Waterfalls, Picnic Sites, Mediaeval Bridge and Veggie Sausage

Yesterday it was surprisingly warm. It must have been about 18 degrees celsius, though the sunny spells were interspersed with goodly rain showers.

Off out geocaching we went. First to Barriosa where there is a river beach and a waterfall, weir and restaurant. There has been a fair bit of rain over the past few days/nights and the waterfall was impressive.



After Barriosa we visited Vide where there was a picnic site hidden away up through the lovely narrow streets in the village. The start of the T1 waymarked pedestrian walkway through the Serra da Estrela begins at Vide, though we couldn't see any obvious starting point. On our gps we did have one of our calibrated maps though and managed to find where the walk would lead out of the village.

After Vide we went to a mediaeval bridge at Alvoco das Varzeas. The bridge is in good condition and the marks made by the stone masons perfectly preserved. Near the bridge we found another waymarked pedestrian walkway but with no information board etc we have no way of knowing where it leads to, whether or not it is circular, and how far it goes. We may try and follow the path for a couple of hours to see where it goes and then retrace our steps if necessary. Also at the bridge is a picnic site that must be a real magnet in the summer.



And on a different subject altogether - We have been experimenting with vegetarian sausage/burger recipes. You can buy tofu and soya products here, but the processed veggie fare is very expensive. We have found several recipes on the internet and are adapting these to give them more of a kick. One of the recipes is more labour intensive but is lovely with mash and peas and gravy. It consists mainly of cheese, mustard, onion, mixed herbs, breadcrumbs, and then floured egged and breadcrumbed on the outside. These are then gently shallow fried. Another recipe is from soya mince, contains thyme, sage, turmeric, coriander, stock, mustard, Marmite, and eggs, and is easily shaped into patties for sticking on a bun with fried onions, mustard and HP sauce. Hmmmmmm delicious.

Bolo Rei

We have found so far with most of the cakes we have tried (Pastéis de Nata being the exception) is that they are very sweet but lack any distinctive flavour, and they are usually DRY. Jon's says that eating some of these cakes removes every drop of moisture from his body. You definitely need a cuppa to help, I agree.

In the run up to Christmas we saw "Bolo Rei Com Chila" for sale in all the supermarkets. They are traditional Portugese cakes and are either round with a hole out of the middle shaped like a huge Polo mint, or square/oblong shaped. They are decorated with strips of brightly coloured, translucent confection, in red, green and/or yellow. But they always seemed a bit expensive for us to try out on a whim (3.99 to 4.99 euros). So when we saw them reduced in Lidl after Christmas we decided to try one out of curiosity (still well within the sell by date). And, undaunted by the fact that we can barely fasten our waistbands, we felt obliged to give one the taste/moisture test.

Well, we tried this Bolo Rei cold, and we tried it hot and considered buying custard to make it palatable. They are a bit like a big dry sponge strudel with thin layers of something like figs or dates, and occasionally a chopped nut. Sounds yummy, but it isn't. And these beautiful strips of translucent confection on the top, taste of nothing but sugar.

We also bought something that looked like a really rich dark chocolate mousse roll, with chopped biscuit in it. Taste test: moist, sweet, Chocolate flavour none. Biscuit flavour, none. A cake seriously in need of a chocolate injection.

Our quest for moist tasty Portugese cake continues...in the meantime where we can we recycle them. Most end up as a bread and butter pudding, moist, with plenty of flavour. The chocolate mousse roll has yet to be transformed.

Boxing Day

On Boxing Day we decided to walk towards the Ponte bar at Barril da Alva along the track behind the house. It was a lovely mild sunny day. We had uploaded aerial images onto the gps that would help make a decision as to which tracks to take, as we knew we would come to forks in the trackway. As it was the first time we had used the Garmin Bing Map tool we were eager to try it out.

We walked for about a mile and tried to keep as close to the river as the track would allow. We came across a lovely picnic site and river beach area beside the river, that we had no idea was there before.



A little further on and we arrived at the Ponte Bar on the outskirts of the village. And then we turned back, retracing our steps. Along the way we had wonderful views of the mountains and the river. There was a section where the slate showed distinct fossilisation of leaves.



The walk to the Ponte and back was just over 4 miles. We intend to extend the walk by heading down the lanes through Digueifel, through Vila da Cova, down to the Ponte, then along the track back to the house.

The accuracy of the images on the gps were excellent, and this will be a boon for us to explore more on foot etc without paper maps.

Back at home it was time for a snack and a cuppa. We had traditional Portugese cakes called Broas de Natal that were made in Seia. They are a bit like a scone and contain mixed fruit and nuts. On the ingredients there is batata-doce that is, apparently, sweet potato. Overall they are dry and a bit disappointing on the taste scale.

Christmas Ghost Story

It was Christmas Day. The day had passed with the usual jollities, and darkness had fallen outside. All was eerily still and quiet apart from the hiss and bubble of the river on its eternal journey. On the horror film that we had just started to watch, a girl was being chased by something through the woods. Would she make it into the house? You could almost hear the breathing of her pursuer on the back of the girl's neck...

And then there was this almighty banging on the windows of our cottage...

Frozen in the light from the film, we stared wide-eyed at one another in disbelief. Our hearts had almost stopped. And it came again. BANG BANG BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG BANG! Who, or what, was banging on the living room window? Twinned with the horrifying realisation that our lounge is on the upper floor of the cottage! Was this creature at our window suspended in mid-air? Or was it some terrible spectre that was so tall that it could beat the window with it's bony fingers...

Actually, no, it was our neighbours letting off fireworks!

We ran outside onto the balcony, suddenly all very brave now, and enjoyed the spectacle.

It was all a bit of a squib after the initial heart somersaults. There was only one more firework which did bang bang bang bang, and was pretty, but that was the last. And the film...well it was quite a scary film, but it seemed pretty lame after we had exercised the terrors of our own imagination.

And then all was eerily still and quiet apart from the hiss and bubble of the river on its eternal journey.

Weather - frost, mist, thunder

We always knew that buying a place in Portugal would demand some thought as to the aspect of the property (consideration of the compass direction). It's common sense that if you buy a place on a north facing hillside then it can mean you are left in the shade (cold) for most of a winter's day.

We have experienced 3 nights of frost so far, though talking to a friend yesterday, she says they have had a run of frost 10 nights in a row almost. But they are higher up in the mountains. We are at the bottom of the valley so when we wake up to a mist we have probably been saved from the worst.

The forecast for last night was a Low of -4 degrees celsius, and that is probably the coldest we have experienced here. In reality however, today is overcast and milder than expected. It is difficult to get an accurate forecast, and though we do keep an eye on a weather internet site the forecast does alter from day to day.

Mist; frost; neither lasts too long once the sun is on it. We are fortunate that the house we are staying in is positioned so that we get early morning sunshine, and then it is upon us all day until it disappears behind the hills near to sundown. If were were in the shade, the frost or mist would probably linger a lot longer, maybe all day.

The sunshine is still very strong compared to what we are used to in the UK for this time of year. It feels more like a warm spring day. Our washing dries on the line, and it's still warm enough to sit on the patio and soak up a few rays.

At the moment, the forecast for tomorrow is widely scattered thunderstorms. That means possible loss of electricity, internet will be out, and everything electrical unplugged for the duration. Even with surge protection we have heard that people have had electrical equipment destroyed.

Queijo Azul Bergader

Just tasted the blue cheese we brought back with us from Continente supermarket in the Algarve. It's called "Queijo Azul Bergader" and is really delicious. It's been a while since we had Stilton but in its absence this is a good substitute.

