West Ham are top of the premiership before the start of today’s games. I am sitting on a dream chair in the early morning mist of a cool morning on my dream land in Portugal. Right now, I am not sure which seems more improbable. Just a year ago neither would have seemed likely.
We awoke early again this morning and had a lovely breakfast of toast. Then we remembered we had ordered an early lunch of Adelina’s chicken which meant it was going to be a food filled day. Around 11am the mist burned away, and we set off in TUT to get the chicken. As you know, not much happens quickly in Portugal (that is why we love it so much) and so it is well after midday before we arrive back with our first portion of chicken Portuguese style.
It is yummy with beautiful, crushed potatoes in a spicy kind of sauce. We gorge. There is no other word for it. This is definitely a must repeat experience. Whilst we are eating, I check the cricket score and England have won the test match against India. A good start to my sporting Saturday. I love sport. I always have and always will.
We head off to Jacques’ farm to drop off a set of keys and pick up some of the wonderful honey and jam that he and his wife Valeria produce on their farm. Their farm is a wonderful example of what you can do with space on the land. Everything on the farm has had thought given to it. What grows where and when. The love of the horses, the seventeen dogs, the chickens and the other assorted animals. They show us their latest addition – a two-week-old baby donkey.
The time flies by as we discuss animals, farming, the land, building and CasaBo. It is a most wonderful two and a half hours. We like Jacques and Valeria a lot and can’t wait to welcome them to CasaBo once it is built. We load up with presents for family in England and say our goodbyes and take a steady journey down to Eric and Aurelie’s as we need to power up the laptops on their electric hook up one last time. Note to self: change the battery and get a larger solar panel, and while you are at it, see if you can get a set of all terrain tyres.
It is busy tonight at Eric’s and most of the spaces are full. We meet a lovely couple called Jimmy and Tia who have travelled from Finland which is a pretty impressive journey. They are wild camping most of the time, and just confirm what we have found with so many people we have met in our van, that we all love the different lifestyle.
Saturday is coming to a close. West Ham drew but are still top. Arsenal lost and are bottom. Arsenal have never been relegated from the top tier of English football. Is it wrong to dream?