Full moon in Santa Luzia

 Sunday 25/07/21

I'm afraid if you follow our blog you are going to be subjected to masses of photographs of horses, cork trees and serene landscapes for the next few weeks but we just can't get enough of it.

Spot the early morning runner in the distance! 

We cycled to the weekly market at Colos yesterday (16km round trip) and managed to get some more ammunition against the mosquitos and ants so things are going better on that front.  We also bought some lovely bread (you get it from a van around here, not the shops) and fruit.

We have been treated to a wonderful full moon recently. 

I am making some headway getting decent pics of the local birds but nothing worthy of sharing yet but I did manage to sneak up on one of the resident turtles.

Settling into a routine in Santa Luzia

 Thursday 22/07/21

We've settled into a lovely routine very quickly.  Life seems to slow down here - sort of.  

We try to be active in the cool mornings, up at 0600 as the sun comes up and then jog/cycle, yoga and a bit of gardening before the day heats up too much.  At around 1100 we head indoors and Toni cooks lunch while I faff about, and we then spend most of the afternoon in the cool indoors.  We usually get a convection wind in the afternoon which helps cool things down as the sun settles down.

The sunrise and sunsets are amazing here

We're keeping busy so far and have started exploring on our bikes - we're hoping we don't need to get Bokkie in and out too often.  We have even been shopping at the tiny shops in the local village, no English spoken so we managed in pidgin-Portuguese.  The farm shop sells the most amazing locally cured black-pork sausages which the area is renowned for.  We'll definitely be back for more.

Sunrise in the cork-oak forest

Misty morning - the horses enjoying the cooler mornings

The common sight of cork-oaks with the bark stripped

The property is completely self-sufficient: solar powered, borehole water and mobile broadband so none of the usual links to the outside world. No-one comes onto the property unless invited - no meter readers, refuse collectors or postmen.  It is really unbelievably quiet apart from the occasional rumble of a train in the distance or some distant road noise.  Strangely, if the wind blows in the right direction you can sometimes hear church bells as though they are next door. We are also often treated to the melodic clanking of the sheep and cattle bells as the grazing animals move past on the neighbouring farm.

Galante

Branco and Silke

Chameur and Puppi

The birds are quite noisy and active in the morning and I have made it my mission to get some pic's but they are proving to be quite elusive thus far.  Must try harder! The only downside to living here at the moment are the insects.  Between the flies and ants in the day and the mosquitos at night we are being kept on our toes to keep them at bay.  All in all, however, we are having a fantastic time here.

Our worst nightmare in Bokkie, narrow gates and a steep driveway - 
We always do a lot of research to make sure we can get in but this is a bit tight

Santa Luzia

 Saturday 17/07/21

We left Garvao on Thursday morning to try and find somewhere cooler to spend the day as we were only due at the house in the afternoon.  The forecast was for another scorcher so we headed to a nearby lake as there was some shade to shelter in.

Monte de Roche lake

The forecast was right and we nearly melted, swapping between Bokkie's interior and outside, under the trees when we got a bit claustrophobic.  The wind was very warm but, as long as we stuck to the shade, it was bearable. 

It was soon time for us to head off to the sit, an easy enough drive apart from the long farm driveway and entrance gate.  Bokkie managed but it was touch-and-go, always one of our biggest risks, even though we always check with owners to make sure access is ok.

The village of Santa Luzia in the distance

We've had the handover of the house and horses and have settled in quite well.  The heat is promising to break after today, at least for the next week.  The area is quite stunning, very similar to South Africa in terms of the climate, smells, plants and general appearance.  

Silke, Charmeur, Puppi, Branco & Galante

The horses are very friendly which is great (they are all rescue horses, so are just 'walking lawnmowers' and not to be ridden),  and they should be very little trouble as they are permanently outdoors and fairly self-sufficient.  

The house is a typical Portuguese white house (with blue trim), very basic inside but with lovely tilework in the bathroom and kitchen. Our room is actually separate from the main house, which is lovely.  The house is also quite remote, we can see one neighbour and the village in the distance but it is very quiet.

We're looking forward to our time here!

Bonus pic:

We told the horses we were in charge for the next six weeks and got the predictable response...

We don't speak Portuguese or 'horse' but we're sure we got some abuse as well as laughter

Garvao

 Wednesday 14/07/21

We had a good night's sleep in Evora in spite of motorhomes continuing to arrive late into the night. 