Earthquake off Sagres - Felt in Quinta da Sapeira

Last night we both woke up, not knowing why, about 01.40 hours. It sounded like the roof tiles were shifting. Jon thought he felt the house give a single shake. We both decided that it was probably an earth tremor and went back to sleep. Apparently there was an earthquake off the coast of Sagres (where we were visiting last week - maybe we should both concentrate on the diet a bit more!)Perhaps it was us that awoke the sleeping dragon!

This link (from the Expats Portugal forum) gives more info.

Independent Walking in the Algarve

Early December is a great time of year to visit the Algarve for walking, if you like it about 15 degrees Celsius, not too many people around, and cheap hotel prices. We managed to get a six night (bread and breakfast) stay in a four star hotel in Albufeira for 30 euros per night (ie 15 euros per person). That's cheaper than staying on some campsites in the UK.



We are back from our trip where we did some independent walking in the Algarve and have come away being pleasantly surprised with the area. As usual, we tended to stay away from the beaten path if we could. But the beaten path does have its advantages, such as fish and chips!!!! Mostly though we ate in a Portugese restaurant that provided a 3 course meal and a drink (wine in our case) for 8.95 euros per person. The service was excellent and the food very tasty, and good portion sizes. What was good was that they also had a few vegetarian options.

The drive down was pretty boring mainly along toll roads, that cost us somewhere in the region of 35 euros altogether. Needless to say coming back we opted for the drawn out, explore Portugal, drive home. It took several hours longer as we were keeping to the speed limits (unlike everyone else!). We shaved off about 70 km from our journey, saved toll fees, and used less diesel. We also saw the changing landscape as we journeyed 288 km from the Algarve up to Central Portugal. We may be biased but as soon as we hit the "Central" area (just above Tomar) the landscape became more interesting, with its hills and valleys instead of miles of flat farmland.

The downside was that we arrived home in the dark. The house was very cold, but intact. It does not do to be complacent, and we had taken precautions to make the house look like it was business as usual, and taken care of securing any valuables.

The Algarve has stunning coastal scenery. We used geocaching to help us explore safely, and the guide to walks in the Algarve that we had taken with us. We actually saw the Portugese version for sale in the Albufeira tourist information centre in Albufeira Old Town. It was A5 size and was on sale for 7 euros. They didn't have an English version. We asked if there were any walking maps for sale but the staff told us they didn't.

Anyway, summary of our visit to the Algarve:
West Coast, geocaches x 2, on the "Trilho das Mares" or Trail of Tides walk on Page 15 of the Guide (see link above). We cut the walk short by going through Carrapateira to get back to the car that was parked at Point B on the map. It amounted to about 5 or 6 km. If we did it again we would reverse the walk so that we were doing the coastal part last on the return route (as per Walk 27 of the June Parker book "Walking in the Algarve") or just walk along the coast one way, and then back again. The route along the road was pretty boring. Alternatively, we would return to do the whole 19km walk as per the map in the Guide.



After the walk we visited Sagres. There was a geocache there that took us to the Fortaleza da Sagres that juts out into the sea making it the southern most point in Europe. The fort was quite an ugly building, and we had to pay 3 euros each to go in, but it was worth it as there were information boards inside and a few remains of the original fort built in Henry the Navigator's time c 1400s. The rest of the fort was mostly destroyed by Sir Francis Drake and by the 1755 earthquake. We took a pedestrian path from inside the fort that took you on a route around the promontory to the different points of interest (and info panels). There were "furnas" or sea blowholes fenced off. One furna in particular, that didn't look much as they had blocked it with huge rocks, gave a really loud roar every time the sea beneath the promontory entered the blowhole. So SCARY! It really did sound like a dragon or some monster was under your feet, and the grass around the blowhole moved visibly each time from the dragon breath. Filmed the noise and moved away FAST! If you play it back you must turn up the volume on your computer and your speakers, and this 8 second film still won't be anywhere loud enough. Hard to imagine what the noise would be like on a windy or stormy day. It's no wonder that it was a sacred place to the Romans and pre-Romans.


THE SLEEPING DRAGON

On the way back to Albufeira we passed a retail park with a large supermarket called "Continente" and we managed to buy Mature Cheddar Cheese! The block was 200g and we paid 3.09 euros. When we went back on Sunday to stock up on Cheddar cheese to keep us going for several months, the 3.09 cheese was all gone (bloody English people!) but they had Cathedral City, 200g for 3.19. So we had most of it...the sell by date is May 2010. We also managed to buy a block of Parmesan that we haven't been able to buy here (though we can get pre-grated Parmesan in packets from Intermarche and Ecomarche).

Tuesday 7 December we decided to visit the mountains near Monchique to do some walking. Again there were geocaches, and we had a map from the Guide for a walk in the area of Foia, that is the highest mountain in the Algarve. Unfortunately, as we drove up the mountain the fog and mist thickened. At some points we rose out of it, only for it to drift across again a few minutes later. Certainly no day to be out walking in an unfamiliar area on a mountain. So, we retreated to the coast, and using geocaching again we did a 7km circular walk between Lagos and Luz. Half the walk took us along the coastal path, and then it brought us slightly inland across a golf course, past ruined buildings, and then back to the coastal path. There was no fog lower down and the weather was perfect for walking.



Wednesday 8 December we decided to explore Albufeira, as we hadn't at this point, actually seen a beach in the resort we were staying in. We found the beach,a few hundred meters from our hotel, and began walking along what looked like a coastal path. And ended up walking all 4km to Albufeira Old Town where a lot of the main tourist action takes place. The Old Town is certainly worth a visit as it is very pretty. There are plenty of bars and restaurants, the tourist information centre (though it's probably the only info centre we've visited that does not have any info to give out apart from a map of the resort). Nearer to our hotel is The Strip. We wandered down The Strip a few times looking for somewhere to eat. Most of it was closed down but it wasn't hard to see that there is usually a panoply of bars/restaurants to suit every taste. Blissfully, we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. The advantage is, that though most places were shut down, those that were still open had quite good offers on. Though, having said that, we did pay a total of 22 euros for a fish, a cheese and onion pasty, 2 portions of chips, 2 portions of mushy peas, and two pints of Super Bock.



Thursday, we visited Pera, near Silves to do one of the walks in the Guide (link above). This was the Praia Grande Interpretation Trail, 5.5km. There were 3 geocaches on this route. It was a nature reserve, but really there wasn't much to see at this time of year. The section that runs along the beach was exhilarating.

Friday, we returned to the beaches of Olhos da Agua (Eyes of Water) that takes its name from the numerous fresh-water springs that bubble up both on the beach and off-shore underwater. We used geocaching to help us explore safely. Unfortunately, the tide was in to start with and we could not do the first cache. But we ventured in the opposite direction and managed to move along the coast on the coastal path. We were rewarded with more secluded beaches, fantastic views, and a structure that was built for pedestrians straddling the coastal landscape to protect it. The wooden structure was akin to something from Swiss Family Robinson. By the time we had finished in this area, the tide was going out and this enabled us to go and find the cache in the other direction. During our stay in the Algarve we have paid different prices for our Super Bock. Costs of beer - Olhos da Agua, being a tiny fishing village, was surprisingly, the most expensive with two small Sagres costing 1.50 euros each. In comparison, at the chippy, we paid 2 euros per pint for Super Bock. In Central Portugal we normally pay 60-90 cents for a Super Bock.



We visited a Chinese "eat as much as you dare" buffet place on Friday night. The meal was 9.50 euros per person, and the drinks were on top and were not extortionately priced. There was plenty of choice for meat eaters but less for those who prefer vegetarian fare.

