Travel and Gravel

Saturday Dec 13 was clear and sunny, so we took a roundabout road trip to Soajo, one of our favorite circuits.  We already wrote about Soajo here, if you're interested in some details.  It was another gorgeous drive, much of it through the beautiful Peneda Gerês national park, with wild forests and mountains, remote farms, and horses and cattle wandering on the road. We even saw a small herd of long-horned cattle resting by the side of the road, with two dogs resting nearby and keeping an eye on them!  No shepherds were to be seen (except the dogs).

Spectacular Peneda Gêres scenery	A medieval bridge over the River Vez
Watch the River Vez go by from your porch swing	One of the famous cachena breed, serene in the sun
A lovely little one-car bridge over the River Vez	Beautiful stone fences in Peneda Gêres
A terraced hillside near the village of Sistelo	Our delicious cachena beef lunch in Soajo

We enjoyed the same lunch at the same restaurant: cachena beef steaks, "punched" baked new potatoes, steamed vegetables with zucchini, carrots, cabbage, and red pepper, seasoned rice, and a half liter of vinho verde.  It's literally some of the best beef we've ever had, and this time we took our own photo.  We were even at the same outdoor table we were at last time, and Gerrit actually got a little sunburn on the left (sunny) side of his face.  In mid-December!

As Gerrit prepared breakfast the other day, he held up the empty yogurt container and pensively quoted Hamlet: "Alas, poor yogurt!  I knew him..."

It looks like our long-suffering bungalow project might be on its last legs.  We just learned that wildfire safety laws don't allow structures within 50 meters (55 yards) of a forested area.  That means there is definitely no place on our lot on which it is permissible to build.  Gerrit looked up the actual law, and it is quite clear.  We started thinking about alternatives, like a raised platform with a roof suitable for campouts, or something.

But wait, a little further on in the laws it says that trees and branches must be 5 meters from structures.  So which is it, 50 meters or 5?  And how is it that existing structures, ours and the neighbors', are nowhere near 50 meters from forested areas?  The patient is still on life support as we get to the bottom of this.

Wednesday Dec 17 the gardeners began the next phase of our renovations.  They transplanted a couple fruit trees for better exposure and soil with less competition, and they cut down a dead cypress tree and bucked it up for firewood.  Next visit they will begin on an extensive irrigation system for the front yard.  Last summer the trees suffered a bit from their irregular watering, but not this year.  This will allow us to travel during the summer, too, and know that the plants will be well taken care of.

The guy who operated the little backhoe they used was a true artist.  He carefully guided the piece of heavy equipment on its rubber tracks over our cobblestone walk and between plants, eased it into position, and was as delicate with the operation of his machine as a watercolorist with his brush.  A pleasure to watch!  He spoke very little English, and showed up with a Santa hat on.  "Bom dia, senhor Santa!" we called out from the balcony when he emerged from the truck.  Alex the horticulturist referred to Santa's backhoe as his "reindeer".  Gerrit got a chance to use a few Portuguese phrases with Santa, too.

Here's a puzzler for you: "santa" in Portuguese means a female saint.  So what do they make of a jolly old bearded elf named "Santa Claus"?

Pat's coughing and sniffling turns out not to be due to the HVACs (heaters), and the HVACs are plenty clean inside too.  Yet still it continues, coming and going under all conditions, inside and out.  We visited a doctor on Thursday Dec 18 who found that she seems to be in good general health and prescribed some nasal spray and cough suppressant.  Pat couldn't wait for bedtime to try them out for the first time.

(As usual, you can click on any photo to enlarge it, scroll through them all, and click outside a photo when you're done.  Also, you can click on the bold underlined phrases to play the audio.)

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