Pictured above, my brother Doug and sister-in-law Merrilee
In 2019, Big Sky was hauled out for preening and polishing in Portimao and then put into the Lagos Marina. The third quarter of the year, we put her up for sale. May, we found the "Just Right" house in Carvoeiro, completing our Promissory Contract in June but having to wait 15 months before moving in. Before purchasing our house, we'd looked at houses in France, Spain, and Vancouver Island. With the long wait before occupancy, we visited family in The Netherlands, Canada, and Texas, USA; friends in France; and booked passage on a ship sailing through the fjords of Norway to the Arctic Circle, driving south to Norway through Sweden and Finland.
Hand-Drawn by Hailey Angelozzi
Hailey, 10 created a sample tile for our Carvoeiro house. In Portugal, house names are painted and glazed onto terracotta tiles and imbedded in your front gate pillar. Our house, currently Casa Laranjeira will be changed to “Casa Céu Grande, Portuguese for Big Sky.
Possession: September 1st, 2020.
Hailey, 10 created a sample tile for our Carvoeiro house. In Portugal, house names are painted and glazed onto terracotta tiles and imbedded in your front gate pillar. Our house, currently Casa Laranjeira will be changed to “Casa Céu Grande, Portuguese for Big Sky.
Possession: September 1st, 2020.
April 27, 2019 -- Returning to Portugal, we were greeted by the beautiful sunshine, warming up our Vitamin D deprived bodies following seven weeks in North America. Today, Calgary had a snowfall weather advisory! It was a nasty long and cold winter. Waking early for the Saturday morning Lagos market, we returned with five kilos of oranges for fresh squeezed juice, locally grown tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, garlic, and onions.
May 1 — Doug and Merrilee (my brother and sister in law) are touring Portugal and bunked with us for a few fabulous days. We drove to Europe’s south west corner, Sagres, touring Henry the Navigator’s 1460 stomping grounds. He’s Portugal’s major explorer filling Portuguese history books with his discoveries and voyages by sea. We'd prepared a picnic, but finding a good spot with the wind blowing furiously was tough. Portugal’s corner is a stunning cliff, and by serendipity, Con spotted a small car with a surf board on the roof make an obscure turn off and he called to Doug, our driver, “Turn here!” Winding down the gravel road, we found ourselves in a surfer’s paradise, protected on three sides by cliff. We laid out our picnic, opened a cold bottle of Vino Verde, watched a half dozen surfers, and enjoyed an awesome gourmet picnic.
May 1 — Doug and Merrilee (my brother and sister in law) are touring Portugal and bunked with us for a few fabulous days. We drove to Europe’s south west corner, Sagres, touring Henry the Navigator’s 1460 stomping grounds. He’s Portugal’s major explorer filling Portuguese history books with his discoveries and voyages by sea. We'd prepared a picnic, but finding a good spot with the wind blowing furiously was tough. Portugal’s corner is a stunning cliff, and by serendipity, Con spotted a small car with a surf board on the roof make an obscure turn off and he called to Doug, our driver, “Turn here!” Winding down the gravel road, we found ourselves in a surfer’s paradise, protected on three sides by cliff. We laid out our picnic, opened a cold bottle of Vino Verde, watched a half dozen surfers, and enjoyed an awesome gourmet picnic.
Above, Doug spotted a cool find, a perfectly formed sea shell in the rock formation, 70 meters above the sea.
The next day, the four of us took Big Sky out for our first sail of the season. It was a glorious day and a near perfect sail. We even had two dolphins behind us for a short visit. We sailed along the grottos west, and then turned east toward Portimao before returning to our Lagos slip. That night, seated in our pre-booked table at one of the marina bars, we watched the semi-final football (soccer) game — our second night of viewing.
The next day, the four of us took Big Sky out for our first sail of the season. It was a glorious day and a near perfect sail. We even had two dolphins behind us for a short visit. We sailed along the grottos west, and then turned east toward Portimao before returning to our Lagos slip. That night, seated in our pre-booked table at one of the marina bars, we watched the semi-final football (soccer) game — our second night of viewing.
