Just been discussing the 'whys & wherefores' of the cobbled pavements in Algarve..well CVO/ Lagoa is our focal point isnt it?
Topic came up over on www.algarvelive.com music site when Thunderbolt mentioned getting heel caught in said cobbles..
Cowboy has suggested and hes probably right..that its all done to make streets 'look pretty' for tourists.
But boy can these be dangerous! and wouldnt mind betting that one or two of you have almost 'come a cropper' specially coming down Restaurant hill?
It isnt only danger of catching heel in the cracks but they become so very slippery too..
In Lagoa I saw a young woman fall very badly after catching her heel(whilst Portuguese husband stood doing nothing..as Hub & I went to help her..macho image taken too far perhaps? )..as her knees were cut/bleeding
I suppose its long tradition of having sidewalks this way?and I am a traditionalist..usually..
But surely larger paving slabs would be much safer..altho I grant you ..not so 'pretty'

Hear, hear!

Although I have also been known to get my heels caught in cracks in the pavement in London!

I've been coming to CVO ever since I was six and I must say that the cobbles have reduced in numbers.

One of the hills which I regularly have to use to get to the village (the one by Mitch's) used to be a "donkey track" entirely made of cobbles with little steps down the middle.

I think the main problem with the cobbles is how slippery they get when wet. I've gone down that hill twice as fast on a rainy day!

Cobbles have been part of the village ever since I can remember and I'll just have to make sure I manage to work out the heels/cobbles situation a bit better in the future. Serves me right for being so short.

I guess it’s better than no pavement at all (ie no pavement or a pavement blocked by parked cars) forcing pedestrians to walk in the road, as seen all over Portugal. Mustn’t complain……it’s all a part of the pt quirkiness

myself and two neighbours looked into surfacing the road outside our villas and,belive it or not, with everything taken into consideration the cobbles worked out to be the cheapest option.
gerry

well..if we get invited to the party (celebrating new road? )Ill remember to wear my flip flops Gerry!

I must say I like the cobbles, never seen them anywhere else and much more attractive than concrete slabs or tarmac, you do just have to watch where you tread and be especially careful when its wet or after a few drinks.

There were two nuns riding their bicycles down a cobbled road when one turned to the other and said, "I've never come this way before."

To which the other replied, "That'll be the cobbles!"

Shame on you MichaelKindly remove this to the jokes page