A century-old 13-house village in Monchique has gone up for sale as the owners who bought it to develop for rural tourism simply can’t afford their dream.
Telling Lusa news agency that they are broken hearted, co-owner José Martins said the original goal had been to renovate the run-down houses at Aldeia do Barbelote, “keeping their original characteristics and safeguarding the surrounding heritage”.
But the ambitious plan fell victim to the financial crisis, and now the five owners simply want to cut their losses. Aldeia do Barbelote is thus on sale for €790,000.
Martins explained how in the 60s it was home to at least 100 people.
“My grandparents lived here. But year after year the place slowly became abandoned” as people sought better living conditions on the coast – which in those days offered lucrative chances for employment.
Now, the only person left is 70-year-old Marcelino Vicente – and he can’t wait to get out.
He told Lusa that the village’s owners have been letting him stay since they bought the village in 2003, but as there are no good roads or buses, he simply cannot afford the picture-book location.
Aldeia do Barbelote can be found near Fóia – the highest point in the Algarve – and boasts an extraordinary natural landscape, including a number of streams as well as a waterfall.
The village is being sold through real estate agency Century 21 Portugal, which describes the 62,749sqm site as having “one of the best views of the Costa Vicentina”. “Both the Monchique municipality and the Algarve tourism board support this rural tourism project,” the agency said.
“Rural tourism needs boosting”
Monchique mayor Rui André hopes the little village will attract investors.
Interviewed by Lusa, he bemoaned the desertification of inland communities and agreed that rural tourism was a sector that needed support.
Indeed the council tries to actively help people keen to develop rural tourism within the mountain borough, he said.
“These villages can be great business opportunities for people who have the sensitivity to renovate them and retain their traditional feel”, he told the news agency.
By MICHAEL BRUXO news@algarveresident.com
Photo: Marcelino Vicente, 70, the only resident of Aldeia do Barbelote
Photo by: LUÍS FORRA/LUSA