June 2019 — Since Doug and Merrilee’s departure, Con and I have viewed at least 500 houses in the Algarve online and 35+ in person for the “Just Right” house for the next segment of our lives. We found it, ironically the second house we visited. Unfortunately, the owner just took out a one-year lease on the house making our possession September 1, 2020. Following the necessary steps, we arranged a tax number, opened a bank account, and found a lawyer. We will need to obtain our Portuguese residency. It was a three-day task to open a bank account in the local Carvoeiro bank with the first day taking half a day. Our lawyers are in Portimão, working with the seller’s lawyer to write the Promissory Contract. Patience is the key element here.
In the meantime we’re enjoying Lagos’ laid-back atmosphere, attending local events (a fair, complete with a dog show), various restaurants serving delicious fresh dorado and bacalho (cod), and creating fabulous salads, thanks to a magazine
Con picked up at the Dutch Store in Lagos.
In the meantime we’re enjoying Lagos’ laid-back atmosphere, attending local events (a fair, complete with a dog show), various restaurants serving delicious fresh dorado and bacalho (cod), and creating fabulous salads, thanks to a magazine
Con picked up at the Dutch Store in Lagos.
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June 22 -- Lagos is experiencing cooler than normal weather and relentless winds. Winds begin early afternoon and blow out sometime each night. Paul (a Canadian working the boats in the marina) says it’s a 10-year phenomenon. Lagos, in the centre of town, is sheltered from the wind, making it a pleasant place to hang out and listen to the locals playing 30-minute segments each.
We drove to IKEA to pick up eight plastic bins to hold the items we intend to take off the boat.
We drove to IKEA to pick up eight plastic bins to hold the items we intend to take off the boat.
August 8 — Our Portuguese House
Below, a sneak peek at our soon-to-be Portuguese house in Carvoeiro. Just weeks before we purchased it the owner rented it for a year to a Dutch family.
For our year-long wait, we are planning various adventures. Our first adventure is aboard the MS Richard With aboard the Hurtigruten Ship leaving Bergen, Norway sailing through the breathtaking Norwegian fjords north through to the Arctic Circle to Kirkenes. From there we will rent a car and tour the northern Scandinavia countries for a few weeks, followed by a week in The Netherlands with family.
Big Sky will be on the hard in Portimao receiving a spa-like treatment, (polished and pampered) to be ready for the selling market.
Below, a sneak peek at our soon-to-be Portuguese house in Carvoeiro. Just weeks before we purchased it the owner rented it for a year to a Dutch family.
For our year-long wait, we are planning various adventures. Our first adventure is aboard the MS Richard With aboard the Hurtigruten Ship leaving Bergen, Norway sailing through the breathtaking Norwegian fjords north through to the Arctic Circle to Kirkenes. From there we will rent a car and tour the northern Scandinavia countries for a few weeks, followed by a week in The Netherlands with family.
Big Sky will be on the hard in Portimao receiving a spa-like treatment, (polished and pampered) to be ready for the selling market.
Portuguese Ceramic Tile Background
In the 13th century, the Arabic Moors invaded the land that is now Spain and Portugal, taking a foothold during the 16th and 17th century. They brought with them the art of Azulejo tiles (Arabic for small polished stones). Today, this form of art is a landmark sight in Portugal, and our house showcases some of their beauty. The art of ceramic tiles became a a unique way for Portuguese story telling typically of their history, religion, and culture. Below, a landmark tile building in Lagos. Beside it, the Fatima church. Now, that's a whole other story.
In the 13th century, the Arabic Moors invaded the land that is now Spain and Portugal, taking a foothold during the 16th and 17th century. They brought with them the art of Azulejo tiles (Arabic for small polished stones). Today, this form of art is a landmark sight in Portugal, and our house showcases some of their beauty. The art of ceramic tiles became a a unique way for Portuguese story telling typically of their history, religion, and culture. Below, a landmark tile building in Lagos. Beside it, the Fatima church. Now, that's a whole other story.