Saturday was taking it easy day. We lazed, bathed, slept, read, watched Sky (couldn't get anything else).

All in all, a great break in a fantastic hotel at a budget price with wonderful staff and fabulous buffet breakfasts. The most we spent was on the way down there on toll roads and diesel. Apart from that the other main expense was eating out. With tips etc, the minimum we paid out was 20 euros per occasion, and the most expensive night out cost us 27.50 euros.

Christmassy Feel

It has finally started to feel like Christmas. We went to the car boot sale at the Kapingdi Bar, that at this time of year only happens on the first Sunday in the month.

We stocked up on mincemeat, dried mixed fruit, mixed spice, vegetable suet, cranberry jelly, a Christmas pud, and some mince pies. What a bounty!

As soon as we got back Jon lit the fire, as it's like a typical day in the UK today, very wet. And then in the comfort of the warm kitchen we enjoyed a mince pie each with a cup of frothy coffee. Heaven...

Caminho do Xisto de Fajão

Yesterday we visited a tiny village in the mountain range, Serra do Açor, called Fajao. There is a 4km walk from the village that we found details from at the Aldeias do Xisto website.



On the drive up into the mountains the views were, as usual, fabulous. We were above the cloud in the valleys below.

The walk on the website is described as facil (easy) but compared to the Benfeita walk that we did (that was medio - dificil) the Fajao walk was more strenuous. So, in our opinion, this should be at least medium to difficult as well.

The length of the walk is only 4km but the terrain is quite challenging in some parts, and taking it at a leisurely pace with time for picture taking and a butty stop, allow yourself 3 hours.

The weather was overcast but dry, and there was barely any wind, though as the afternoon wore on we could see the clouds beginning to brush the tops of the mountains near by. The walk would not have been as enjoyable in the mist, but the trail was fairly well waymarked so there was not much danger of getting lost. There is also a path that splits the 4km walk into two to allow a faster descent if required. The whole time we were on the mountain walk we never saw anyone else.

We recommend doing the whole 4km walk. The views are fantastic and the rock formations awesome. Jon felt that the rock was a bit too loose to do any actual rock climbing or scrambling (that we might have considered doing on another day, with all the proper equipment).

Guia de Percursos Pedestres do Algarve

Fantastic! We managed to find an English version of the Guide to walks in the Algarve (typical, we couldn't find one when we were deliberately searching and found it when we weren't looking for it). This was after our last post where we were saying how frustrating it is that we can not find English versions of booklets etc.

To download an English version, visit the site on this linky, scroll to nearly the bottom of the page, and download the pdf, but be warned, the guide is over 100 pages long. Guia de Percursos Pedestres do Algarve.

Piódão, Chas d'Egua and Foz d'Égua

On Monday 30 November we did a geocache that took us to the Parque Arqueológico de S. Bartolomeu in Meruge near to Oliveira do Hospital. (The village of Meruge holds an annual fair of pork and sausage (ie Feira do Porco e do Enchido) each November which is worth visiting if you like pork).

Near to the Parque Arqueológico de S. Bartolomeu is a monument site called Sepulturas Antropomórficas. It is believed that the whole area has been inhabited by Romans, perhaps Visigoths, Arabs or Mozarab. Their graves at the site are clearly visible, carved in the granite (one child and five adults).



Yesterday, 1 December, it rained most of the day and night. But today was fine and we were off out geocaching again. This time we headed for Piódão, that is a historic schist village in the mountains (Serra do Acor).

On the way there we stopped at the Arte Rupestre: Centro Interpretativo de Chãs d´Égua, Arganil. The centre is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Entry is free. The centre is very small and there is no information in English, but there are a couple of "finds" showing the carvings on pottery and on slate. There is also an information panel indicating where in the immediate landscape some of the artwork has been found.

We travelled further up the valley to Piódão and found an information board outside the tourist information centre outlining a circular walk around Piódão itself.


There are also slate waymarkers to nearby villages Foz d'Égua and Chas d'Egua but though we asked at the tourist information centre there were no maps available. The trouble with these walks is that the paths are not very well marked from what we can see. The original slate markers are sometimes broken or have disappeared altogether.

The best tourist information centre we have found is at Loriga. All of the others so far have not been able to provide us with the information we require, namely maps, leaflets or information about walks. Sometimes they indicate that you could try the another tourist information centre.

We are going to visit the Algarve to do some walking. The Algarve is currently about 3-5 degrees warmer than Central Portugal but cool enough for us to enjoy hiking and walking. We were chuffed when we discovered a booklet in Portugese entitled "Guia de percursos pedestres do Algarve" that looks really useful for exploring the Algarve on foot. But realistically we need it in English. On Monday we rang the tourist information centre in Albufeira (as we will be staying in that resort) and asked about the guide. No they didn't have it in English, and no they didn't have any of the Portugese versions either. They told us to try another tourist information centre. Is it us, or don't they get many English tourists on the Algarve, or maybe they just don't expect us to want to leave the beaches? It's quite disappointing that the tourist information centres are just really not equipped to help people who want to explore the country outside their car.

On the way back from Piódão we stopped at the really pretty village of Foz d'Égua. A lovely end to a lovely day out.

Loriga - Serra da Estrela

In contrast to today, Monday and Tuesday were beautiful. On Tuesday we went out geocaching in the Serra da Estrela to the town of Loriga. First we visited the turismo and managed to get loads of leaflets, some detailing walks in the area. On closer inspection some of these are circular and some are shorter linear versions tagged on to the main trails that run through the Serra da Estrela. Another booklet the lady in the centre gave us was outlining walking (and separate car) routes of the glacier valleys. These are all linear though so extra forward planning required. The lady in the tourist information centre spoke excellent English.

Next we grabbed a coffee, treated ourselves to a bottle of organic Medronho Brandy (and as it cost 22.90 euros it will be a treat!). We also bought some bread rolls and "Bon Bons" from a local bakery. The Bon Bons were like little doughnuts with a what might have been a custard filling.

Then we made our way up to where we knew there was a river beach (praia fluvial) at Loriga. We were not disappointed. The council have worked hard to make this a great place for all the family to visit and enjoy the river in it's wonderful surroundings. Today we were the only ones there and enjoyed our packed lunch in harmony with nature.



We then set off for the nearest geocache, ie Casa dos Ingleses (house of the English) or also known as "Penedo de Alvoco". It seems that the house was originally inhabited by locals (one of the inhabitants was born 1825 and died in 1900) but then the area was inhabited by English who were mining for metal in the area. One of these (by the name of James) died in November 1911 and was buried in the local cemetery. (In 1944 six English aviators were also buried in the same cemetery after crashing in the mountains).

Loriga info: It was an English military airplane; Hudson Aircraft, that had that day left Gibraltar for the United kingdom, carrying the following occupants: Captain-Robert Tavener HILDICK; Lieutenant-John BARBOUR; Lieutenant-Daniel De Waal WALTERS; Lieutenant-John Patie THOM; 1.Cabo-Jack Learoyd WALKER; 1.Cabo Henry Ernest HEDGES.

The Civil Register of Seia, registers the six deaths as having happened on 22 February of 1944. The assumption is that the plane came down in fog.

We returned to the village of Loriga and wandered along to the Roman bridge. But as it was getting late in the day we decided that further exploration (and other geocaches) would need to wait for another day.

We returned home to find a big bag of homegrown potatoes on the porch from our neighbours (recompense for the goats eating all our veggies). On Sunday they had given us one of their goat cheeses and asked if we wanted them to pay for the damaged crops. We would not accept any money, it wouldn't be right. Yesterday there were further gifts of cabbages and turnips, freshly harvested.

