Acca will be holding its first ever Charity Bike Ride to help children in need in the Algarve.  It is open to everyone over the age of 16, all you need is a bike, a helmet (although both can be hired for the day), a reasonable level of fitness and quite a bit of determination.

Pre-registration is required and will cost €20 (this goes towards the target of €50 sponsorship) and ensures you a place on the ride.  A full information pack with advice on training, a tee-shirt and a drink and snack on completion.

Advice and training is available from Activity Algarve (professional organisers of group bike rides across the Algarve).  A special training schedule is open to all participants starting 6 weeks prior to the ride and it is advisable to do at least some training, please go to www.activityalgarve.com for details.

For further information, sponsorship forms and to book your place, visit www.accakids.com/news, alternatively email sam@accakids.com or call 914 665 870

All proceeds from the ride will go towards local children and they are hoping to raise at least €5,000!

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The award is one of 12 various infrastructure projects in Europe to benefit from part of a total investment of 500 million euros.

The airport’s total redevelopment plan is estimated to cost around 130 million euros and will be carried out in two phases.

The first phase, which has already begun, will concentrate on the airport’s operational areas, while the second phase will see the terminal and accesses completed by 2013.

Meanwhile, low cost airline Ryanair, opened its first Portuguese domestic route on October 26 between Faro and Porto airports.

Ryanair spokesman, Daniel de Carvalho said: “Until now, many hours and a lot of money were wasted to travel between the north and south of the country.”

The new flights from Faro to Porto will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. As well as allowing easy access to various areas of interest in the north of Portugal, the connection also allows for flights to other destinations otherwise unavailable from the Algarve.

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1. New Private Hospital in Faro

The Hospital Particular do Algarve in Alvor has completed the construction of their second facility in Faro and would like to invite all afpop members to visit the NEW hospital in Faro, which is being inaugurated on the 27 November 2009.

The Hospital is holding an “Open Day” event, where between 9am and 12am there will be hourly guided visits of all the installations, including the Operating Theatres. A welcome drink will be available.

So if you would like to take the opportunity to see the new private hospital and the facilities there simply take the road to the airport, follow the directions to the University of Faro and Gambelas and the hospital is situated one block before the University. There will be signs along the road to direct you. (For those with GPS the co-ordinates are: 37º 02’.43”N – 7º 58’.08”W)

Link to the Hospital Particular do Algarve Website

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1. Services in the Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo area – Quinta Properties, Algarve

The work will include removing the rather dangerous curve in the middle and the equally dangerous hump on the approach to the roundabout.

It will also add a pavement, cycle track, lighting and a couple of additional roundabouts to help with traffic flow and control speeds. The plans for this are available to see in the office of the Quinta do Lago owners association in Almancil.

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John Dwyer, 37, said: “We have a very young and incredibly talented and dynamic team here. When I was in Ireland, before joining the company, the place we always were hearing about in world golf was Quinta do Lago and my aim is to place Quinta do Lago in the centre of the international stage where it deserves to be.

“I have been in too many places in the past where bureaucracy has brought things to a halt but here in Quinta do Lago, it is just the opposite. There is very much a positive ‘can do’ attitude.”

While he agreed that it was a difficult year to be considering investment, he added: “We have already started investing in the golf site. The board approved a 4.7 million euro plan for renovation of the clubhouse and Casa do Lago and a new clubhouse at the Laranjal course.

“There has also been a significant investment in the agronomics and landscaping of the three courses. All this is either completed or under way and over the next five years we envisage further major investments.”

The CEO confirmed that a number of other projects have already been approved by the municipal authorities but not yet started.

Positive outlook

Meanwhile, other ideas are being debated in conjunction with the municipality.

“Basically, we are re-assessing everything to see what needs to be done – what Quinta do Lago has got and what it needs.

“We are trying to feed into the municipality some ideas and attempting to find common ground on what can be expedited.”

It was just over 12 months ago that John Dwyer joined Quinta do Lago SA as general manager of the Sociedade do Golfe de Quinta do Lago and was promoted to his new role in August.

There are clear signs, he says, that Quinta do Lago is beginning to emerge from the global crisis that has affected the golf and leisure business.

