenty of grilled meats and fish, served with gluten free sides such as rice or boiled potatos.

So in summary, most restaurants are accomodating.  Lunch tends to be the most difficult meal of the day, but evening meals are generally fine.

The COVID vaccine roll-out seems to be gathering pace now and it appears that Portugal is ready and willing to accept visitors from Europe this summer.  The UK certainly seems like it will be in a position to lift travel restrictions and add Portugal to the green list.  Of course things could change, but fingers crossed we can get a sun holiday this year.  Those of you thinking of travelling further afield might find the following website useful: Sherpa. They are listing the latest travel and health restrictions for different destinations.

We are fully open for bookings and looking forward to welcoming guests back to the Villa.   We have some guests this summer who rescheduled from last year, but as it stands as of today, we have a couple of weeks in August that will become free and June and September are also clear at the moment.  As always, use the contact form on  www.DrumlinVilla.com to check what's available.

We also did some improvements to the property last year, the most obvious one being the new Pergola on the patio.  This will give some respite from the midday sun for those of you who prefer a little shade.  For those sun worshipers among you, don't worry, there is still plenty of space to have your loungers directly in the rays.

Looking forward to welcoming you in 2021 and beyond.

Both of these are experiences are on the Eastern Algarve close to the villa.  The first experience I’m going to try is Limite Zero.  Limite Zero is a zip line that runs from Spain to Portugal (over the Guadiana river) and apparently it’s the only zip line that crosses an international border.  The zip line is located near Alcoutim (on the Portuguese side), which is an easy 30 minute drive north of the villa on the IC27.  Once you arrive in Alcoutim, you’ll need to take the ferry across the river to the Limite Zero office located near the jetty.  They then transport to the jump off site.  Full details and prices can be found on their website (https://www.limitezero.com/en/).

The second experience on my summer bucket list is SkyXpedition, but I think this one is going to take a little more nerve!  SkyXpedition operates a twin seat gyrocopter which takes off from near to Monte Gordo and does various lengths of flights over Castro Marim, Praia Verde, Tavira and surrounding areas.  The photos on their website (https://www.skyxpedition.com/) and on tripadvisor look absolutely stunning.  Slightly pricier at about €60 for a 15 minute flight but looks like a fantastic experience.  

and almost complete closure of his eye.  It looked like he'd been in the ring with Anthony Joshua!  

Normally, in situations like this, our first port of call is the medical clinic run by the HPA Saúde Group in Vila Real de Santo António (Centro Medico Internacional on the map of Vila Real de Santonio above).  This is a private hospital Group, which charges a fee to see the Doctor (typically €50).  On previous visits we have been seen very speedily and language hasn't been an issue.  Unfortunately, our son's allergic reaction occurred on New years Day and this meant that the clinic was shut.  We subsequently found out the clinic is open 8 am - 8 pm Monday to Friday, 8 am - 5 pm on Saturday but shut on Sundays and Public holidays.

After a brief panic, we found out that the public A&E/Clinic just around the corner was open (Centro de Saude on the map above).  We were expecting a long wait, but I guess we were lucky that not many people were presenting sick at noon on New Years Day.  Paperwork was dealt with efficiently by the receptionist (we did need the EU E111 medical card for free treatment - not sure what will happen for UK visitors after Brexit - I assume travel insurance will cover any charges) and our Son was seen by the Doctors and prescription supplied for antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicines within 40 minutes.  The facilities, waiting room and triage rooms are not as modern as the private clinic, but the service was equally as good.

The morale of the story is that the Portuguese Public Medical Service was, for us, very efficient and professional. 

smaller holiday rental properties such as villas, apartments, rooms and guest houses.  These are all classed as ‘Local Lodging’, or ‘Alojamento local’.  All rental properties are meant to be registered with the local Câmara (Town Hall) and are inspected by the local council to ensure the property meets certain quality requirements.

This means that if you rent a property with an AL number the property must fulfil the following requirements:​

Hygiene requirements
The properties for local lodging must always meet good standards of tidiness and hygiene.  Cleaning and maintenance, as well as changing bed linen and towels, must be done at least once a week and every time there is a change of client. 
The lodging units must have a minimum of 1 sanitary facility for every 3 rooms, with washing basin, toilet and bath or shower. All sanitary facilities must have security equipment that allows the client’s privacy. 

Safety requirements
The local lodging properties must comply with the general fire safety regulations and the following requirements:
a) Accessible fire extinguishers and fire blankets in an amount adequate to the number of bedrooms.
b) First aid equipment to EU standard (Carrying the ‘CE’ symbol)
c) Instruction Manuals of all electric appliances existing in the units, in the absence of this, information about the use and functioning of these appliances must be provided.
d) Visible information of the national emergency number (112). 
Fire safety requirements vary depending on the kind of property; however there is a minimum standard as required by the Bombeiros (Fire Brigade), which is one fire blanket in the kitchen by the oven and one large fire extinguisher or two medium ones. 

Publicity
The publicity, commercial documentation and merchandising of the rental property, must show the name of the place followed by the “Alojamento local” registration number.   The AL number for Drumlin Villa is 11942/AL.

Identification plate
The rental properties may have outside the property and near the main entrance, an informative board provided by the local Câmara. This board will be transparent and sized 20cm long by 20cm tall (like the one in the image above). This is mandatory.  As any place open to the public these properties for rent are also required to have a complaints book (Livro de Reclamações). 

Information Book
The owners must provide a document with all the rules of use of the building, as well as with all the rules concerning “waste disposal and noise levels”. The document must also have the telephone contact of the person in charge of the operation of the establishment. 

Fines
Parliament approved fines on owners of Alojamento Local accommodation who operate illegally, in particular in cases where the accommodation is unregistered or who fail to comply with the obligation listed here. 
​
Registration of clients
SEF, the police department for emigration and frontiers, requires villa owners to register any foreign tourists staying in Portugal.  This is why if you're staying with us, Nuala will hound you for an SEF form to be filled in prior to arrival. 

If a rental Villa doesn't have an AL number ask yourself why!

​Vilamoura is chic and sophisticated with the marina at it's heart. Here you will see numerous Super Yachts, with super-yacht price tags. The marina gives a real sense of the opulence of Vilamoura.  Surrounding the marina are numerous bars, restaurants and cafes, absolutely excellent for 'people watching'. There are also with a number of boutique shops in the streets surrounding the marina.

If you need some history then Cerro da Vila archaeological museum incorpoates a ruined Roman villa with bathhouses and mosaics.
​
I found Vilamoura excellent for a day trip, but I'm not sure I could afford to stay here long term.   ​Some may find Vilamoura lacking in traditional Portuguese character or charm and if you fall into this category, then a trip to somewhere like Tavira might be more to your liking.

First and foremost, the best value for booking a villa rental with us is to come directly through the website.  Contact us throught the contact form or send us an e-mail (drumlinvilla@gmail.com).

​However, we recognise that dealing direct  with the owner makes some people nervous, so we are also listed on a number of mainstream holiday rental sites.  In the links below, you'll find Drumlin Villa's listing on each of the sites, but you can easily search for other locations if you want.

First, those that don't charge the customer (you) anything for booking your holiday through their sites.

1. www.simplyowners.net
2. www.houfy.com
3. www.theholidaylet.com
4. www.ownerholidays.com

Now for those that apply a service charge you for the privalege of booking through their platform:

1. www.homeaway.com
2. www.tripadvisor.co.uk
3. www.airbnb.com

All of these sites will charge you 15-20% as a service charge. Take some time and explore what benefits you get from this additonal charge (my guess is not a lot!).

If you have some time on your hands, why not compare prices via the different vendors above.