Weather

We think we have the "weather" sussed out now. First we check what the local forecast is (ie lower down where we are) and then we also look at the webcam for Manteigas that is tucked snugly in the middle of the mountains. If the overall forecast is reasonable and the picture of Manteigas is clear then we go for it. We could go out in most weathers but fine days are still plentiful at this time of year so we prefer to pick and choose. There's not much point travelling up the winding roads of the mountains for a view as far as the car bonnet. The other thing we have noticed is that the weather forecast predictions change almost daily. You can't rely on looking at more than the immediate day ahead.

Today, Thursday, as I write this, the webcam for Mantegias reveals mist and fog up in the mountains. The local forecast is pretty miserable too, 50% chance of precipitation and cloudy. We were intending to visit Piódão and Chas d'Egua but they are in the mountains as well, so that's not really feasible today. See webcam image of Manteigas below, taken at 08.46 this morning.



And Manteigas webcam image approximately one hour later...

Caminho do Xisto da Benfeita - Way of the Shale of the Benfeita

Friday was a perfect day for a walk. Not too hot (forecast max 14 degrees celsius) no rain, and clear. We set off from Benfeita, walked uphill for about 3 miles to a small mountain village called Sardal, and then it was mostly downhill past Fraga da Pena (waterfalls and picnic area) through Pardieros (another small mountain village) - stopping for a coffee at a local bar - and then the final leg down through a valley back to Benfeita. The walk is one of the aldeias walks, and is quite well signposted, though a few times we couldn't see the markers and plumped for what we hoped was the right way. Fortunately we were right most of the time. We did have the gpx track provided and used that to confirm our passage using our new gps. We had also calibrated in Google Earth the basic map of this walk (NB: at the time of writing the map is only obtainable at the start of the walk itself - we'd been through Benfeita a few times and took a photo of the map board). One of the real problems we have been having is there are no detailed maps apart from military maps - the price of the maps is not cheap). There are plenty of walks, it seems, but you seem to have to pay for a guide to take you out to know where most of them are. The walk we did yesterday would have cost us 25 euros each, and that didn't include lunch or travelling to the starting point.



The walk is about 10km in total, and takes you through current and abandoned agricultural landscape, past ruined schist villages, countless waterfalls, and woodland. At a leisurely pace, stopping for taking photos and having a snack, it took us about 5 hours. Apart from when we stopped for a coffee, the only people we saw were two Portugese villagers harvesting olives.

It felt such a privilege to be able to wander this area freely. It was like stepping into a secret garden on a mega scale. Almost every turn had another nook, cranny, wonderful view, gushing stream or waterfall. The floor was strewn with many different varieties of mushrooms, fallen chestnuts, walnuts, and fruit. Sometimes the path was vivid red with the fallen medronho berries from the Strawberry Tree.

3 December 2009 - Additional Note: This site has a little more information about the Benfeita walk and some information about Piodao.

Colcurinho

Yesterday we set off to do a geocache multi-cache with our new gps unit. With a new unit there are a few things you need to do, first of all it has travelled from the UK so it needs to find where it is, and then Jon had to calibrate the compass by holding the unit level, and turn round slowly in the same direction twice. No, it's not 1 April. It worked.

The multi-cache started at an amazing ruined schist village called Colcurinho. We explored the village and found the clues to the next stage. At the side of the village we noticed a footpath sign (noted to explore on another day).



Part two of the multi took us to a really pretty village called Santuário de Nossa Senhora das Preces. To enter the village you drive through gates, which feels a bit like you are trespassing. It sort of reminded us of Portmeirion, only you didn't pay to go in. We had a really lovely cup of coffee (cafe meio leite) at the cafe kiosk in the main square, 55 cents a cup. We found our cache clue which would take us to our final destination, but before we set off we visited the Botanical Garden.

The third and final part of the cache took us up, up, up and up to the top of Monte Colcurinho. On the top of the mountain is a chapel called Capela da Nossa Senhora das Necessidade. This place also has toilets, and a bar area. It was all locked up but we gather they have festas up here. The panoramic views were fantastic.

The gps performed very well, though we want to try and conserve the power a bit more to use less batteries. There are other things we want to try out with the gps, uploading existing gpx tracks for walks, and uploading the maps we aligned in Google Earth to see how accurate they are.

Today we are off to Arganil (Thursday is market day) to visit the tourist information centre mainly. We want to try and find information about the Centro Interpretativo de Chãs d´Égua, Arganil (Arte Rupestre near Piodao). We found out, when we were trying to find the walks near Colcurinho, that there are ancient cart tracks and spirals and the centre at Chas de Egua is dedicated to these.

Parcels

We have received various parcels this week. For parcels too large to fit into our post box at the top of the track, the postman leaves a card telling us to go to the post office at Galizes to collect it. Galizes is about a 10 minute drive away. Jon showed his passport as proof of identification. Very straightforward.

A parcel arrived from Barry and Lorraine, who had kindly gathered together about a dozen films for us to watch. We don't have a DVD player but they play fine on the laptop, and we have some speakers plugged in as well and it works a treat. Cuddling up on the sofa to watch a film is something of an event for us and feels special.

Another parcel arrived from Viv and Michael, with a Christmas card and wrapped presents. The card has been opened but the presents will be saved for Christmas morning.

We had our main Christmas present (to each other) early, and it arrived yesterday by Fedex. The chap from Fedex spoke only Portugese, and he was asking for Jon to sign for the package. But Jon was in the bath. So I said "banho" and did an impression of Jon scrubbing himself off in the bath. I think the chappie knew what I meant as he let me sign for the package and beat a rather hasty retreat.

Our present to each other this year is a new GPS. We broke the old Garmin Legend the other day, and though Jon rigged the pocket computer/satnav to act as a handheld GPS, it just wasn't the same sitting in the palm of your hand. Our Garmin Legend owed us nothing and, because we used it so much, we decided to treat ourselves to a new model. Our new GPS is a Garmin Oregon 300 and, by all accounts, it's fab.

Mapping (to Ordinance Survey standards) is something we are having a problem with over here. Jon recently discovered that with our new GPS we should be able to upload maps to it that we have calibrated in Google Earth. It's all very experimental at the moment, but if it works it will be a boon.

This morning there is a mist hanging over the valley, but it's early at the moment (0800) so hopefully the sun will burn that off by mid morning. Yesterday was warm and sunny, but the previous two days were wet but mild.

We also experienced our second thunderstorm. It came over us so fast we barely had time to unplug everything, including the telephone, when there was an enormous clap of thunder right overhead and the electricity went off.

This time we were armed with torches. Twig was inside safe and sound, though obviously terrified. Jon sorted the electrics, it was just a trip of the switches. After that the storm moved off very quickly, thank goodness.

Olive Harvest

The past few weeks has been olive harvesting time.

Some folk may take their harvest to a local village where the olives will be pressed en masse. Or if you have enough to do a single press that is another option if for example yours are organic and do not get mixed with the communal lot that may not be organic. An olive mill is called a Lagar de Azeite.

For those olives pressed communally the harvest you take in is weighed beforehand and then you get a proportion of the olive oil that is produced. Apparently the mills only open for a limited amount of time each year so it's quite important to get in early.

The Expats Portugal forum has more information.

Pruning also takes place at this time of year. Pruning olive trees is something of an acquired skill apparently.

The Mountain Village of Balocas

Yesterday we had a lovely day out. We did two geocaches, that took us up into the mountain village of Balocas in the Serra do Acor. Up in the mountains it felt a bit like a summer's day in the Lake District, ie damp, misty, but with astoundingly beautiful scenery. We had left glorious sunshine back down in the valley.

