Just a short one this week. No piccies or video as we have been zooming around and busy.
In the last blog I mentioned a funny adventure at the George & Dragon pub near Coja. It was more like a mis-adventure actually. We looked up the opening times on Google and arrived promptly at 5pm after taking Tan for his evening walk. We weren’t planning on staying too long, just a quick drink and a light-bite.
When we arrived, it was still closed. We would have turned around at that moment and gone back if it wasn’t for the fact there were a couple sat in the beer garden. They informed us that it wasn’t open for another hour. We got talking and decided to wait until it opened. We made our introductions, and soon learned that the couple (Tony & Joan) had a house just north of Tábua and we’re doing the retirement thing too. Tony and Wayne hit it off straight away as they were both ex military. Tony can be excused for serving in the British Army, he actually had an interesting career in the REME, or as Tony put it, ‘Rough Engineering, Made Easy’ regiment. Tony had a fascinating history serving in the London fire brigade and with time in customs and excise too. Many stories were told and laughs came thick and fast.
The pub opened and the drinks were ordered, but shortly after the barman informed us that the food wouldn’t arrive for over an hour, but the tales were all fascinating, so more drinks were ordered and we decided to wait for the food. The evening went swimmingly, and lots of laughs were had. The menus were then presented but the prices were a bit on the high side for Portugal, but then again it was good British pub-food, so we didn’t mind. The problem was that after the meal, we learned that they didn’t have a card machine and a quick check of our wallets and pockets showed we were short!
Tony insisted on getting the bill, and Wayne was horrified. This would be a night of firsts. Wayne had never been bailed out by a ‘squaddie’ before. So we arranged a meet up at there new house and promised to square up!
So, the following day we travelled the short distance to their house after having sorted the dog, and making sure he was fed and happy before leaving. It was a lovely and spacious house. They had done quite a bit to it since they had bought it and, were given the grand tour. It was lovely. We settled up, produced a ‘thank you’ bottle of red, and then sat out in the shaded patio tasting some lovely wines and discussing each other’s plans for the future and the potential for seeing each other again.
So the ‘incident at the George & Dragon’ as we will remember it, was fortuitous in introducing us to more lovely friends.
A couple of days later and it was time to move on. We had to return home as the house build was still not under way, and we needed to sign for the electricity contracts so work could begin. We would have loved to stay a couple of days in the Coja town house, but we wanted to meet with another future sit owner to get to know the house and pets better.
As it was a national holiday, it wasn’t worth heading back to sign the contract the next day as it would have been closed, so we stopped at ‘Kathryn’s’ for two nights. It was time well spent as we really got a great insight into the house and pets, even managing a long walk with the puppies Cleo and Phoenix. Wayne even got the strimmer out and help clear some of the garden for her which will allow her to spend more time with her family which were arriving at the weekend. Wayne was in his element as Kathryn bakes the most amazing cakes, but I am sure we will cover this more when we are sitting the pets in November!
Once leaving Kathryn’s, we headed over to a hardware store in Aveiro to purchase a loft or attic ladder which we need to be able to store things when the house is built. That being done we then headed over to a small village near Tomar to meet our next house sit owners and their two furries, a dog called ‘Alfie’ and a cat called ‘Tilly’. The owners were lovely and inviting, a young couple who have a lovely recently renovated house and were super interesting. We sat and chatted on a very sunny veranda, and Wayne enjoyed a well needed cold beer, as the temperature was easily in the thirties. It looks like being a nice sit and the pets were super nice and friendly and exited to meet us. Stay tuned for the adventures there.
From there it was back home and it was lovely to be back, if not a bit lonely as our besties were away visiting friends in Spain. The loneliness didn’t last long though, as our other friends in the village invited us for dinners over the weekend and to meet their friends (Rob & Marie) who had bought a house near Castelo Branco and we’re returning to the UK in a few weeks. Another lovely couple and happy to call new friends. It really seems that people moving to Portugal all have the same attitudes and aspirations and really get on and enjoy each other’s stories and journeys.
It wasn’t all meet ups and dinners though, as there was some tidying up to do at the land and the business of getting the electrics connected.
Unfortunately, when we went to pick up the paperwork, one of the certificates required was out of date, so we had to wait until the next week to pick it up and try again. Wayne used this time to cut back the growing weeds and the dreaded bramble bushes before they grew humongous again. Unfortunately all the figs were gone. The tree was full of them on our last visit, but they hadn’t ripened enough, and we missed the window this year. The walnut tree however was recovering nicely from the poor state it was in when we bought the land. We cut off the Ivy that was strangling it, and as much of the dead wood we could reach and we have been rewarded with a decent crop. Annette man aged to collect a large bag while Wayne was strimming. So we should get to enjoy some soon.
That’s where we are so far. Apart from a horror story about a big tax bill that we have been unfairly presented with, but more of that in the next one!
Wish us luck getting the electricity connected.
Our Portuguese Life 