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.