Into the flow

So first week of school came and went. Both Maya and Violet had great first weeks. Maya (and me) waded through homework in Portuguese that is set every night! Violet cried vehemently every time we dropped her off but she is getting used to it. It is really bizarre turning up to collect the girls as a couple - something you rarely see anywhere! I have managed to get into the flow of painting on a more regular basis by literally propping up canvases against tree stumps and painting views. The painting pictured is the first. It has undergone a number of reworkings and now has greater pictorial depth. In the next few days I'll be getting handy with the chainsaw and axe to start building up the winter stockpile. Tomorrow Caz and I will revisit the Ribieira house over the value for a photo shoot. At the weekend it is the grand grape-picking session at Laurinda's vine. She is lovely old lady recently widowed who runs a small shop in the nearest village Abitueira. She will wear black for the rest of her life. We will also be joined by Caroline's brother Stephen and his wife Sophie to enjoy that and festivities for Maya's birthday weekend.

It has been great to hang out with Andy and Vonnie here. We have already enjoyed some great dinners, games and talking into the night. They really are building something special here and ready for the long haul! While Caz was away on a shoot in London this last weekend we all went to Peter and Suzanne's yoga retreat up the valley. It was pleasant evening with a good atmosphere and a fire that nearly lit some gazebo beams! They have forged an honest and raw experience up there at Bacelo that gives all a yoga experience that is slap bang in the heart of nature.

Haiku 19 Wed 15/09

White sky, cool breeze blows.

Wind turbines stop still as stars.

Haiku 20 Thurs 16/09

The grass is alive with tiny red bettles.

The children laugh and play.

Haiku 21 Fri 17/09

Mighty bolt strikes

With a shocking crack.

Trucks race to the burning tree.

Haiku 22 Sat 18/09

Clouds pepper the sky

Altering the hillside light.

The canvas waits for change.

Haiku 23 Sun 19/09

Golden eagle effortlessly soars,

One look is not enough.

Wind is the heartbeat.

Haiku 24 Mon 20/09

To paint a night sky at dusk

Is strangely rewarding.

Haiku 25 Tues 21/09

The eagle returns

Skimming the tops of the trees.

Flash of white on the wings.

Starting School

So it finally rolled around, the first day of School. Here are the munchkins looking ready, apprehensive and whole other mix of emotions. It was a bit traumatic saying bye to Maya and she sat tearfully at the back of her year 3 class. We had to stay for about 45 minutes talking things through at Violet's nursery just down the street. They were very understanding, organised and genuinely happy to take on an English child. They even had a photo already stuck above her coat hook!

So we drove back to do what ever jobs needed doing not knowing how it would be when we collected them.

We arrived a bit early and both had a good day. Maya had done well and seemed ok. Lots of homework due in tomorrow that took Maya and I 2 and a half hours to work through!

Day 2 was the other way round. Violet didn't want to go and was tearful when we said goodbye. Maya was off and in with a spring in her step. Caroline and I went straight from there to the town hall to ask a councillor about having an exhibition at the Posto de Turismo. He was willing to speak to us straight away and informed us that we could take a two week slot in November! Result! Pressure to make a new body of work. However it being a joint exhibition will spur both of us on. Tomorrow I will finish my first painting.

Haiku 13 Fri 10/9

Butterfly kite

Wings hardly moving

The flies angrily bite.

Haiku 14 Sat 11/9

Birdsong decorates the night air -

I and the crickets are bemused.

Haiku 15 Sun 12/9

Yellow Mantis disturbed.

Does it remember,

Landing on my mug that evening?

Haiku 16 Mon 13/9

Mosquitos bites pepper me

the dusty path feels like a furnace.

Haiku 17 Tues 14/9

Many blank blues

Clouds return,

diffusing an even hotter sun.

Children's steps echo!

Anticipating routine

Haiku 3 Mon 30/08

Still hot night

Under the star blanket -

A star pings left.

Haiku 4 Tues 31/08

Two heads craned

At the constellations.

Another star streaks

Across our teloscopic wonder.

