There has been no progress on the build project since our last post. We are still waiting to hear if some work will be carried out, but nothing as yet, apart from the electricity connection. We are not too far from the build site however, and would be back in a fortnight to get a look at the site and check.
The house-sit we were doing this time was only about twenty minutes north of Tomar. The area is very pleasant with rolling tree-covered hills and small villages dotted here and there. We were taken into Tomar on our first night by our generous hosts, Rebecca and Michael, and they treated us to a lovely Italian meal. Tomar is full of really enticing restaurants, and we were hoping to try a few during our time there. Although we have visited Tomar on a couple of occasions before, there is still much to explore and discover. During our drive to pick up supplies, we passed large areas around Tomar that we had not realised were there, and need to visit again soon to explore further.
We have said before, that our favorite sits are where you get to spend a little time getting to know the hosts before they leave, as well as the pets and specifics about the house etc. This was definitely one of those type of sits. Our hosts are lovely, and like us seeking the beauty, nature and countryside offered but often hidden in the central parts of Portugal. The area surrounding the house and village (if you can call a few sparse houses a village) is very attractive too. An ideal place to retire to, if you want peace and tranquillity, but close to a major town with all the usual conveniences.
Our lovely charges for this particular sit were ‘Alfie’ & ‘Tilly’. Alfie was a spritely two year old dog who just loves human companionship. He absolutely adores his walks and really took to us keeping him on an extending lead without any issues at all. (If he decided to chase after a rabbit, we would never catch him, he is that fast, although he always comes home). He definitely had some hunting-dog traits. One particular walk he perked up, started barking and was staring into the trees on a narrow forest track we were climbing. Sure enough, a short distance away, were a family of Javali, or wild boar. The first we had seen since being in Portugal up close. They were quite large and tracking perpendicular to us and in the direction our path was leading. We quickly retreated and reversed our course and headed back to the road! Safety first!!
Our other charge, Tilly, was a cat that our hosts had brought over from the UK. She was a pleasure to be with when she was around, but came and went as she wanted, only to appear mainly when demanding some food! She and Alfie got on really well, which probably equates to her tolerating us and Alfie, as she was quite the independent madam.
During the first week, we had our appointment scheduled for our biometric residency card. We had to drive an hour or so over to Marinha Grande for that. When we eventually found the offices, we learned the SEF systems were all down, so ended up coming straight back and taking Alfie out for a long walk to calm our frustrations! Not even an email to inform us of the situation! Poor show indeed.
We did however get to meet up with some English friends of our hosts while out walking Alfie. They have two big black retrievers that get on really well with Alfie. So, we sat at their villa and enjoyed a beer, exchanging stories about how we ended up in Portugal. Gill and Andy were very nice and we are always amazed at how similar an outlook on life us ex-pats have!
So, this week we had had some very welcome rain. Not too much, and what had fallen was mainly during the night. We stayed mainly in the house, and tried not to drag in too much mud. Apart from our failed road trip and many walks with Alfie, exploring the lanes and tracks around the village, it ranked as a fairly quiet week really.
We are not sure when we will hear about our biometrics appointments again, or when we will be able to attend, but this is Portugal, so it will happen when it happens! A great attitude to have if you are ever thinking of moving here!
Thanks for following our journey.
We wonder what next week will bring? Perhaps a bit of a road trip to a waterfall with Alfie? We might even hear about some work being carried out on the house or explore Tomar…What could possibly go wrong?
Our Portuguese Life 