We left quite early to try and find a sheltered spot for the day. We didn't have too far to drive so were looking for a shady spot to hide Bokkie for the day.  We tried an aire near a lake but a combination of flies, a bad smell and dodgy campers nearby, as well as a lack of shade, forced us to move on.

Every available pole in the area has a stork nest on it

We're in a small parking area in Garvao, close to the house sit, and have been following the shade around the area trying to keep Bokkie as cool as possible. In spite of our best efforts the temperature inside Bokkie peaked at 33.5C and, at 20:00 is still hovering over 30C; it is quite draining.

Garvao is a pretty agricultural village

You can just make out Bokkie hiding under a tree in the centre of the photo

We'll spend most of the day here tomorrow as we are only due at the sit in the early afternoon so probably won't blog for a few days.  We're looking forward to seeing the house and meeting the owner (and horses that we will be looking after).

Back in Evora

 Tuesday 13/07/21

Every time we return to Portugal we wonder if we'll like it as much as we did last time and every time, we do!  We don't what it is, when you cross the border from Spain very little seems to change yet every time, we feel a strange feeling of coming home. We really love it here.

Some old street art

And some new - outside the library

We had a walk around Badajoz this morning; it was very quiet and, as the old city streets are so narrow, it is also difficult to get a feel for the place (or any good photos).  We walked back over the river and had a coffee overlooking the river watching the city come back to life.  We then got chatting to another Brit in the aire who was on his way back to France so we swapped travel stories before we headed off.  We topped up Bokkie's diesel tank as the fuel is significantly cheaper in Spain and managed to get it at less than a pound per litre.

We were in Portugal so quickly we didn't even have time to photograph the welcome sign, and popped into nearby Elvas for some food shopping.  We love seeing what local fare is on offer in each of the countries. 

We then headed off to Evora where we stayed a couple of nights last time we were here. We waited out the worst heat of the day and went for a stroll through the town in the evening, and enjoyed some local beer and snacks in the square.  It's lovely to be back here in the summertime, as we remember it being very cold last time.

Tomorrow we'll spend the last night in Bokkie before our 6-week house-sit.

Badajoz

 Monday 12/07/21

We both had a good night's sleep (no, we didn't stay up to watch the football, luckily) and set off early under grey skies.  It soon started drizzling but was only forecast to last until we got more inland and, as expected, when we stopped in Burgos to do some food shopping, it cleared up.  

The iconic Spanish landmarks along the route

We found we were making very good time on the open Spanish roads so decided that, rather than stop for the night where we had planned, we would push on through most of our Spanish leg.

Our lunch spot was a lovely tranquil spot next to a reservoir

We had a fantastic drive, the scenery is so similar to many regions in South Africa and the weather is wonderful - sunny and hot.  It really took us both back to childhood trips in summer, windows wound down and warm air blowing through Bokkie.

The ancient bridge to the city is right behind our parking area

Although Bokkie's immediate view is a little bleak, she can see the ancient city in the distance

We've stopped in the medieval Spanish city of Badajos only a few kilometres from the Portuguese border.  We'll go and explore the old-town in the cooler morning air and then head over to Portugal tomorrow.

Bonus pic...

It's a little intimidating when you keep looking ahead to see a truck seemingly heading towards Bokkie on the highway.....luckily it was on a transporter so going the same way as us!

Nanclares de la Oca

 Sunday 11/07/21

Hola!  

Bokkie is back in Spain!  It's hard to believe we have been away for more then two years - time certainly flies. 

Strangely, it feels like we are now on holiday; we've become so Francophile that the UK and France both seem like home so it's weird to be outside our comfort zone again. We manage our way around France quite comfortably now even though we have not mastered the language by any means but here we are completely lost.  It's even worse in the Basque country where the alphabet even looks different.

We spotted this beauty on the road, a stretched version of a 2CV

We decided to take the toll road down from Bordeaux as it offers a massive time saving and were pleased that we did - the traffic was very heavy.  There are masses of holidaymakers heading for the coast and the French roads were very busy even though most of the trucks don't travel on Sundays.

We did quite well into Spain though, then filled up with very cheap Spanish diesel and promptly headed off in the wrong direction.  In fairness, we just missed one split in the highway and it would have take 10km before we could turn around so we simply made a new plan.  It turned out to be a lucky detour and we were treated to the most fantastic drive through the mountains.  

It is baking here: 30°C, which is wilting our soft UK bodies, but should cool down from tomorrow making it the perfect timing to cross the Spanish interior.  We've got all our screens up, fans running and are waiting for it to cool down before we go for a walk around the village.

Bokkie in the aire with the San Jose Apostolic college in the background