Time and tide…

It’s one of those sights that has always gladdened my heart, since I first started coming to the Algarve- the pontoon bridge at Barril that links Tavira Island to the mainland.  With the tide low, the gangplank descended steeply, but by the time you had walked to the beach, loitered a while, and walked back again, the current would be sweeping in, and have raised the bridge to level.  It never ceased to amaze me.

Every visit to Tavira has always resulted in at least one crossing, there and back, and I suppose I had started to notice the signs of wear and tear.

But no more than one notices the wrinkles on an old friend.  I have lingered by that bridge to watch the sun glinting off the water, and set, in a glory of colour, at the end of many a day.

I suppose change is inevitable.  I don’t always accept it with a good grace.  In July this year I arrived at the bridge and gazed in admiration, tinged with horror.  My bridge had gone, to be replaced by a shiny new model, with no ups and downs, or rusty bits.

More practical?  Certainly!  Still beautiful?  I think so.  But oh, how I shall miss my old friend. Past meets Present, Becky.  What do you think?

I’m going to chance my arm, and say that my bridge was Unusual too, though maybe not in the class of this week’s challenge from Draco .

105 comments

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  4. In a few years time it will have mellowed into the seascape, as if it’s always been there. One of my regrets about visiting Tavira was missing Barril, next time perhaps!

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  5. The colours in Portugal is so intense … the blues and the whites. You’re a master at capturing them. My favourite is the big bridge one from the side. I know I have to visit Tavira – been checking out the guesthouses and the hotels, only the nightmare to get there from Copenhagen. Maybe I should look at how to get there from Porto????

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    1. Easy from Porto! 2 flights a day to Faro, early morning and an evening one. Like a commuter plane! And cheap 🙂 🙂 You might like the Maria Nova, but the Tavira House is more intimate. I did a review on it a while ago. And thank you! 🙂

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      1. Checked out flights … over Lisbon – have to think about that for my next visit – but you have make sure that be there.

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      2. When are you thinking of going? We are there from 11th October this year for 5 weeks. Next year we hope to make it permanent but we don’t have a definite plan yet. We would need to sell this house first. 🙂

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      3. I was looking at October … but it’s nightmare from Porto too. Aren’t you going to wait to see what is happening with UK leaving EU – so you don’t end up with paying all hospital bills yourselves … because the older we get the more help we need. It could be that you will lose all aboard benefits.

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      4. It’s going to be a couple of years till that all settles down, Vivi. We will get trapped in red tape and taking entry questionaires in Portuguese if we wait too long. The tax benefits are good and the Portuguese medical system looks more efficient than ours, from what we’ve seen so far. I don’t think anyone has a crystal ball so we’ll stay positive. 🙂

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      5. Good for you!!!! Because loads of people that is living in France and Spain are getting worried now. I think you should do some enquire when you down … and see what it would cost you to end up on hospital and not a member of EU! In Spain it cost a lot per day. One of the reasons why I moved back to Sweden … so I get my health care.

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      6. I know. If the worst comes to the worst private medical insurance with Bupa would be an answer. Some of our walking friends do that. Thanks for worrying for us. 🙂 🙂 Under the duvet time?

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      7. I know me … of course I’m worried …. don’t want you to sit in Portugal with your neck in the twist. *smile – Yes, duvet now. Goodnight, Lovely.

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  6. Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Satisfaction | Ruined for Life: Phoenix Edition

  9. I guess it’s ‘safety first’ Jo – but these beautiful old things are always missed. The other day someone showed me a picture of the playground of my school when I was about 6 years old and I thought – “how come we didn’t die on that equipment?” 😀

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  12. What a great post. It really encapsulates the battles between nostalgia and safety that are fought over and over in our managing world, so conscious of OH&S. There’s a heritage trestle bridge near here about to be knocked down, for safety and financial reasons.

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    1. This was a total surprise, Meg. I loved those rusty pontoons. Smack dab in the centre of Tavira is something we call the Military Bridge- full of character (and holes!) I hear it’s next to go. Usually they do things in a sympathetic style, but we’ll have to wait and see. 🙂 🙂

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      1. I’m devastated but it makes a superb #pastmeetspresent!!!

        Had heard that about the Tavirian one – hope they do something special. Too much change xx

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  16. I miss the old bridge already- even though this is the first time I’ve ever seen it. I just seem to gravitate towards the old, the slightly worn. As with men or women, the young may be beautiful, but the old have more character.

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  18. Such mixed feelings when objects are associated with happy times. It does seem that from a safety perspective it is a good move but I can understand your feeling. Loved the ‘wrinkles on an old friend’ sentence. Such beautiful blue sky Jo. I’ve come to think the Algarve may be the sunniest place on earth.

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