The mist was slowly beginning to clear as the day went on and the views improved. We snacked at the picnic site at Balocas that had wonderful views of the valley below.


The first cache was to a waterfall that was quite a way off the beaten path. The second cache took us up to a building that the forestry commission use as a look out point for forest fires etc.

As usual we had the place entirely to ourselves.

When we arrived home we found, to our dismay, the goats and sheep had been in the garden again and this time they left us with very little. The herd ate all the lettuce, cabbages, broccoli, most of the pepper plants and even the tomatoes. We are quite annoyed about it. However, because we don't own the place we will not be spending money on goat-proofing the garden, so for this trip out here there will be no more vegetable growing. When we come to buy a place we will make sure there are no goats for neighbours or there will probably be, almost definitely, murder committed.

They left the beetroot though! Maybe so they can come back for it another day!

Just found a site and here are some ideas on how to cook goat: succulent chanfana (goat stew in wine sauce) or the equally appreciated maranhos (pluck of goat with rice), roast kid...

Sra Da Piedade - Fairytale Place

Today and yesterday the weather has perked up a bit, though it's still pretty overcast. Yesterday we had a trip to Lousa, which takes just over an hour. The plan was to find the information centre, get maps and guides for the walks that we have seen on the Lousa tourist information site and do two geocaches.

Lousa is quite a large place though not too scary to drive around. We parked easily enough for free. Tuesday is supposed to be a market day, as well as Saturday, but there was no market that we could see and we arrived at 11am.

We wandered the town, looking for the information centre, and marvelled at some of the very old beautiful buildings. But after a while we still couldn't find the information centre. The girl on the reception in the library gave us a map of the town and pointed us in the right direction. Lots of times when you say obrigada, thanking them for their help, they seem embarrassed and say Nao, nada (no, it's nothing), but it is to us!

So we wandered further afield and found the information centre tucked on the outskirts of town (handy!) and looked around the eco museum. We were the only people there. The chap in the info centre spoke very good English, but when we asked for walking maps, guides etc, he couldn't really help us that much. He did give us some leaflets and a basic map, but not really what we needed.

We went back to the car and set off up into the mountains to do our geocaches. Our printer that we brought is currently out of ink (waiting for an order from UK to arrive). Therefore, we were struggling a little to manage without the full geocache information. The parking co-ordinates kept depositing us at the viewpoint (miradouro) above the village we were trying to reach by road. Our satnav was telling us that it had arrived at its destination. What is actually the case, and we have had this twice now, is that you are at the co-ordinates but not at the right altitude. Looking down into the valley below we could see roads to Sra Da Piedade, and that was indeed where we were supposed to park, but we didn't have good enough maps showing us how to reach it.

Still, we were both up for a walk and had sturdy footwear on, so we ventured down a path at the side of the viewpoint, past fallen trees and all. We explored the castle and then set off to find the cache. But we went the wrong way, or, tried to go the hard way! After fording a stream, and then trying to climb slimy rocks at the side of the waterfalls (all in a day's outing for us usually), we realised that we would have to go back across the waterfalls further up. So back down the waterfall, over the stream, then back up to the castle to find the way to the mountain shrine.

To say this place is beautiful is an understatement. It's like being in a fairytale. We had the place to ourselves, but in summer this is probably bursting at the seams with people.



Hot and exhausted from our exploring of Lousa and the village, and knowing we have to climb the hill back to the car, we decided against the second geocache that would involve at least another hour and half walk.

On our way back home we stopped off at Arganil and ventured into the information centre there. We asked the girl, who spoke excellent English, for walking maps and guides in the locality. Again, she could not really help us, though the council is putting walks in place there is no supporting literature at this time. Maybe next year we will have more luck.

Patties

We bought two empadinhas today from Intermarche (1.10 euros each). We wondered if this was what we know fondly as a pasty. "Empadinha" isn't in our Portugese dictionary, and the nearest we could find to the word pasty is pie (or empadao).

Apparently Brazilians have a snack known as an empada or empadinha (little empada).

Anyway, they were delicious and the outer case was not pastry, or bread either, so we would probably describe them as a "patty".

We also did two geocaches while we were out. The one was in a village called Esculca (pron Shkulka) and this gave us fabulous views from a viewpoint (miradoura). We travelled further up the mountain to the Voo Livre (Flight Free), where paragliders launch themselves off the mountain top. On a clear day the views would be fabulous. Even on a dark miserable day today the views were pretty impressive.

The second cache was at a small chapel with ornate stonework.

Roasting Yer Nuts

The past two days we lit the Rayburn and Jon is becoming more accomplished in the task of lighting the fire and getting it to heat the house. Though, it has to be said, he's becoming a bit too adept! To say we were warm is an understatement. Even the cat needed to get out into fresh air as we were all sweating buckets! The extra blankets on the bed were certainly not required, in fact we opened the windows to let some cool air in. The temperature gauge on the Rayburn goes up to 300 degrees Celsius (max) - not sure what happens once it goes above that!

Some of the logs are mimosa and these (being dry and seasoned) burn very well. Jon has found that three or four of the logs will keep the Rayburn going all day, rather than the split logs, that burn faster. The logs kept whole, also seem to generate more heat once they have caught.

Jon made a delicious wintery chestnut soup, though it was a fiddly job shelling and skinning the chestnuts.

I made a bean bake and allowed it to slow cook in the Rayburn.

Autumn has arrived

There's a definite autumnal feel and we have just lit the Rayburn (1500 hours). We are fortunate that there is already a woodpile awaiting our use. We have measured the existing woodpile with the landlady, and agreed that there are 7.5 cubic square meters of wood stacked. At the end of our rental we'll gauge how much we have used. The going rate at the moment per cubic square metre is 35 euros. All of this is forming part of our research on the cost of living over here.

The radiators are all toasty and there's an extra cover on the bed just in case we get chilly tonight. As the clocks went back on 31 October, the nights are drawing in and by 1800 hours it's properly dark outside.

The temperature fluctuates throughout the day with the changing weather. One minute it's raining and feels like it's about 11 degrees Celsius, and the next the sun is shining and it feels rather nearer to 16 degrees Celsius. However, the dark wet spells are getting more prolonged, and the forecast for the next few days doesn't seem to change much. So maybe this is it. Autumn has arrived.

While we were out shopping a little while ago (Lidl) the Serra da Estrela was cloaked with dark clouds. Wouldn't fancy being up there right now. Our bill at the supermarket came to 33.33 euros. That made us smile as these little things serve as reminders of home, Treble Three (333) being the name of the support group for the Ogwen Valley Rescue Team that we are members of. With the memory you can't but help think of your friends back there in Wales, also with fantastic views of the mountains from their homes, and all the great adventures we have had over the past few years as part of the support team, walking, scrambling, raft racing, potholing, bonfire and Christmas parties at Base, the list goes on. If they were here now we would probably be trying to drink Portugal dry of red wine!

There's something really special about lighting a fire and feeling the warmth permeate. And it's funny how Jon, being a retired firefighter, makes a great firestarter.

Walk "Pardieros" Serra do Acor

Yesterday the weather forecast for Arganil was 0% precipitation, overcast, max 15 degrees, and that meant to us that it would probably be a great day for walking. Up until now it's been too hot for us!

However, the valley we were walking through was in the Serra do Acor and had its own microclimate, so it did rain, for a short while (as Peter Kay would say, it was that fine rain that really wets you).

But what a lovely walk it was. The paths were probably formed by the agricultural workers who used to live up in the valley in the schist cottages that are now mostly ruins. And more recently, Arganil council has done remedial work, building slate stairways etc, to enhance the route.

