Economic dispatches: Algarve, Portugal
I am fortunate to have recently visited Portugal for a week, staying in the Vale do Lobo resort, located in the Southern region of Algrave, itself a hotbed for tourists, holidaymakers and the wealthy. I suppose then, that the punch of this article could leave the bruise of imperialist snobbery; the sort of finger-wagging, tut-tutting one would imagine Paris Hilton angrily demonstrating having encountered a beggar at Mumbai Airport. I assure you, this article should not; I am not demeaning the Portuguese people or protesting against them, and this should be clear throughout. Firstly, I do not hold that the poorer sections of society constitute the more animal elements of humanity, and secondly, even if I did, my personal situation would render me at an unfavourably ironic point of thought. The villa that myself and company resided in was burgled, at the rear end of the visit; following a meal, we returned to find a number of valuables missing, and an ajar patio door. As with any unan