Leaving Rosie, Axel, and Deborah after our wonderful house sit near São Pedro de Alva was undoubtedly bittersweet. Our time spent with them was filled with warmth, laughter, and unforgettable moments. Saying goodbye to Rosie’s wagging tail and affectionate licks, as well as the heartfelt conversations and shared stories with Axel and Deborah, left a pang of sadness in our hearts. We cherish the connections we forge during our stays and the bonds we form with both humans and furry friends alike. Despite the sadness of parting ways, we carry with us the cherished memories and the joy of meeting new people and making lasting friendships along the way.
But, then we had a small opportunity to pay some kindness back too. We headed back to Alcaria, to the home of our friends Bruce & Paula, daughter Kat their pets. Paula’s daughter from the UK and her boyfriend were also there so it was good to see them again too. However it was only a short hello, as Bruce was flying back to the UK with both of them a couple of days later. Bruce was visiting family and attending a music event, so was going to be away for a week. Paula unfortunately had to work from home, so couldn’t join him. So, while he was away, we volunteered to take on many of the tasks of cleaning, cooking, and school-runs etc. just to take some weight and responsibility off of Paula.
Because the house still wasn’t finished, they also kindly offered to have Claire stay for a few days until we head off to Spain. The house is as you can probably guess big enough to accommodate everyone too, with six good sized bedrooms and a garage you can easily get lost in!
We felt some excitement building as we anticipate Wayne’s sister’s upcoming visit to Portugal and Spain. The thought of exploring the picturesque areas around our village where we are having our future home built, indulging in mouthwatering pastéis de nata, and sharing laughter over glasses of wine and sangria in Spain during her first time there was something we were really looking forward to. Visiting new places nearby to marvelling at the border scenery near Valencia de Alcântara, our adventure together promised unforgettable moments and cherished memories. We loved the opportunity to create new experiences amidst the beauty and culture of these vibrant destinations.
Claire arrived, but unfortunately for her, she picked the wrong week! It was the wettest and coldest forecast that we had had for some time and was due to set in for at least a week, and her visit was only for ten days! But, “Carpe Diem” is our moto, so some rain was not going to stop a memorable trip.
We started off with a very quick trip over to the house. It was so wet, we never even got the camera out! She was very impressed with the house and could imagine what it would be like finished. She did keep reminding us of the time it was taking to finish! Like us, she was applying UK logic however. She kept reminding us how our younger sister Jane and her husband Richard had built their house on the isle of Skye in Scotland some years ago. It was on the scale of ours, also a wood frame construction, even slightly more complex having two stories with staircases, dorma windows etc. They also started from scratch, and they completed it to a good finish in about three years. What was even more impressive was that they did it on their own without any construction experience and organizing other trades when they needed a bit of help, and it being wet and windy for much of the year! However, it is not a complete comparison, and they never had to deal with a pandemic and Portuguese trades, but we are still impressed what they achieved. Our sister now lives in Canada, and yes, she always offers her services to come and finish ours for us! ;o)
So, Claire was also going to get to experience our nomadic lifestyle to the fullest! We had a request for a last minute sit. We explained my sister was visiting, and the hosts were happy for her to stay too, so before long we were off on the road again.
The first stop being the last minute sit. One we were already familiar with in Batalha, so we knew the animals well and so we quickly settled into our routines. Claire seemed to enjoy this variety during her trip, it was an opportunity for her to see a bit more of the area and meet some of the people we have sat for too. We got to pop over to visit friends Vince & Cat in Nazaré and the inevitable visit to our favorite cake shop to meet Kirsty, David and the golden retrievers. We also picked a very wet day to visit a local river beach that was impressively bursting out of the mountain side when we were last there. It wasn’t as bad this time even with the rains we had in the days prior, so we had a coffee and headed for the coast to see some big waves! Peniche was quite impressive and we hope to visit there again in better weather, as we never really got the chance to explore as much as we wanted, having to get back to feed the sheep and cat.
The Batalha sit was only a quick three days, and it was then off to Spain. It was Claire’s first trip to Spain, and unfortunately again, only a quick visit, as she was flying back to the UK after three days. On a positive note, the weather was showing signs of warming. We did manage to get a couple of days out with her before we had to take her back to Lisbon airport. Although the sit was in Spain, and only just across the border, it was Portugal where we spent the majority of the time. We had two days to explore, so we had a day exploring Castelo de Vide on the first day and the medieval town of Marvão on the second. Two of our favorite places in Portugal.
The weather was improving so we had two dry and relatively warm days before we headed back to Lisbon to drop Claire off for her trip back home. We on the other hand had two more weeks to spend at the lovely home and the weather was improving…
Our Portuguese Life 