The walk was medium/difficult rating and this was because of a steep stretch about half way along. Without proper maps we did manage to stray off the route because of some confusion with the signage, and after about 15 minutes we turned back. Our detour though took us along another track that is part of the Aldeias do xisto trails, and from the little we saw it merits further investigation and seems well signposted.

Overall the walk was approximately 4.5 km and taking off 30 mins for going the wrong way, took us a leisurely 2 hours (incl photos and nosing about).



There are another 3 walks in the vicinity, with Mata da Margaraça being the place to get a leaflet for information (walks of different levels of difficulty and length). We hope, in time, to link the different walks together so we have a longer day out. We tracked the walk using our gps and hopefully will be able to upload the route for future reference.

Christmas

Well, we have sorted out all our Christmas cards and sent them off by Air Mail (Via Aerer). The last few went off today. Bit premature maybe, but seeing as it took 3 weeks for Jon's mom to receive her birthday card we thought we'd rather be safe than sorry. And also, with the UK postal strike it would be just our luck for them to languish in a sorting office for an extra few weeks.

Below is a photo of all the cards we have made. Most of them are now winging their way to the United Kingdom.

We hope you like them.

Woodland Walk

We visited a place called Mata da Margaraça, in the Serra do Açor today, to do a geocache. The place was was another geocaching gem.

We managed to find an English written book in the information centre on fauna and flora of the Serra da Estrela mountain range. We had a quick walk down to the river, collecting sweet chestnuts from the ground as we went. We also managed to get a booklet from the information centre indicating 5 other short walks in the local area, and we are looking forward to attempting these.

Another glorious day, still too hot for us to do any serious walking.

On the way back home we made a diversion to Arganil to do a little bit of shopping at Intermarche. We are now equipped with one of their loyalty cards that enables you to get some items at a lower price, as well as collecting points to spend on electrical equipment.

En route we stopped at the Mendes Bar at Secarias. Jon was feeling ravenous, and brave enough to face the prospect of trying to order some food in a Portugese establishment.

In the end we enjoyed a three course meal, with wine and coffee, all for the princely sum of 5.50 euros each! Amazing. We were convinced they'd undercharged us but they were insistent!

Can't believe it's Thursday again, the weeks go so fast!

Roman Ruins near Condeixa

Yesterday we visited a Museum called "Museu Monografico e Ruinas de Conimbriga" near Condeixa. We paid 4 euros each entrance fee. The museum has a restaurant, picnic area, as well as the internal and external exhibitions. We spent ages inside looking at the artifacts that have been found on site - the information boards were also in English so that was really helpful. Then we entered the external part of the site. We were in awe from the onset.

What remains of the original Roman road, complete with wheel ruts, is one of the first things you see.

There are mosaic floors in abundance. These are remnants of the houses belonging to aristocratic families, so we felt highly privileged. We can just imagine some pompous Roman giving us the glare for roaming around his abode! Each mosaic was of a different design and though some reconstruction had taken place it was very sympathetically done. We took LOADS of pictures, and this linky will take you to these if you are interested.

Inside the museum one of the rooms was lent to the reconstruction of an inner courtyard that helped us visualise how the originals may have appeared.

The House of Cantaber is the largest dwelling found in the city and is one of the most spacious ever discovered. Bedrooms are designed around the open court. There is also in this dwelling a refined heating system, a private bathing compound, decorated pools and gardens. Wonder if he fiddled his expenses.

It was another very warm day, perfect for a wander about the museum, except for the most bothersome flies! Still, we could gain some satisfaction from imagining Cantaber the Rich in his luxurious abode being hassled by flies, unless he had a slave fanning him.

All in all we must have spent 3 hours exploring and would thoroughly recommend it as a day out to anyone interested in history etc.

The drive to and from Condeixa was beautiful as we travelled from one valley into another. On the way back we witnessed a beautiful sunset and managed to take a couple of photos, one of which is below.

Pictures

We're experiencing a few technical problems with the blog. Our pictures suddenly don't appear and the number of followers. Trying to sort it out.

Castles in the Air

The past few days have been overcast but very humid. Today we are back to glorious sunshine again. The clocks went back on Saturday night, like in the UK, and this will mean that by 6.15ish it is dark. We awoke to find the valley in mist, but by 10ish this morning it had already almost disappeared. However, we drove up and out of the valley and could see it was still lingering in some areas. In fact, as we drove up towards Lourosa, we could see the mountains standing proud of the lower cloud forming a temperature inversion. What a great way to start a trip to Lidl!



Our mission today was to get an electric blanket from Lidl. It only took one properly cold night, a week or two back, for us to decide that we would get one when Lidl stocked them this week. Hopefully, we won't need it for a while yet, but it's there just in case. Mind you, there's something a bit special about getting into a cold bed and snuggling close to your loved one.

After our shopping trip we went to Avo. We first visited Avo in June 2008 when we spent a fortnight in a yurt near Tabua. The place looked different this time with the autumnal colours, and the water in the bathing pools had been drained. This time we also ventured to find the castle. On the way up we spotted a man harvesting watercress from the stream. The final climb to the castle was up through a narrow passage between the houses that felt quite mediaeval. We wondered, would it only be in Portugal that last week's washing finds itself on display outside a historical monument? These are earthy folk, seeming to have little or no pretension. Our fondness keeps on growing.



Views from the castle were wonderful. What our pictures don't encapsulate is the peacefulness of the place with the smell of woodsmoke hanging in the air, the distant crowing of cockerels, jangling goat bells, birdsong, and the hiss of the rivers converging below.

Going Ape

The past two days have been pretty wet, with prolonged spells of heavy rain. But today the sun has reappeared and it feels more like being in the UK in the summer, dampish, fresh, green, and not too hot. In fact, judging from the satellite images we are experiencing the same weather front currently being enjoyed in the UK, so the temperatures are pretty much on a par.

We stayed inside during the wet spell, ensconced in "Jon and Suze's Wandering Wammal Card Emporium" (see our logo on the bottom right), where we spent hours making Christmas and birthday cards. We need to try and get them finished as quickly as possible so that we can get them posted, as with the Royal Mail strike starting today, they may take a while to arrive in the UK at their final destinations.

We realise that these cards may be the only way of wishing our close loved ones a happy Christmas apart from a phone or Skype call, and though our cards aren't exactly the most professional looking, they are definitely unique!

We ventured out today to do more geocaching. It was good to be out. After the rain the smell of the pine and eucalyptus is lovely (though eucalypti are not admired by eco-warriors or firefighters as they are very thirsty trees and something of a fire hazard). Strands of eucalyptus bark were strewn on the lanes, so we collected some for kindling purposes.

The Rayburn has provided us enough heat to produce a meal, though we had to keep it stoked up for a good hour to ensure it stayed at 200 degrees Celsius, for the duration of cooking. Jon had made naan bread and oven baked onion bhajis, and that was accompanied by vegetable curry, homemade mint/cucumber raita, and minted onion. Pefection!

So, with all that feasting, we felt obliged to try and burn off a few calories by doing 3 geocaches. The first one was at an abandoned "pousada" or inn. It was strange because the hotel seemed in perfect condition, and there was a swimming pool as well, now lying redundant. From the cache site were amazing views of the mountains and the valley. The second cache was at Sandomil. Here there is a Roman bridge and what passes as a Portugese "Go Ape" obstacle course in the trees. Also, a small climbing wall. Today the place was damp and in recovery from the rain, but the weir was impressive. The third and final cache was at S.Giao. There is a campsite nearby, but our destination was for the praia fluvial (river beach). We were the only people around, but in summer the place will be thronging. The cache took us along the river for a short way, and there was funghi everywhere (we couldn't identify anything apart from Fly Agaric, so definitely nothing to eat for tea!) The walk along the river reminded us of Wales with the raging river and beautiful woodland path.

