September was a very busy social month at Chumbaria. We had a lot of friends and family to stay with us, which meant a lot of sightseeing and a lot of laughs. We always enjoy sharing Chumbaria. Thanks to some very special friends, we even got a little holiday in the north of Portugal. We really enjoyed exploring Braga and the surrounding district. Portugal is without doubt a very beautiful country. The weather remained hot, but it meant we got to enjoy some beautiful sunsets.
We were delighted to come home one day and discover that we have a new roadside Chumbaria sign. Our little village is officially on the map! The builders have been hard at work fixing the edge tiles to the first roof, which are a work of art. We are lucky to have such skilled Portuguese craftsmen. The first 2 houses finally got rendered which was a huge milestone for us. Just 8 more to go! We also got a sneak peek at our new doors and windows, they look amazing and are due to be installed next month.
We had a lot of fun with our final volunteers of the year. Eleni from the UK, Mariachiara from Italy and Nadzeya from Belarus. They all worked really hard transforming one of the cleared out ruins into a well planted central garden. They also helped build a much bigger chicken run, complete with a new shaded area, which was completed just in time for the arrival of 9 new chickens. We had a lovely trip to www.quintadozorro.pt a small organic farm near Coimbra and met the lovely Paolo and Beatrice who were very warm and welcoming and very knowledgeable. They raise a variety of animals such as goats, sheep, rabbits and they specialise in rearing endangered Portuguese breeds of chickens. Our new chickens have all settled in very well and inevitably one is called Zorro!
We also enjoyed a great day out olive oil tasting at www.passeite.com with a tour of the olive grove, a tasting session and an amazing lunch. We thoroughly recommend a day out there, it’s really interesting.