The link above takes you to our Scandinavian adventures. We flew to Amsterdam for the last week, visiting Con’s family. Autumn is moving in, but taking advantage of the sunshine, Con and I borrowed Albertine’s bikes for an afternoon ride.
Friday, we visited Alkmaar’s cheese market. Traditionally farmers would bring their cheese to the town square, arriving often by boat, the cheese would be tested, weighed, and given a fair market price. The town reenacts their historic traditions every Friday for tourists.
September 22 — Geert and Loes hosted us to a day aboard “Vechtmaatje” their sloop as we motored along the Vecht, under lifting bridges, passing Con’s childhood neighbourhood, to a restaurant where we enjoyed a few hours on the patio over delicious lunch.
October 16 -- Lagos
We returned to the Lagos Marina from Portimao where Big Sky now thoroughly cleaned and polished was put back in the water. She moved a silky smooth 7 knots over the ocean. It was glorious. A pod of dolphins jumped ridiculously high straight out of the water side by side. With the hundreds of dolphins we've been priviledged to see, this trick was a first for us.
Back in our slip in Lagos, with the sunshine begging me out of the boat every morning, I obliged. By 8 am, I donned gym gear and could be found hustle-walking the river breakwater, and up and down two sets of stairs to the ocean from the cliffs. It's was an hour long event and on occasion, Michelle, a fellow Canadian (from Ottawa) and I headed out together.
In our Cleo rental, Con and I buzzed around the Algarve taking in various events, including the BLIP (Better Living In Portugal) where we learned about solar panels, best TV broadcasting systems, language classes... Even about flat tires, when we had to do it a few weeks ago. Later, Con drove to the tire shop and 20 euro later, it was repaired.
Taking care of our bodies, Con visited a local dentist to try and save an infected back lower molar to no avail and had it pulled two weeks ago. He has to wait until the new year for an implant. I've been visiting a physiotherapist to fix a loose shoulder problem and a pulled lower back tendon. (Are we falling apart?)
The Annual Impossible Race took place around the marina, where participants run through the muddy low-tide river, up various challenging gizmos, through bales of hay, bubbles, climb ropes, slide through tunnels, get dunked in the river on a trap door, etc. Lots of fun for the entire community.
We listed our boat with a broker a few weeks ago, disappointed when almost immediately we learned that the broker wouldn't be placing the ad with Yacht World. We are in the process of seeking a different broker.
We returned to the Lagos Marina from Portimao where Big Sky now thoroughly cleaned and polished was put back in the water. She moved a silky smooth 7 knots over the ocean. It was glorious. A pod of dolphins jumped ridiculously high straight out of the water side by side. With the hundreds of dolphins we've been priviledged to see, this trick was a first for us.
Back in our slip in Lagos, with the sunshine begging me out of the boat every morning, I obliged. By 8 am, I donned gym gear and could be found hustle-walking the river breakwater, and up and down two sets of stairs to the ocean from the cliffs. It's was an hour long event and on occasion, Michelle, a fellow Canadian (from Ottawa) and I headed out together.
In our Cleo rental, Con and I buzzed around the Algarve taking in various events, including the BLIP (Better Living In Portugal) where we learned about solar panels, best TV broadcasting systems, language classes... Even about flat tires, when we had to do it a few weeks ago. Later, Con drove to the tire shop and 20 euro later, it was repaired.
Taking care of our bodies, Con visited a local dentist to try and save an infected back lower molar to no avail and had it pulled two weeks ago. He has to wait until the new year for an implant. I've been visiting a physiotherapist to fix a loose shoulder problem and a pulled lower back tendon. (Are we falling apart?)
The Annual Impossible Race took place around the marina, where participants run through the muddy low-tide river, up various challenging gizmos, through bales of hay, bubbles, climb ropes, slide through tunnels, get dunked in the river on a trap door, etc. Lots of fun for the entire community.
We listed our boat with a broker a few weeks ago, disappointed when almost immediately we learned that the broker wouldn't be placing the ad with Yacht World. We are in the process of seeking a different broker.
