Waiting to go to Wales

 The weather here has become summer hot and the fact that we have removed the insulation on the boat does not help. We are still going out walking, though we wait for cooler days, The flowers have died back, leaving only the hardy summer blooms.

Not to mention the snails everywhere

We also discovered a lovely tiny little bar walking up the hill toSera da Pescaria. It appeared to be part of a small house and it served a very large glass of wine (from a barrel outside) and a beer all for 1 euro 50 cents.

It was at this bar that we met an American called Roger who has been living in various parts of  Portugal for several years, with his wife, Thine. We met him several times and, once lockdown restrictions ended, had an enjoyable meal with them in Nazare.

The boatyard became increasingly lonely when our friends Wolfgang and Birte's boat went into the water after a year spent completing a major refit.

 

They have recently bought an apartment in the nearby town of Alcobaca and are now planning to spend several months refitting that.  One day they drove us into Alcobaca and we spent a very enjoyable day wandering around the old town and the monastery.

We also visited the national wine museum on the outskirts of town.

We then went to see their apartment, which is situated at the top of a hill with stunning views over the town and valley.

Another trip out was to the town of Tomar, about 60 kilometres away, which we visited with our American friends, Roger and Thine. Perched above the town is Convento Cristo , a stunning monastery built by the knights templar, which boasts fine examples of Manueline architecture.

 

 

We then drove down into the pretty riverside town below for lunch in one of the pretty riverside streets.

I also  had my first ever go on a paddle board, thanks to my friend, Dody. I only got as far as sitting on it and paddling because I was concerned about falling off in the none to clean waters of the harbour. However, it was very enjoyable and I am keen to try again .

We will miss beautiful Portugal. It is a truly beautiful country with so many hidden gems and such lovely people who have made us feel so welcome..

We have a plan and it is looking good

 Whilst we were locked down in Sitio we (well me mainly) had decided that returning to our bungalow in Chelmondiston would feel like going backwards and we wanted to keep going forwards and treating life as an adventure. We decided to put the property on the market and not renew the tenancy when it ran out at the end of April. The tenants were not happy and the less said about the childish and petulant behaviour of our previously model tenants the better, We did offer them the opportunity to buy it but they were by then having tantrums.It all worked out for the best as we soon sold it for more than we had offered it to them for.

We were open to moving anywhere, Scotland, Cornwall, Wales, The Lake District, as long as there was an abundance of natural beauty.

In the meantime our younger daughter and her husband had decided they had had enough of the rat race and wanted to sell up and buy a large country property to move into the glamping business and spend more quality time with their two young  daughters. We were looking at properties and they were looking at properties. Some of the properties they looked at had annexes or cottages together with the main house. Gradually we came to the realisation that if we bought one of these cottages then they could buy a more expensive property and we could live nearby and see more of the family.

If they found  an affordable property with a single house then we would find a different property but it broadened everyone's search. Then we found Plasnewydd, near Llandysul in Ceridigion. It had 11 acres and an annexe already converted and used as a holiday let. A feasibility study showed that it provided a good business opportunity so off we went. An offer was made and accepted. We sold our property. Heather and Barney sold theirs.

Plasnewydd at the end of September, No furniture and not many household goods but a new and exciting adventure