Well, maybe we will hear today. We have skin in the game now. We really want to live on this piece of land. It’s fair to say we’ve fallen in love and got our hearts set on it. The wait for getting a date for signing the deeds makes our minds wander to what ifs. In Portugal, the owners of the bordering lands have to be given first refusal on buying the land at the same price we are paying, so what if they want to buy it instead?
We remind ourselves of what we’ve learned over the last eight years which is if you don’t get what you think you want, then it is only because something even better is on its way. At this point, it’s hard to fathom there could be a better piece of land than this one, but we tell ourselves that it always works like this. We’ve visualised the most spectacular view from a plot of land we love – and right now it seems this is it. But if not, then something even better will come along. It always does.
Kimberley and I have so many examples of this, and yet still it is sometimes difficult to just let go and believe. We know we must rebalance. This is all going to work out fine whatever happens. For example, when we were looking for a lawyer, we approached someone in the Algarve who had been recommended to us. He was also a civil engineer so in our minds, he was perfect, but he said he was too far away. We were initially frustrated, but it made us look elsewhere and we now have a fantastic, highly recommended English-speaking lawyer in the local area.
This morning we are off to visit George and Kate and see what they have done with their plot of land. Also, we are going to pick their brains. Their place is a beautiful ten-minute walk down the lane by our land and through a eucalyptus forest. The smell of the trees is invigorating, and we come through into a clearing to a wonderful scene of two people building their dream life.
George shows us round the work he has been doing on their quinta. It is fantastic and he is justifiably proud of it. He and Kate also show us the various stages of building on their land. In many ways it is similar to our own, in taking a phased approach to the whole project. They are both tremendously excited, as they are expecting their first child and we spend a happy couple of hours chatting about travelling, the UK, Portugal and Monsanto.
I like George’s work, particularly the way he has used eucalyptus that has been grown on his own land, and I am hopeful that we will work together on a couple of ideas that we have for CasaBo. This is a good morning, and we head into Idanha-a-Nova to work out our next plan of action.
Nothing beats a plate of buttered, thick torados and a galao, or toast and latte, if you will. As we’re eating, the phone goes. It is Paulo, the estate agent, who tells us not to worry as everything is moving forward smoothly. There are no hiccups, it’s just the logistics in arranging for everyone to get together at the same time in the same location to sign the deeds in front of the notary which is how it’s done here in Portugal. In those few moments we both relax and thank him for calling us back.
TUT is running a little low on electric in the leisure battery, so we decide to spend another night at Eric and Aurelie’s place in Lardosa. We pull up and charge up our computers, phones and chargers and feel more relaxed. The fridge in TUT, in the temperatures we have been experiencing, is having to work overtime all the time.
Then we get the text we have been waiting for. It is from Liliana our lawyer. She says we are all booked to meet the notary on ………..
You’ll have to wait and see. Patience is a wonderful thing!