Margaret Edythe Thompson is 86 years old, lives in New castle upon Tyne and has just completed her 100th trip to the Algarve.
When her flight arrived at Faro Airport on Monday (October 15), Algarve tourism chief João Fernandes and Faro Airport boss Alberto Mota Borges were there to welcome her and celebrate her loyalty to a region she has been visiting for 40 years.
Her first trip to the Algarve was in 1978 when she travelled to Lagos with her husband. However, the experience was far from pleasant.
“We stayed at the Ventura apartments, right on top of Lagos’ slave museum. The Messe Militar (military lodging) was on the opposite side. It was in April 1978 at a time when Portugal was at war with Angola,” Margaret said.
As she explained, the Portuguese people “weren’t starving but things were tough”.
“An idiot tried to blow up the Messe Militar with a car bomb which destroyed the windows of our room and opened up a crater on the road. We had to be evacuated and taken to the Golfinho Hotel, which no longer exists. I thought many times that this strange introduction to the Algarve would put me off from returning. But it didn’t,” she told reporters.
The warmth of the Portuguese people kept Margaret coming back: “I’ve always felt welcome here. The Portuguese people are very kind.”
The octogenarian also enjoys walking along the region’s beaches and indulging in some of the most delicious creations of Portuguese cuisine like ‘pastéis de nata’ (custard tarts) and chicken piri-piri.
The welcome party was suggested by Colette Kent from Luz Beach Apartments in Luz, Lagos, where Margaret has stayed around 40 times already, and was a surprise she didn’t see coming.
“I’m flattered,” she told reporters before revealing that she voted to stay in the EU and hopes Brexit won’t “affect us too much”.
In fact, Margaret does not plan to stop coming to the Algarve and already has a flight booked to return on the first day of 2019.
João Fernandes was delighted to welcome Margaret and said that her recurring visits show that there is an “emotional connection to the Algarve”.
“Despite her beautiful age and the fact that she knows the region well, she continues to return and stays here for long periods of two to five weeks. Margaret likes to be among us, so it makes sense that we show our appreciation for her choice,” he said.
The tourism boss added that he would have done the same for any holidaymaker of any nationality, although he admitted that there is a “special kind of affection” due to the fact that she is British – after all, Portugal and the UK enjoy a long-standing friendship of many centuries.
Photos. BRUNO FILIPE PIRES/OPEN MEDIA GROUP
