Living Abroad
Autumn in Portugal, The Seasonal Wheel Turns
Like a living barometer, you don’t need a calendar here on the farm to tell you when the seasons are changing, the animals do that for you … […]
Portugal
Europe
Things tourists should never do in Portugal
One such article on Portuguese website Portugaldenorteaasul, titled 11 things tourists should never do in Portugal hooked me in. After three years of getting to know Portugal, I wondered how these ‘things not to do’ would compare with our experiences. […]
Europe
A Curious Incident On The Way To Viana do Castelo
Something catches my eye, movement by the water line about 200 metres to my right, on the far bank of the river. Squinting into the sun, I see what looks like the torso of a large man hauling himself out of the river, dragging his withered legs behind him… […]
Portugal
Cycling, what is it good for?
I like the thought of cycling that involves effortless pedalling along flat country lanes passing rows of vines, or alongside a gently rolling river, the warm sun kissing my face; a soft breeze caressing glowing skin; a bottle of wine, loaf of fresh bread, and a round of cheese in the wicker basket… […]
Europe
Being addicted to unfamiliarity
A year ago to the day Andy and I sat on the terrace of a shepherd’s hut on a plateau in Slovenia whilst I tucked into a bowl of gruel otherwise known as buckwheat mush and sour milk. Why? Because it was there… […]
Alentejo
Camel Spit & Cork Trees, a Year of Slow Travel Through Portugal
Our quest to find the ideal place to live, combined with missions to create Slow Travel holidays, took us from the honey-coloured coastline of the wilder side of the Algarve to the verdant valleys of the Minho in the north, and from living beside a smugglers’ trail in Alentejo’s ‘beyond the back of beyond’ border country to a small farm next to a cork forest in the Setúbal Peninsula… […]
Catalonia
Road tripping through three countries in the time of COVID-19
We drove through three countries, from Portugal’s Atlantic coast to Provence, not only switching from stuttering along in one language to another, but trying to figure out what COVID-19 restrictions applied where. […]
Hiking
Escaping from COVID prison to Northern Portugal
In these open hills there are no other people, most folk wouldn’t dream of walking when temperatures are predicted to hit the upper 30s, but there is an abundance of life. Ignoring us as we sit in the meagre shade of a human-sized cairn are wild Garrano horses. […]