It’s been a very quiet month at Chumbaria, but a bit strange as it’s the first time we have been here on our own in nearly a year. As much as we love having family, friends and volunteers to stay, having the bathroom to ourselves again is very nice. We’re still researching the history of Chumbaria and thanks again to the help of Joaquim Santos, we now have some copies of postcards written by Senhor Manuel Raimundo, one of the original people who lived here.
It’s also been another very wet month. We think we might as well take the scaffolding down because it hasn’t stopped raining since it went up and work still hasn’t started! More rain is predicted, so we’re having to be very patient. On a brighter note, Chumbaria is green again after the fire and when the sun does make a brief appearance, there’s some beautiful rainbows.
Also this month we escaped from Chumbaria for our first holiday in 2 years. Visiting the beautiful Algarve for the first time. No rain, no mud, no dogs and no chores. We explored Sagres and its old Fort, which is at the most South Western tip of Europe. The weather was great and the landscapes and towns are very beautiful. Portugal is the gift that just keeps giving. We had a good time in Albufeira for a couple of days. There are a lot more British people there than in our little village in Leiria, so it was a bit weird to be recognised as Steve and Sarah from the TV a few times. We visited Faro and Fuseta and settled in Tavira for another couple of days.
We explored the beautiful South Eastern tip of Portugal, and travelled along the Spanish border. We stopped at Castro Marim, a fort dating from 1134. The views were amazing, but the torture museum was pretty gruesome. Happily we moved on to lunch at Alcoutim, with a great view across the river to Spain. All in all a lovely week in the Algarve sunshine