Warm Glow

On Sunday we welcomed some friends over for a barbecue and it was a great evening. The nights after a hot day soon turn chilly after dark now, though it is counteracted by the fact that we can see the stars in all their glory. Complete darkness falls about 7.30pm at the moment. So, to make the most of the sunny day, we started the barbecue at 4.30pm, and it was just perfect. On the menu were meat kebabs, vegetable kebabs, sardines, hamburgers, Linda McCartney vege-sausages, pork chops, various salads, sauces and mustard, and the obligatory bread rolls. Swilled down with white and red wines, Sagres and Superbock, and Coca Cola for the younger ones.

We dressed the table with what we thought were candles and lanterns in red casings, that we thought would give a lovely warm glow, and at the same time get rid of any pesky mozzies. But our guests, who are more Portugal-wise than us, explained that these candles are used for memorial shrines! There is one way we would like to redeem ourselves though. Whenever we light these candles we will spend a few moments remembering those we have loved and lost; relatives, friends, and pets.

Balmy and Barmy

One of the things we are still adapting to is the totally laid back attitude in Portugal.

We've tried twice this week to get some credits on our mobile phones. The only place in Coja to get a top up is a small cafe/bar. It's the place we bought our sim cards from originally. Unfortunately, nowadays we never seem to turn up when the place is open. There is a sign on the door that indicates they will NOT be open on specific dates. Yet when we turn up on the dates not specified, at the opening times on the door, the place is still shut. We need to find somewhere else to top up, and it may be in a different town. Luckily we do have the Skype account so we can still text, but the phone is handy for making local calls.

Who is the boss in this house? Well, we like to think we take it in turns :-) but actually, we now realise that Twig is the boss. Jon is now outside on the balcony reading a book. When he went out he made straight for the camping chair, while Dame Twig is curled up on the comfy chair with the sun on her fur! I remarked that Jon should be on the comfy chair and said to chuck Twig off, then I realised that yesterday, when I was sitting on the balcony, doing a spot of Portugese on the Linkword, I settled in the camping chair while the fluffball snoozed! Mind you, she soon got fed up of hearing me pronouncing Portugese really badly and went off to find somewhere more peaceful.

The weather is, apparently, very warm for this time of year. On Sunday it was 32 degrees! We're not complaining though. We threw in some coriander seeds a few weeks ago to see what happened, and it's now tall enough to start eating. The first frosts are usually December we think. We're also having a barbecue this Sunday coming if the weather holds.

Viewing Experiences - Episode 1

Viewing properties has been a bit of a surprise to us.

Here is a summary of what we have found so far. We won’t mention specific agencies. Some of the occurrences may be unique to an agency, or may refer to more than one. But as we have only used 4 agencies so far, we are still “getting the hang of it”.

• Websites giving vague information about a property, this could be the price, the size of the rooms, the whereabouts of the property.
• One agent told us that they didn’t measure rooms as this was too much work.
• From what we can gather, owners decide on how much they want to sell for, not like in the UK where we are told what it’s likely worth is. We were told by one agent that owners sometimes will not decide on a price until they know who the client is, so that they can ask for more if they think they will get it.
• None of the agents has said they will keep us posted of properties they think will fit our needs.
• One agent advised us to keep checking their website as in a few weeks time they will have seen other people by then… (they don’t seem to operate the same as in the UK where they have you on a mailing list).
• No printed particulars. Only one agent said they would print out particulars of properties we had viewed, for our own information. And then they forgot. As we have internet access we didn’t chase this up, but it’s something to be aware of.
• One website we contacted that we thought was an estate agent is actually a property portal, ie advertising website. If they don't have an AMI number they are not licensed estate agents. To be fair, these sites do advise for you to make sure you use registered estate agents. Registered estate agents have to check that certain things are in order before they post the property for sale, eg habitation licence if required. One agent looked at his "pending" file and told us that there were a couple of places we might be interested in but as he was waiting for confirmation of certain paperwork he could not show us these.
  
• One website uses photographs supplied by the sellers of the properties – that might explain why some of the pics are a bit odd, eg picture of the patio with the family dog squatting in the background and week’s washing on line.
• It’s good practice to be shown properties that an agent thinks will suit you perfectly, but on one occasion we were shown one property we didn’t ask to see, and ran out of time to see the one we HAD asked to see. The one chosen by the agent on this occasion did not suit us. We haven’t arranged to go back again to see the one missed out.
• Viewing a property that the estate agent hasn’t seen in its entirety – there seems to be a problem with access to some properties. Don’t be surprised if your agent has never been inside the place they are showing you. Owners are often foreign, English, Dutch, German, Belgian. Quite often they have “gone home” without leaving a key.
• Houses described as renovation, are sometimes no more than a ruin because they are so dilapidated.
• Project plans for a part renovation that expired 12 months ago. This would mean we might have to go through the whole planning application again, including costs.
• Part renovationed properties that indicate the current owner probably hasn’t actually thought it through! House flow no longer works.
• Viewing all day without so much of the offer of a glass of water – we have now had a cup of tea at one house we viewed. Mind you, the one estate agent treated us to a two course meal, complete with wine and coffee at one of his favourite restaurants. That was rather nice!
  
• One worrying thing is that when we contact an agent a week in advance to make a booking, to suit them and the owner of the property, we turn up on the appointed day at the appointed time, and the owner of the property is out, because the agent has not contacted them beforehand. They are now frantically trying to contact them while you wait in their office/back of car.

THINGS THE PICTURES DO NOT SHOW

• Access roads at 45 degree angles
• Access roads that are barely passable without a four wheel drive vehicle.
• Neighbours (Portugese) glaring at the person selling the property. Can you hear the alarm bells jangling!
  
• Attic space – Roof truss not attached to the load bearing part of the roof! Get us outta here!
• Attic space with sawdust on floor, means the beams may be being eaten by something?
• Water rights - one lovely place we saw had 2 wells. One of the neighbours had been given permission to use 1 well for irrigating his land. That could be a problem if you will need that water yourself. We were told that we could put in a borehole, if we needed more water - this would cost approx 5,000 euros!
• Bear in mind other verbal agreements, such as grazing rights. If we want to use our new piece of land to grow vegetables to be self sufficient, but the neighbour who has previously been given permission to graze his sheep on the land is now told he is not allowed, he won't be happy. In fact, you may need to check that the previous agreement does not still stand?
  

TIPS

• Go armed with cold drinks and snacks.
• Go to the toilet before you set off as there is no guarantee some of the properties have a toilet. In fact, there is no guarantee you will actually see inside a property if the owner is out or a key not available.
  
• Take GPS reading, you can Google map it later.
• Take a compass reading, and bear in mind where the sun will be in the morning, midday, and evening. Think about your lifestyle, do you want to sit out in the evening and watch the sunsets?
• Wear long trousers and sensible shoes if you are looking at a Quinta, or piece of land.
• Take a camera.

POSITIVES

• Use each trip to explore the area. Usually the estate agent is driving, and giving you the perfect chance to soak up the scenery and spot places of interest.
• Look at what has been done with renovations etc to give yourself ideas.
• Use it as an opportunity to pick up snippets of information, both from the owners of the property and the estate agent.
• Enjoy the experience. Usually, the sun is shining. Chill out and relax, and accept that no one is in a rush.

