Kidnapping is so out of place in the village of light

THE sleepy village of Praia Da Luz is the ideal spot to taste a slice of heaven on earth. It is the last place you’d expect to be the scene of a kidnapping.

Two years ago, I arrived in Praia Da Luz with the same goal as Gerry and Katie McCann — to get away from it all.

The quiet, unspoiled coastal settlement was billed as the perfect place to escape from modern life. But now, with the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, that idyllic notion has been shattered.

Praia Da Luz is, in many ways, reminiscent of an older Ireland. A small, secluded fishing village, where the pace of life is dictated by the lapping tides. Tourism has only just begun to leave its mark on the landscape.

The locals go about their daily lives with only the slightest curiosity for the strangers among them. Postcard scenery abounds, with a pristine-white beach stretching out to the sea, flanked by the stunning Rocha Negra or ‘black rock’ cliffs to the east. And at the centre of the village, with pride of place, is the meticulously renovated church of Nossa Senhora da Luz. This devout Catholicism seems quaint in the face of modern Ireland, but in Praia Da Luz such values still hold strong. Even the 16th century fort to the west of the village has been maintained for posterity, converted into a restaurant with views of the bay. And, as if to emphasise the untouched nature of this rustic settlement, Roman ruins were recently unearthed in the village centre, carefully excavated for tourists and locals alike to admire.

Upon departing Praia Da Luz, I was left with a great sense of peace. Even in the Algarve, long associated with the trappings of tourism, there was a place yet unspoiled by modern life.

The Portuguese call the village ‘Luz’, which translates as ‘light’.

Let’s hope the village lives up to its name, and its nature, in providing a guiding light to police with the safe return of little Madeleine McCann.