Via Algarviana shops

[RiderStrider]

Could someone who has walked the VA recently please tell me whether there are many / any shops in the _villages_ passed en route, and whether it is possible to buy small 300 gm gas cannisters with a screw-on connector in them? I spent some time in the region 10 years ago, and although I never had a problem buying basic foodstuffs, I had no need of gas back then. Come to think of it, I wonder how many of those shops are still open nowadays?