A Drive through the Mountains

The weather has turned more inclement over the past few days but it rains mainly during the night. That gives us a nice break from watering the veggie patch. The peppers and tomatoes are actually flowering again! Jon has spotted that the figs have finally ripened off so we will be trying to harvest those. About a week ago we noticed the locals picking the wine grapes.

We went for a drive today, first we skirted the mountain range, Serra da Estrela, passing through parts of a river valley we have never seen. The rain has given everything a new green tinge, and autumn is only barely starting judging by the colours of the trees.

We drove over to Covilha, not because we have heard it's a lovely place to visit but, in the words of Wainwright, it makes the journey all the more rewarding to have a destination in mind...

Covilha was a bit big and a bit busy for our liking. There was a shopping mall! And a McDonalds! We avoided all that and found a lovely park with fountains and swans to eat our picnic in peace. There were black swans with bright red beaks (see pic).

Then we drove up through the Serra da Estrela, making a visit to the Torre, with its redundant observatories. The Torre was a bit of an anticlimax really, as there were no views to be had, and a few shops selling tat for tourists. Here are the ski tows too, and judging from what we saw, it would suit beginner to middle grade skiing.

We enjoyed the rest of the drive through the mountains, soaking up the landscape. Apart from about 3 other cars we had the place to ourselves. The clouds were quite low, and one moment we were in glorious sunshine and the next in pea-soup mist. Good job Jon was driving!

More information about the Serra da Estrela can be found at the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serra_da_Estrela

Meeting People

Saturday night we went to a new bar that was being opened by an English fellow called Charlie. We only knew a few people and they introduced us to other folk. Everyone agrees that it is quite hard for English people to earn money in this country, especially if you do not speak Portugese. It's extremely useful networking with other expats as they are usually trying to eke a living by some means or another that you may want to make use of one day. For instance, Kathy runs a book exchange, her husband is a builder, and another gentleman is where we buy our Linda McCartney sausages from the car boot sale. He also has a shop that you can visit at certain times of the week.

We do intend to try and integrate with the Portugese people as time goes by, and our Portugese actually improves. Though Jon did utter his first word to our Portugese goatherd neighbours, ie "cabras" (goats). First a couple of goats found their way into our garden and snaffled a few broccoli and cabbage plants that were just recovering from the previous onslaught, and then the whole herd managed to find its way onto the goatherd's vegetable crops. Honestly, we didn't lead them there, they just made a beeline!

Anyway, Jon tromped down the track to the house and indicated the cabras were munching. At this point there was half an hour of stick waving at goats and shouting.

Today, being a Bank Holiday Monday, we have had a spot of rain. The rain fizzled out around 0930 hours, and it is overcast now with sunny intervals. It's very warm still, though that could just be due to the fact we have had a cookathon. We have baked bread using wholemeal flour from the mill down the track, we have also made vegetarian cranberry and brie tart, and a tomato tart with pesto and parmesan.

For dinner Jon rustled up a meal he saw on "Daily Cook Challenge" of goat's cheese baked with a bread crust, sprinkled with sesame seeds and we ate it with cooked beetroot and salad. Delicious...

Inquisitiveness

Starting to live in a foreign country feels a bit like being one of the central characters in a role playing game. Inquisitiveness is often rewarded by answers, but not always immediately.

Suze fancied getting some marmalade. But for a country that is swimming with fruit trees, and has regions growing oranges galore, we couldn't see any marmalade for sale. Until Jon spotted "Marmelada" in Lidl, and we thought we had cracked it. Okay, the product was being sold in a plastic oblong tray, no problem. But when we opened it up the texture was more like a paste, and it didn't taste like oranges, though it was sweet and not unpleasant. Strangest marmalade we had ever eaten.

We have to collect our post from the post box that is 300m up the track, where all the other post boxes for this quinta are located. On the way there, Jon spotted a fruit tree bearing something that looks like apples. We took one to inspect more closely, under the knife. Okay, we scrumped it from the neighbours.

Inside, the fruit was different to an apple as it had no central core though it did have one or two pips. It wasn't ripe just yet either, so we didn't fancy having a taste.

In the post box we get junk mail. Some from our redirected mail in the UK, and some of it more local. We don't actually mind, as we are saving it up for when we need to start lighting the Rayburn. Our favourite junk mail are the supermarket flyers (eg Intermarche, Ecomarche) that come in full colour, with pages about the size of The Guardian. Not only do they tell you what offers are coming to the supermarkets soon, they have beautiful pictures of the goods in question with their name.

So, imagine our childish delight when we positively identified the mystery scrumped fruit as a "Marmelo". A quick Google and we learned that the marmelo is what we know as quince.

The end of this little story is when we were out with an estate agent. He was a lovely chatty fellow with very good English. Somehow we found ourselves discussing marmelos, and Humberto began telling us how they are used. A kilo of chopped marmelo to a kilo of sugar, cooked until tender, becomes a pulp.

He must have thought we were both odd as we suddenly became very animated and explained that the Marmelada we had bought, must be made from the marmelo and not oranges. Humberto nodded at us, yes, marmelada is made from marmelo.

Closer inspection of the tub of marmelada this morning, and the key ingredient is "polpa do marmelo". Obvious, now that we know!

We haven't given up on the marmalade hunt yet. That's another thing we have learned in the last four weeks, the supermarkets complement one another very well. Between them they sell most things that we could wish for. Intermarche, Ecomarche and Mini Preco have a more extensive range, and now we have located the stores we are far more successful on our shopping trips. And if we can't find marmalade, or even if we can, we might just make our own marmalades, lemon, lime, orange...

Alas Twig and Griffiths

Jon and Twig having a heart to heart about mousing responsibilities.

Linguas de gato

The other day we bought what we thought were salty snack biscuits, from the snacky biscuit section in Lidl. They are called Linguas de gato.

We were disappointed to find that they weren't salty snacky at all, but they are sweet, and not really to our liking.

And then we realised that "gato" means "cat"! So, we thought we had bought cat biscuits.

Twig, the resident mouser, wasn't tempted when we put one near her as she rested from a tough day doing nothing.

I looked in the dictionary and "Linguas" means tongue. They are sort of shaped like small cat's tongues, and must be a popular Portugese snack.

Anyway, none the wiser, we will make a cheesecake tomorrow and use these strange sweet biscuits for the base.

I just googled Linguas de gato and found this blog:
http://missmishmash.blogspot.com/2008/02/linguas-de-gato.html

Olive Mill and River Beaches

Sunday we spent all day viewing 3 very different properties. The beauty of it was that we had to travel an hour or so north of where we are living, so it was all a bit of an adventure. The terrain was quite different, with boulder strewn hillsides and then valleys and hills affording agricultural land.

All 3 properties were in different states of renovation. The most amazing was the old olive mill, it was like stepping back a hundred years, all the equipment was still inside, the walls were 3 foot thick granite, and the floor was solid blocks of granite. Part of the outer walls looked like something from a Norman church as the precision of the stonework was superb. The views from this property were also magnificent. The estate agent wandered around the old mill with us, and he was as awestruck as we were. It felt like a real privilege to be there. Could we buy this place? Well, it was affordable but would need a lot of money spending on it, there would also be architect fees, planning permission, habitation licence to apply for, as well as the actual work itself. And I don't know if Jon and I would be able to gut the place as it would feel sacriligious.


Today we were out geocaching. We found two wonderful river beaches on the River Alva. They are clearly popular places for locals, but today there were just the two of us. It was so peaceful. The photo shows the sulphorous thermal well at Caldas de S. Paulo. We were keen on having a dip but the sides were sheer, and it looked very, very deep (scary).

The more we see of this region the more we love it. Even a drive to the nearest Lidl rewards us with magnificent views of the mountains that form the Serra da Estrela.