So, we managed to have a few tranquil and quiet days together at the sit near Loulé. Wayne continued to do all the tasks that used to be shared, like feeding the pets and administering medicines, preparing meals and cleaning etc. However over the short period Annette had rejoined, she was already managing to dress without much help and started to do the very small exercises with her arm that had been operated on and strapped up for over two weeks. So it was good to start working as a team again. It’s clear that Netty works really hard as Wayne realised that without her contributions he hadn’t stopped for a couple of weeks.
Before long it would be time to pack the car and head home. However, there was a couple of days where we stayed on with the owners after their return. It was great to catch up and get some great advice from our dear friends. They have created the most amazing garden and we got some great tips for getting ours going after the build has completed. We are looking forward to putting some of our energy into getting the garden up and running. We also can’t wait for them to visit us at our house when it’s finished and with any luck they might bring a few cuttings with them.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t reconnect with our previous sit’s owners as Annette had missed saying goodbye to the pets! But as we were so close to the N2 (tourist route that goes from Faro all the way through Portugal to Chaves or the other way round whichever you fancy) we decided to head back that way.
It was a beautiful sunny day and the route is fantastic with lots of sightseeing opportunities along the way. There were hundreds of motorcycles and bicycles too, more than we could count. That made the going slow, but enjoyable. We got as far as Castro Verde and came to the conclusion that if we continued up the N2, we would not reach home before midnight. We diverted our route at that point to more direct and quicker roads and got back just after dusk. We swung by the house site, but the light wasn’t great so we couldn’t make much out so headed home.
The following day we did get to have a look around the house, but not before checking into the local health centre to see if we could get Annette’s dressing changed and find out what she needed to do to have the staples removed and how long she needed the cast on for. It was all fairly easy. I think it helped we now had our biometric residency cards. But she got her dressing changed and we were given details of when to return to check the scar and when she could probably get the staples removed. It seems however, the cast may need to remain on for a few more weeks.
We then popped over to the house…
What a surprise. There has been significant progress since we left for the Algarve. The private part of the house (bedrooms and bathrooms), now has a waterproof membrane, as does the living part (Kitchen, pantries and living-room). The central joining part (Office, mechanical room, WC and closet) has a roof but still needs waterproofing. [note: this has been completed before uploading this post] All the internal framing seems to be just about complete and the ceilings were being prepared for drywall (plasterboard). There is some conduit fitted too. The doors and windows are still to go in, but we are assured it’s not far off, with stone sills going in shortly.
We also popped in to visit the architects and they took us through the next steps:
- The central roof waterproofing had arrived and was going to be fitted the very next day,
- The stone sills for the windows and doors were ordered and would be fitted soon,
- The doors had arrived and the windows would be delivered soon,
- The cork cladding was in short supply, but they had asked for incremental deliveries so they could continue to work,
- We discussed options for rainwater harvesting,
- The structure had been prepared for raising the floor level to accommodate the UFH, and that the installer was experienced in UFH systems,
- We discussed going through the solar power system with the engineer while we are back,
- We also discussed the bio septic tank and it’s possible location,
We were impressed with the professionalism and their commitment to complete the build before the build permit ends in July. It seems surreal looking back to this time last year when it was just the string lines on the land.
We are now here for a couple of weeks, before the next house sit, so we are just checking on progress occasionally whilst catching up with our friends and possibly trying out a couple of new eating establishments we have learned about on GMP!
Our Portuguese Life 