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