Although the golf operations experienced a drop of between 25 and 27 per cent at the beginning of 2009 as a result of the economic situation, he expects that figure to be around 18 per cent by the end of the year. “I think people’s attitudes are starting to thaw in their desire to enjoy their travel and leisure and in the last few months, especially July and August, there has been a strong interest in golf with more positive questions being asked about property and that looks like continuing throughout September and October.”

A qualified accountant, John Dwyer grew up in the hospitality business in Ireland where his parents ran a private residence.

He was always around golf courses and started playing at the tender age of five. He currently plays off a nine handicap.

His professional career took him to a number of golf courses in Ireland as a financial controller before heading for the Algarve.

Created in the early 1970s by the entrepreneur André Jordan, Quinta do Lago, near Almancil, has long been regarded as Europe’s finest luxury golf and leisure resort, frequented by the rich and the famous.

Source and Photo: Algarve Resident

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This European series is based on the world famous Le Mans 24hr race held annually in France. It is a glamorous race of speed and endurance covering 1000km and, for the first time here in the Algarve, it is held at night!
4 categories of very special cars race together and bring together the most famous sports touring manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini etc., to push the boundaries of strength and power, not to mention human stamina.
This event is generating huge excitement for race fans around Europe and teams who have tested here suggest it will become a firm favourite amongst drivers who include famous names from F1.

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The aim of these work across Almancil, which will last for 7 months, is to offer pedestrian walkways and allow a more orderly movement of traffic, as well as organising car parking in commercial areas. It will also improve the existing infrastructures, such as, sewer systems, lighting, telecommunications networks and data, adapting them to the demands of the new digital era.

The Mayor of Loulé Seruca Emídio described these works on the old section of EN125 as “works which have a key role in strategy and policy that the Council adopted on upgrading the main urban areas of the County.”

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1. New Road from Almancil to Quinta do Lago

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- IMPORTANT INFORMATION -

Memberships for Property Owners & Other Golfers

THE OPPORTUNITY

A limited number of additional Member’s Titles are now available to owners of property within Quinta do Lago, as well as for golfers who do not own property within the resort.

THE NEW DEAL

The Golf Club and the resort owners, Quinta do Lago SA, have agreed a series of important new arrangements that will commence immediately.

• The present clubhouses will be demolished and be replaced by a state of the art construction housing both the golf club and Sociedade de Golfe in separate but adjoining facilities.
• A limited number of Member’s Titles will be sold at the old price of €120,000after which the price will be increased to €135,000.
• As soon as the Club takes possession of the new clubhouse the purchase price will be increased to €150,000.

PROTECTING YOUR PROPERTY INVESTMENT IN QUINTA DO LAGO

The number of certificates to be issued is limited to 550 in total and when that limit is reached future applicants will be placed on a waiting list and will only be eligible for membership as and when vacancies occur. That will mean that there are 550 certificates to share amongst approximately 1500 freehold properties on the resort. If you, as an owner, do not have a certificate by this stage it may be very difficult to procure one in the future, and that may have serious repercussions on your ability to maximise your property investment value in the future.

LAST CHANCE FOR NON-PROPERTY OWNERS

If you do not own a property on Quinta do Lago, then you have a last chance now to purchase a Member’s Title. This is a rare opportunity to gain access for life to two of the best golf courses in the Algarve. Title sales to ‘outsiders’ were blocked from 1988 through until last year, and it is likely that, as we approach the end of new certificate sales, access to ‘outside’ titles will once again be seriously restricted.

For further information www.cgql.com

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1. John Dwyer, Quinta do Lago’s newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer

As everywhere in Quinta do Lago, respect for nature and countryside is paramount, with as many trees as possible being kept, and a programme of replanting to ensure minimum disruption.

Laranjal is a course of its time

The lakes are an integral part of the sophisticated drainage and irrigation system which includes two pumping stations and a recycling system. Future plans are for recycled residual water from Quinta do Lago’s water treatment plant (ETAR) to be used to irrigate the course. A fully-computerised system incorporates humidity sensors and individual controls for each zone of the course to ensure maximum efficiency in water usage. New golf courses use less water per square metre than traditional citrus orchards, so efficient is modern water management.

The only construction on this golf course will be the clubhouse, which will be designed to be rustic to fit in with surroundings, but also has all the modern facilities one would expect from this five star resort.

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