Our Portuguese Homestead: Autumn
Well, it’s been a minute since we’ve done ANY kind of interaction on social media and it feels a little odd to be updating our website…but here we are, random and spontaneous as ever!
Before delving into some of the exciting projects we’ve got going on at our land in the Portuguese mountains, I first want to talk a little about why we’ve distanced ourselves from the world of social media over the last 6 months or so.
Capturing our lives through cameras has arguably never been easier, especially with the technology of modern mobile phones… you don’t even need a camera to take great shots anymore! There are plenty of advantages to being able to take photographs or record videos whenever, wherever, and this is something we used to like to do and share on our Instagram. Over time, however, we felt a growing pressure to keep producing content.
One of the big reasons we both first got into ‘vanlife’ was to escape societal pressures, limit stress, and enjoy a slower-paced, creative life, but social media began to take its toll and became a vicious cycle of spending hours over the week taking pictures, making reels, writing captions, and it just didn’t feel so good anymore.
Both Aidan and I love connecting with people, and meeting travellers from around the world is something that fuels such love and light for life inside us. Maybe we are just a bit better at interacting with people in the old school, in-person way, and less so online. We’re incredibly grateful for all of the beautiful souls we’ve met over the last few years on Instagram, and we’re keeping our account going as this is a big part of how we keep in contact with people. But taking a step back and posting less frequently feels right at the moment, so this is what we’ll be continuing to do, and we hope you all understand.
Anyway, let’s talk about our little patch in the forest, shall we?
We’re still in the process of obtaining Portuguese residency so we’re currently abiding by the 90/90 Brexit shenanigans. As frustrating as this is, we’re grateful to be able to spend 6 months of the year outside of the UK, building our homestead and getting closer every day to our goal of living in Portugal full-time.
This autumn has been about clearing, burning, and building more infrastructure at our home in the woods. We’ve constructed a shower area, created pathways through the trees, and built a communal area with a bench, campfire, and mini log store.
We’re getting to the point here where everything feels like it’s coming together.
There are areas of open space, pathways leading to our fruit trees, and just like us, Cali is loving every second of exploring it all. We’ve also cleared back the outside of our well which is a lot bigger than we initially anticipated. This is a job we’ll be tackling soon, and we’re excited to learn and grow with each new project we take on so any tips or pieces of advice are always welcome!
We bought our land just over a year ago and have spent an accumulative 6 months here over the past year. As we pour more love, time, and creative energy into our land, the more heart-breaking it gets to leave as each 12-week window comes to a close.
Breathing clean, crisp air each morning, watching the fiery ball in the sky rise over the mountains, and shine its rays through the pine and eucalyptus trees is nothing short of magic and we absolutely love it. The days are getting colder here in the trees, with temperatures dropping to 0℃ in the morning, so our log burner in Peppe has been on most days, burning the pine from trees we chopped down and processed last Winter. Aidan and I love this time of year but only if we can keep the van warm and cosy, so I need to stop typing, go outside, and help him chop some logs!
Sending love from the trees,
xxx
