So Kathryn had just left for her adventures (an exciting trip out to the far east with hubby Roman) and we were just chilling the first day with the dogs.
We had better introduce you to the three bundles of joy we had agreed to look after for the next week or so…
Cassie is a ten year (or so) old Staffie. She rules the roost but is the easiest going dog you can imagine. In Portugal she is classed as a dangerous breed and has to conform to all the regulations as such. However once you get to know Cassie the term ‘dangerous’ is so far off the mark as to be laughable. For a start she hardly has any teeth left, and she just doesn’t have a bad bone in her old body! She does have her grumps and will tell the other two youngsters when they have over stepped their boundaries, but she just wants to be with you all the time and adores cuddles and will lick your entire body clean if you let her! She loves to snuggle between your legs when on the chaise lounge and will even paw your legs apart to indicate her intentions to do so.
Then there are the two youngsters Phoenix and Cleo. They are actually brother and sister podengo’s from the same Portuguese litter, but probably different parents. Phoenix (the boy) is a much taller and longer dog than Cleo (the girl). Phoenix in full flight is like a racing greyhound but more graceful. He just loves to chase cars and lorries speeding up the garden alongside the road. Cleo does too, but can’t quite match the stride length of Phoenix. Cleo on the other hand is the hunter of the two and was always smelling out the mice and voles. In fact she caught a mouse that had got in the house (probably to escape the rain), but when Kath arrived back and suspected it was in the pantry and moved the freezer, it was Cleo who pounced first! The poor mouse never stood a chance.
Indoors, they are like a pair of cheeky teenagers! They play really well together and with the much older Cassie too, until she gets wound up. These wind-up sessions are usually led by Cleo! The play can sometimes lead to re-arranging furniture and rugs and have to be stopped by letting them outside to go on their ‘zoomies’. Not Cassie however, she is always the first to calm down and just stands at the door to see off the two teenagers!
Because this was just a short sit, and because the weather was mainly torrential rain for most of the week, we mainly stayed indoors with the dogs. We really enjoyed their company. We stoked the fire each night and cuddled up on the sofa with all three dogs, with us all lovely and warm and settled. We passed the time by binge watching some movies (starting with all three Hobbit films and all three of the Lord of the Rings. So Mega TV sessions while the rain fell.
The house was lovely and comfortable with the fire heating the water and radiators throughout the house when the solar couldn’t produce enough heat for the rainy days. the sun eventually did come out however and we made use of that day to get some washing out (well, Annette did!), and spent the afternoon exploring a nearby town once the dogs were watered and happily settled in their kennels or in Cassie’s case chilled on the sofa watching TV.
The town in question was Santa Comba Dão. And, as the name implies, it lies on the banks of the river Dão. One of the first places we headed for was a view point over the river. Even though the rains are beginning to fill the reservoirs again after a long drought, the levels are still quite low as you could still see the old stone bridge across the river which dates from the 1700’s. It was partially destroyed during the Napoleonic invasions, but was later rebuilt then widened in the 1930’s, but is usually underwater since the river was dammed and the new bridge constructed.
We then headed from the main church ‘Igreja Matriz de Santa Comba Dão’ along the ‘Passadiços de Santa Comba Dão’, a wooden walkway from the church to the main square which is very picturesque. We sat and had a coffee in the Praça and Annette attracted the attention of a local cat who decided to make herself comfortable on her lap. The cat was exercising her claws the whole time, making Annette utter some funny squeals now and again as well as giving Wayne strict instructions not to startle the cat and encourage the claws to clamp down even more!
The week seemed to pass quickly however. The beautiful cakes that Kathryn had baked for us went far too quickly, and we ate way too much and enjoyed the local wines and a few G&Ts, and watched some great TV with the pooches.
When Kath returned, the dogs were over the moon to see her again. It was certainly a lovely place to spend a cosy few nights with the dogs, but we would love to spend a bit more time to get out on some walks with the two youngsters. Cassie is a bit too old to keep up with them, but she would get some more sedentary strolls on her own. We would also like to explore the area a bit more too.
Lucky for us, Kath needs to fly out to meet and collect her family abroad, and then travel further to visit Roman who also works abroad over the Christmas period. So guess where Wayne and Annette will be spending a couple of weeks or so over Christmas????
So that’s it for this episode. But before we head back to sit for Kathryn again, we have some more admin to deal with, another more local sit planned and also a short break near a famous castle, so stay tuned…
Our Portuguese Life 