So, we were in a period where the house is progressing nicely (inside) and that meant we had some time free to do some more house sits. Some of the sits had been organised some time ago, but quite a few cropped up just recently. These were conveniently close to the house build so we could check in frequently and be on hand for any decisions etc.
Our first house sit was a return visit for us. This was the house near Batalha with a timid cat (Gene) and three sheep. We really enjoyed our previous time there, so were thrilled to be asked to come and sit again. Also, it was close to our house so we were able to check in occasionally. In fact, while we were on our way to Batalha, we had a meeting with our architects to discuss progress and a few other points we wanted clarification on. More of those later.
The weather was still super hot in this part of Portugal. It was the first week in October 2023 and the temperatures were still in the mid to high thirties! It was only for a week, because we had already arranged another sit for our friends in the Algarve, and that was a much longer stay. This meant we couldn’t fulfil the entire sit in Batalha, but arranged to hand over to another sitter on the day we were due to travel south.
The week in Batalha wasn’t just spent looking after the house and animals though. We had been in touch with a Dutch couple who lived in Alcobaça who were looking for sitters in December. This is a town we both love. It’s close to us, and we love visiting. It is another historic place in Portugal with a medieval monastery and ruined castle and is jam packed with history and things to do. We also agreed it would be cool to visit during the Christmas period as the town takes on a real “Christmassy” feel. They were looking for sitters over the Christmas period, so it was an opportunity to be close to the house project, but get to experience Alcobaça throughout Christmas. It would all depend on whether we would be a good fit for them. To this end, we arranged to pop over to Alcobaça to visit them. It’s only twenty minutes away from Batalha, so was an easy quick afternoon spent meeting with them and their two dogs.
We were glad we did too, and were very pleased to meet them. They were a lovely couple and we had a lot in common. They had moved over about the same time as us, but very quickly decided to buy their property after viewing a lot of very run down places. It is still a work in progress, but much of the renovation work is done and it is certainly a nice place, with beautiful views over the town. Of the two dogs, one is very old and frail with dementia so we are not sure whether she will be there when we arrive in December? However, the other is an absolutely adorable two year old German Shepard. And she was such a pleasant dog to be with, full of affection and we are looking forward to some lovely walks with her!
Back to Batalha… So before we started to clean and get ready for the next sitter to arrive, we needed to pop over to the house to pick up a few things, and do the meter readings. It meant we could pop in to see how much further on the electrics first-fix was coming along. It was a national holiday during the previous week and we suspected that not much would have got done, but there were extra conduit runs and a few more socket fixing points added. We arrived on the Monday morning to do the readings for the electricity bill. Unfortunately no one was on site, so we couldn’t ask how far they thought it would progress before we returned at the end of the month, we would just have to wait and see!
Once we return from the Algarve, we have three other sits in a similar radius to our house project, meaning we won’t be far away. We had already met with Kirsty and Davie and their two amazing golden retrievers Copper and Sonny. They will be a special experience, and we can’t wait for that. We had also met up with a couple not far from Salgado Beach and that was already booked in too. Look forward to some broody winter coastline scenes for that one. We also then had another sit pop up in the area and we had an online chat with them so managed to book that sit in as well. They actually live near to Cooper and Sonny´s sit, so we should be able to pop round and visit after we have tired the dogs out one afternoon. (But, we expect it will be the other way round!).
Eventually, after we had played car-boot tetras and managed to get it all packed ready for the trip down to the Algarve, we set off on the trip south. The weather was still hot, even for October, but the trip down (staying away from the motorways and tolls!) is quite lovely and doesn’t add a great deal of time to the journey. So we headed off and had the usual break for lunch about halfway down. We took it nice and easy arriving in the afternoon to a fantastic reception. It was so nice to see the animals once again.
Herbie, who was quite poorly and lethargic when we last sat, was a different dog. He was diagnosed with anemia in the end and has bounced back with the treatment! And three-legged Picolé has also come on with him allowing us to touch and even pet him! Even before he lost his leg to a wild boar attack he was a very timid rescue dog, not allowing human contact. But now he is settling in so much more! Also, there are now three cats having lost Fluffy since we were last there, Gerry the ginger cat is now a regular house cat, Ben the black and white is also becoming slowly accustomed to coming in to the house, but not while Gerry is about otherwise there is chaos! Lulu is still going strong too, she’s the old girl that lives downstairs and is happy just keeping to her domain.
Not forgetting our hosts and dear friends Suzie & Karen, it was lovely to catch up with all the news and learn about their planned trip to America. Suzie also fed us with the most delicious meal, so we very happy indeed. We continued to spend most of the next day answering questions about how the house build is going, as they are very keen to come and visit. We then dropped them off at Faro airport to start their next adventure. They arrive back just before the Rugby World Cup Final, so we made plans to make a day of it with some snacks and drinks etc!
The weather started off lovely, but winter is approaching and turned quite wet occasionally. However, fortuitously these days were usually around the same as some of the rugby matches on the HUGE TV so we were kept well entertained while hunkering down inside!
We also managed to get a COVID booster which we thought was probably worth having, as quite a few people have come down with it recently and we wanted to keep our record of never contracting it! However, it did make us a bit tired and groggy and Wayne caught a tummy bug straight afterwards which kept him in bed for a couple of days, but thankfully it didn’t last long and he was back to normal in no time!
During our time there, apart from the occasional trip to the supermarket in Loulé, we pretty much just stayed at the villa, and to be honest, why wouldn’t you! We loved our evening walks around the land with the dogs (and occasionally Ben the cat). We loved swimming in the pool and chilling on the patio, we adored the garden and the peace and tranquility too. We did however get to meet a neighbor who was recommended by our hosts. She has some mobility issues so we were happy to help her out and fetch some supplies etc. We were so pleased to meet such an interesting person too. What an amazing woman who has led the most incredible absorbing life. We are really blessed to meet such incredibly nice people during our travels here in Portugal. We plan to go round to visit her again next week, and can’t wait to hear some more incredible stories…
And apart from a visit to IKEA (the spiritual home of the Allen Key!), and perhaps get the tyres checked on the car, we plan to chill until the Rugby World Cup on Suz and Karen’s return! So we will close this post here.
If you made it this far, well done and thank you so much for reading and following our journey!
Our Portuguese Life 