Haiku 5 Wed 01/09

Big raindrops bring

Heat relief and pleasure

When the stop and the heat returns.

Haiku 6 Thurs 02/09

Gurgling stomach interrupted -

The lizard arrows across the steps.

Haiku 7 Fri 03/09

Dank watermine frog alights

On rock,

Spider ball rolls on the water.

Haiku 8 Sat 04/09

Fly in the car - how?

The wrong bridge a gleaming 16km

stretch of water.

Haiku 9 Sun 05/09

Wasp eats his death

watched blankly by the sardines -

fire licks ready in the stove.

Haiku 10 Mon 06/09

Gnomes, paints, pans, Axes

and shiny chainsaws.

A juggernaut tyre is changed.

Haiku 11 Tues 07/09

The smile is all muddy teeth.

The message is partly clear.

Is negotiation that easy?

Haiku 12 Wed 08/09

Tanned faces inspect us

The address continues.

Conga followed by champagne.

Haiku 13 Thurs 09/09

Headteachers beady eyes

Reads the data -

Eyes read the translation.

Coming to the end of the second week and things still don't feel completely normal. We had great news yesterday morning when a woman from the school office rang to say we had to come in for 4pm to talk with Isobel the headteacher. She added that Violet had also been excepted into the school nursery. We took this in and wondered if this turnaround (they had said on Tuesday that Violet would not be able to start until May 2011) had anything to do with us going to the prize-giving the previous night and showing our faces. This is a much better option for Violet as the School nursery is cleaner with better resources, no siesta and better educationally.

The meeting with Isobel went well with the help of Bernita translating. She had decided that Maya should start in year 3 in order not to hold back her progress however it hinges on the teachers agreeing. We will find out when School starts on Monday 13th. Maya and Violet are both equally excited about starting school. Roll on Monday!

Beginnings

For me it wasn't the beginning I expected to have at Moses as the sickness persisted until the end of the first week. We all seemed to let it all absorb rather than run around like headless chickens taking it all in. It was strange getting used to the stillness couple with the outstanding beauty forever on your doorstep. Getting up in the mornings jumped wildly and it is now stabilizing towards 8.00 as Monday 13th (beginning of school) approaches.

We have had plenty of trips into the local town, Oleiros. We were relieved to discover that the municipal swimming pool would stay open until 15th September, leaving under two weeks for the girls to enjoy swimming in the sun and us to soak up more rays. The weather has fluctuated a bit. Hot most of the time but in the last two days milder with cloud. It is hotting up from today (9th) and will rise to 31 tomorrow and possibly higher into the weekend. We took the long trip to Ikea in Lisbon to furnish the house. We stayed in Lisbon into the evening and had a meal in a street restaurant, allowing us to take in the ambience of the city. It was quite a relief to get this done and be able to relax properly with chairs, rugs, makeshift sofa, lamps etc in place.

Sometimes it doesn't feel real being here. There are trips that we go on that are straight out of a film. On Monday we went to Ovalho to a huge hardware store. It had everything from garden gnomes to 15 types of chainsaw. I bought a big axe amongst other things, ready for wood-chopping. Backwater Louisiana it isn't but it is an example of the layers of rural economy and cultural exchange that exist here when you dig below the surface. This will be explained in more detail later on.

Tuesday 7th was the most culturally rewarding day we have had since arriving here. We drove into town to visit the Market they hold there every Tuesday. It was quite sparse, partly down to the rain. We bought a few rugs (my haggling didn't work here!) and dashed into a restaurant for lunch. Three courses, half a bottle of wine and coffee later and some chatting to locals added up to lunchtime we could all get used to (not to mention 16 euros all in!). After other shops, anther meeting in the town square bank to finalise our account and accessing it online we headed off to visit a private nursery near the town square. We had learned earlier in the day that Violet could not apply to the School nursery until May hence going private. That was a good but difficult experience as the Director spoke no English and her daughter only a little ( albeit with the aid of a dictionary!) After an hour including a tour of the vast premises that only had 11 children on its books at the time we finalised Violet starting. When shown the tarif - from 25 to 65 Euros - we resigned ourselves to paying 400 euros plus a month that would eat hugely into our savings. Imagine our surprise when they exclaimed that it was 25 euros a month for those on the lowest income!! This would include the use of a translator too for no extra cost! We headed home elated at Violet having a place to go with new friends to make and that we had done it all ourselves! As soon as we got home I got to work on starting the fire in the forno for cooking the pizza. First proper handslap!!

