Weird, dark underbelly to this place?

[Almondcakefortea]

The Algarve?

This poor man who recently went missing on his stag do and was very sadly found dead.
Madeleine McCann of course
Reading up on things and apparently so many reports of people going missing over the years or bodies being found

Feels strange

I thought this was going to be a thread about MN having a dark underbelly. Am a bit disappointed.

Algarve…lots of tourists getting drunk and falling off balconies, jumping off walls, etc. alongside non drinking related accidents and an infamous paedophile/child abduction case.

Yep unfortunately lots of drunk people does tend to result in things going wrong.

We had a holiday there with our kids including our daughter in year 6 of primary school who was regularly wolf whistled at. When she was out with us. Wearing childrens clothing, nothing provocative.

They also have one of the highest heroin addicts in the world.

I went there many moons ago and had a perfectly normal holiday.
There are many people who go missing and some who die in the UK too. (And probably everywhere)

Unlikely she was wolf whistled at by Portuguese, generally not in their nature

I bet if you Google ' random holiday destination +people going missing' you would find the same.

2 high profile cases doesn't really = dark underbelly

I agree. And you also notice stuff about places you’ve been to before more. I always think of koh samui and koh phangan as being places where people get killed and raped. But other people might not have noticed the media stories as much. Again they’re places people go to and drink a lot/full moon parties.

I don’t know specifically about the Algrave, but a lot of coastal areas in Spain and Portugal have strong ties to drug and people trafficking, so huge criminal elements. In addition to tourists doing dumb things.

I live here and feel very safe. I am comfortable walking back alone to our house late at night. I’m in a town but not a resort town.

There is crime but rates are still low for Europe, particularly for violent crime. There is the usual opportunistic petty crime, particularly in busy resorts. It was a bit of an eye-opener to hear how openly people are offered hard drugs on Vilamoura Marina and how many lap dancing places there are to service the golfers. There is no lap dancing establishment in my town as far as I am aware.

The poor McCann’s were incredibly unlucky and it seems police are proceeding on the basis that a German national committed the crime.

I’m surprised and shocked to hear about the young girl being whistled at. I’ve seen it a lot in Italy, England and France but not here. Where were you @Poopeepoopee? That’s horrible.

My youngest is disabled and I find strangers of both sexes so helpful here, literally running to help if they see me struggling with the wheelchair on rough ground.

I regularly see reels and photos of carnage on the strip in Albufeira but that is a stag and hen ghetto and the rest of the Algarve isn’t like that in my experience.

Millions of visitors every year, but you're focussed on just two famous cases. That's a tiny, tiny proportion, probably a lot lower than other places.

I did too. Dark underbelly on MN. Clutches pearls. I don't think Portugal is any worse than anywhere else in Europe.

We've been to the algarve area several times & stayed in several resorts & I've never noticed, it's quite a big area & the area's outside of the resorts look poor but I think a dark underbelly is a bit over the top.

I was all ready to be told you could access the dark web from the gardening topic.

I don’t think pedophiles have a specific nationality.

I liked the Algarve when I visited but I don’t understand the fuss over it and why some people seem to like it so much. Saw on a thread someone saying the next season of White Lotus should be filmed there because it’s so stunning. I was like ‘sorry what?’. It’s nowhere near as nice as parts of Spain, France, Italy and Greece.

That being said, I don’t think it’s any more dark/dangerous than other holiday destinations where people get drunk in great numbers.

We used to go as a family when I was a child in the early 90s. It was lovely then. I can't comment for now.

The man who went missing got drunk and jumped over a wall to his death by the looks of it. No mysterious underbelly, just alcohol consumption and unfamiliar surroundings. Your imagination is running away with you OP.

Went there once and didn’t like it (long before Madeline McCann). Something very off. Happy never to go back.

We holiday in tenerife and tbh a lot of people, especially recently, go missing there. But it depends I think on your age and how you spend your time there. The only place I felt had a dark underbelly was Thailand. Hated it.

I have family in the algarve and know it well. Some of the main tourist traps are pretty hideous but it’s a beautiful part of the world and really shouldn’t be characterised by a few high profile cases (which are not unlike cases you’ll find all over the world).

brits get drunk, drugged up fall off cliff/ balcony/ fight a stranger

Bit dramatic!

Wow! It’s nothing much to do with Portugal or the Portuguese people. it’s the British focus on a piss up, neglecting common sense safety measures in both the McCann and stag do misadventures.

Exactly this

I’ve lived here for twenty years, lots lots more goes on, lots of corruption too