Feeling the heat in Santa Luzia

 Sunday 24/07/22

We nearly stepped on this beauty, it flattens itself to make it look like a viper or adder.
Come on Charles, give us an ID.

When you pick it up, it shows it's true shape, long and slender.

We're back in our Portugal routine - busy mornings, exercising or working in the cool of the day and then sheltering during the heat of the afternoon.  The wind usually comes up in the afternoon and it has the same effect as a thermo-fan in an oven, blasting hot air over us.  

The temperature peaked just below 39 degrees yesterday and the house doesn't cool down much overnight, but we're not complaining!

This is why we love the place, it is beautiful!

Early mornings are great for cycling.

I've managed to make a little progress on Bokkie, the wheel problem is definitely the brake that is binding, I'm just not sure why.  We have an 'appointment' with a local mechanic on Monday so we'll see if he can help.  

I have fixed the step and spent a few hours trying to trace the source of the intermittent fault, still without success.  The most likely culprit seems to be a worn wire chafing somewhere which would explain why it happens on rough roads.  Ideally I need a reading from Bokkie's dated diagnostic system to point me in the right direction, maybe the mechanic can help with that as well.

Poor Bokkie's dash getting a work-out, tracing wires.

With the extreme temperature yesterday we managed to cool the horses down with the hose which they seemed to appreciate.

Shower time!

Followed by a dust bath.

And maybe a quick drink.

Charmeur getting in on the action

We realised Molly (the cat) was showing signs of a severe tapeworm problem and managed to order some medication online.  As we are completely off-grid here, we had it delivered to the butchery in the village and went to pick it up from them.  Kudos to the Portuguese postal service - the parcel arrived very quickly. (we were a bit nervous due to our remote location, and not quite knowing exactly how the address and postal codes work). 

Molly seems much more lively now and hopefully will get her body back to herself for a while.  She's allowed back on laps now that she is not permanently shedding tapeworm segments... 

We've been here a week already (time flies), and are staying for another 7 weeks or so - looking forward to many cycles, walking, relaxing and just enjoying this magic place.