Yesterday was chilled with a long lunch and chess into the afternoon. In the evening we went into town for the school prize-giving. Andy and Vonnie's children Josh (13) and Ellie (11) were both down to receive prizes for overall achievement. We met a number of parents as all milled around before sitting in outdoor seating under a canopy before a stage. It all seemed so different from what I was used to at Welling. Very formal mind and over in an hour. Straight after was a lavish buffet with cake and champagne. We introduced ourselves to May's preospective teacher and the headteacher of the school. We spent time talking to Pedro and Bernita, teachers at the school (Pedro teaches Art and DT, Bernita English) who will be coming for dinner at Andy's house on Friday night. The phrase book go worked overtime as I struggled to bat across badly pronounced Portuguese phrases.

Moses at last!

Saturday 28th saw as pack up for the last time and set off on an hours drive to Amieira. We drove in eager anticipation through the rolling hills leading to Oleiros district. Andy and Vonny were furiously applying the finishing touches to the Moses house so we stopped in Oleiros praia fluvial to chill by the freezing river and soak up some rays. We finally drove down the dusty tracks at 18.00 and it felt like a homecoming in a funny kind of way. The house had been transformed with a tiled ground floor and a a new mezzanine above half of the kitchen that we quickly decided would be our master bedroom to accommodate a lounge the other side of the stairs. Andy and Vonny finally came down to welcome us after well-earned kip and the festivities began! That night Caz saw a Scorpion in the bath with hours of arriving (quickly removed and crushed by Andy - minus man points for me!!). Three meals at the kingly ranch later saw us begin to fell settled by the Sunday night. The sunday meal was witnessed by two Mantises in their dining room!

Haiku 1 Sat 28/08

Amber Scorpion in the bath -

Crickets whisper agreement

Into the hot August night.

Haiku 2 Sun 29/08

Breeze drifts over the jagged tree line.

Coming heat rises.

Camping in Portugal

After another beautiful drive through the north-western coast of Spain (Costa Verde) that took us through Vigo and Tui we finally crossed the border into Portugal. We had been recommended a site at Viana Do Castelo by a Portuguese woman called Maria when we were at Zarauz. On the way there we could immediately sense the cultural difference to Spain. It felt more mellow and understated. You could see architectural differences and the way towns and villages were laid out. We rocked up at Viana to find a group of mobile homes. This was our introduction to "wild" camping. It's wild because there are no facilities except water! There was a toilet that opened at 10pm and closed at 6pm! The setting was beautifully rugged with pine forest behind miles of dunes that sloped down to a windy atlantic beach. Viana attracts kite and windsurfers for miles around. We camped next to a large family from Braga who found us fascinating. It felt quite wierd to have spectators sitting in a semi-circle watching your every move. I couldn't get the "Deliverance" banjo tune out of my head! They were not the most talkative bunch so gestures had to do. It was all too much for Caroline being walking museum exhibits so on Friday 20th we had to do one. 5/10

A two and a half hour drive south along the Portuguese coast brought us to Figieira Da Foz. This is biggest and most touristy coastal resort between Porto and Lisbon. The site was easy to find and they just said find a space you like rather than being assigned a pitch like you do in France and Spain. Pitches are half the price plus compared to its neighbours too. Spacious with wifi and plenty of facilities this was a good chilled place to kick back. The pool was the hub of the campsite and was busy everyday. The pose-o-meter was high here. It was also right next to "Foz plaza" a large mall that was really handy and only five minutes walk. McDonald's was hard to resist (for the girls sake mind!) and met some nice people. 9/10

By now camping was getting a little wearisome. Although we had the drill down to a tee and all the kit we needed, it was the dust, mosquitos, loudness of cicadas and crickets and other ambient camp noises that were taking their toll. When it rained on the fourth day at Foz we drove east through the rain and escaped it about 30km from Pedrogao Grande, a beautiful site perched high above a dam on the banks of the mighty rio Zezere. We stayed here the longest and at 8.5 euros a night it was the best VFM site that stayed at. Unfortunately it all changed on the third day for me. Andy recommended visiting a gorge called Fragas de Sau Simao. Situated 16km away it was a stunning natural wonder. A rocky creek wound through a deep rocky canyon. It was the hottest we had experienced since leaving England. The car said 42C. We bathed and explored the river and studied the wildlife. I had a moment of madness in which I abandoned all respect for my environment and took a gulp of the water flowing between the rocks. As you do. Later that night I would bear the consequences of my utter stupidity. The gastric armageddon lasted for 10 days after and I was sick as a dog for at least 7 of those days.

Apart from that we pitched right by a tennis court and played some bad tennis for a second time this holiday (the first was at Hortensias). The pool was small but warm and only 30secs walk. The people were really friendly including a group that we left our phone and computer with to charge. Pedro Grande was a charming quite well-heeled small town with two quaint town churches. What a shame the toilets were so far from our tent - I want to edit out the 40+ walks at random times of day and night I made to that block! By far the most beautiful site we stayed at and a fitting last leg before arriving at Moses. 8.5/10

Leaving for camping tour

After all the detailed preparations Tuesday 10th Aug finally arrived. It was a tight squeeze to get every box, gadget, food item, cushion into our trusty CR-V (even after a drill). But shut all the doors did. Just made it to the eurotunnel at 9.20 with one minute to spare! The drive into France was a tempestuous one. We drove through storms of teaming rain for at least two hours. That first leg from Calais - Tours was the longest of the holiday. 6 hours. We rocked up at Montbazon in Ile de Loire region at 6.00 and began pitching up. Montbazon (7/10) was a chilled site. Flat and spacious with a lovely canopied riverside restaurant that we ate in that night. On the second day there we got talking to a lovely Dutch family from the Hague and had a barbeque in their camping space that night. Clarence and Marjye were an urban bohemian couple with lots of interesting things to say. Maya and Violet had a ball with Lilly and Nino (all pictured).

Montbazon - Dax was a straightforward 4 hr drive through Bourdeax and arriving at a large, teeny campsite set in sprawling pine forest. Loud and active it had plenty of facilities but privacy was at a minimum. (6.5/10). We had an evening swim, simple meal and an early night.

Set off next morning for Spain and San Sebastien region. We were driving into this region with high expectations as we had never visited the northern coast of Spain before. The plan was to stop in San Sebastien for the day but we decided to head straight for Gran Zarauz (about 15km West of the city).

Zarauz was a large site catering for seasoned campers and a lot of trendy surfy types. (7.5/10). Space was very tight and we were stationed right by the bar, barbeque area and playground so at midnight for two nights it was loud and smoky! The beach was a 1km walk down steep cliffs. The beach itself was windy with warm water. As I drew in my comic when I went out for a swim I had been pulled into the surfing zone within minutes. It was hard work swimming against a rip and when I walked out I was pretty tired! Didn't see any Portuguese men-o-war jellyfish ( as there was a warning that they can wash up). On day three it rained. That was it - flee the rain and head west.

The temperature steadily climbed from 20 - 28 the closer we got to Santiago. A fantastically beautiful drive. At the beginning the scenery was almost alpine. As we went the mountain got more and more rugged and the terrain more arid. Some of the beaches, estuaries and cliff panoramas were breathtaking. Bilbao was tricky to drive through as we tried to stop at Decathlon (shut as it was Sunday) and finding our back onto the coast road with satnav wasn't straightforward!

We arrived at Santiago de Compostela on Saturday to a cramped site perched above the city called As Cancelas. We walked into the city once we'd unpacked and soon found ourselves walking through the labyrinth in the centre of the city. We just got on the last bus back to the campsite and set off next day for Portugal!