Tonight is our last night in amarante. This means it's the last night that I will have reliable wireless for a little while. I'm going to try to upload a few different things over the next 9 hours followed by a five day silence.
And then... All ofthe leftover details.
Thursday, July 29
Wednesday, July 28
Amarante: Our work (Part 3)
The last three days on the worksite have been pretty light. Habitat hadn't really anticipated having a group at all during this time, so the planned work was low.
We did manage to finish the tiling, and as much of the painting as they would let us do. The exterior of the house is cemented and painted as well, and the roof is done except for a tiny patch that is being left open until the very end so that people can access all of the wiring.
We also managed to build up some small retaining walls along the exterior, and change the orientation of the entrance a little to allow for a stoop. This is where Sarah spent the better part of her time this week.
Under the cardboard is tile that matches the wall. These are two of the bedrooms and the edge of the kitchen. Below is the rest of the same room.
We will be the last Habitat group to work on the house before it is handed over to it's new owner, Lourdes, and her family. As you can see, there is still plenty of work left to do. The rest of it will be finished off by private contractors, so that the final product looks as good as it possibly can. Habitat's mission is to build cheap houses for people in need, but they also put a huge focus on making homes that people will be proud of.
To close off our time here, we bought a small housewarming gift for Lourdes, and a case of beer for the contractors that had been helping. I think the construction team was trying to hide their mid-afternoon beer breaks, but it wasn't totally succesful. Finding the hidden cooler of beer was a good afternoon game for the group.
We did manage to finish the tiling, and as much of the painting as they would let us do. The exterior of the house is cemented and painted as well, and the roof is done except for a tiny patch that is being left open until the very end so that people can access all of the wiring.
We also managed to build up some small retaining walls along the exterior, and change the orientation of the entrance a little to allow for a stoop. This is where Sarah spent the better part of her time this week.
Under the cardboard is tile that matches the wall. These are two of the bedrooms and the edge of the kitchen. Below is the rest of the same room.
We will be the last Habitat group to work on the house before it is handed over to it's new owner, Lourdes, and her family. As you can see, there is still plenty of work left to do. The rest of it will be finished off by private contractors, so that the final product looks as good as it possibly can. Habitat's mission is to build cheap houses for people in need, but they also put a huge focus on making homes that people will be proud of.
To close off our time here, we bought a small housewarming gift for Lourdes, and a case of beer for the contractors that had been helping. I think the construction team was trying to hide their mid-afternoon beer breaks, but it wasn't totally succesful. Finding the hidden cooler of beer was a good afternoon game for the group.
Amarante: The Chateau
Last night we had a nice surprise. One of the sponsors of Habitat Portugal invited us out for dinner at the "Chateau", home to two Michelin star chefs.
For dinner, we had a three course meal with wine pairings. Our first course was giant prawns in orange froth, served over fruit salad and caviar. The main was a roasted pork dish, with a layer of dark meat, a layer of light meat, and a layer of cracklin', served with courgette, mashed yams and roasted carrots. For dessert, we had a trio of orange ice cream, chocolate lava cake and fresh strawberries topped with meringue.
All evening, we also enjoyed bottomless glasses of wine from local vineyards. Our white was light, cold and bubbly, while the red was smooth and buttery, with a faint hint of the sweet taste of port.
For dinner, we had a three course meal with wine pairings. Our first course was giant prawns in orange froth, served over fruit salad and caviar. The main was a roasted pork dish, with a layer of dark meat, a layer of light meat, and a layer of cracklin', served with courgette, mashed yams and roasted carrots. For dessert, we had a trio of orange ice cream, chocolate lava cake and fresh strawberries topped with meringue.
All evening, we also enjoyed bottomless glasses of wine from local vineyards. Our white was light, cold and bubbly, while the red was smooth and buttery, with a faint hint of the sweet taste of port.
Tuesday, July 27
Amarante: R&R (Part 2)
Our third day of rest was originally slated as a beach day; however, Miguel had other plans for us. We were invited to join his youth hostel for a trip to the mountains. But, before that, we would have a night on the town.
In small cities, it really helps to have a few connections. As it turns out, Alfredo's (one of the hired assistants on site) brother owns the local pizza joint, and the best nightclub in town. He hooked us up with private access to the VIP lounge -- a bean bag and couch laden balcony overlooking the ancient church and river -- our own dance floor, and discounted drinks all evening. After three hours out, our total bar bill for Sarah and I was just 18 euro.
The bus to the mountains left at 9 the next morning. The total trip out there ran about an hour and included a generous hike/rock climb. Once at the final destination, there was a bar-b-q and home made bagaço waiting beside waterfall fed lagoons. The rest of the afternoon was to be spent eating, drinking, swimming and lounging in the sun.
At least, this is what I'm told. When the hotel woke Sarah and I up to deliver our towels, the clock read 13:47, and the mountain folk were already sleeping off their meat-coma. We had opted out so that we could try and make up a few of those lost hours of sleep that we had been accruing over the last month.
I have no regrets.
I also didn't need towels that badly.
While our team was in the mountains, we spent the better part of the day in bed watching awful movies. Not wanting to miss all of the action though, we did eventually rouse ourselves for a trip downstream to swim in the river, and for a bit of a walk through the old town.
Our group was reunited again around seven, and we went out for another fabulous Portuguese feast to close off the day.
In small cities, it really helps to have a few connections. As it turns out, Alfredo's (one of the hired assistants on site) brother owns the local pizza joint, and the best nightclub in town. He hooked us up with private access to the VIP lounge -- a bean bag and couch laden balcony overlooking the ancient church and river -- our own dance floor, and discounted drinks all evening. After three hours out, our total bar bill for Sarah and I was just 18 euro.
The bus to the mountains left at 9 the next morning. The total trip out there ran about an hour and included a generous hike/rock climb. Once at the final destination, there was a bar-b-q and home made bagaço waiting beside waterfall fed lagoons. The rest of the afternoon was to be spent eating, drinking, swimming and lounging in the sun.
At least, this is what I'm told. When the hotel woke Sarah and I up to deliver our towels, the clock read 13:47, and the mountain folk were already sleeping off their meat-coma. We had opted out so that we could try and make up a few of those lost hours of sleep that we had been accruing over the last month.
I have no regrets.
I also didn't need towels that badly.
While our team was in the mountains, we spent the better part of the day in bed watching awful movies. Not wanting to miss all of the action though, we did eventually rouse ourselves for a trip downstream to swim in the river, and for a bit of a walk through the old town.
Our group was reunited again around seven, and we went out for another fabulous Portuguese feast to close off the day.
Monday, July 26
Amarante: Our work (Part 2)
Our second stint of work was short, only two days, but it felt more productive. In the last two days we have been priming, painting, tiling and grouting. All things that are more visibly rewarding than mixing barrels of cement.
The outside of the house has changed a lot since we first got here. We applied three coats of concrete to the original brick wall: one to seal the bricks, one to make the wall level, and one to smooth the wall out.
After the final layer, we primed and painted. This is the colour that the house will be in the end. The nice thing about working in this heat is that the paint dries really fast. We can get three coats in eight hours if we time it right.
Inside of the house things have been changing rapidly as well. We've had three teams in there rotating through all of the rooms in shifts. Between painting the roof, tiling the floors and walls, and doing the final grouting, things are starting to look finished.
I'm not sure what our last three days will bring. Hopefuly we will have a chance to do some cabinetry or install the toilet and shower.
The outside of the house has changed a lot since we first got here. We applied three coats of concrete to the original brick wall: one to seal the bricks, one to make the wall level, and one to smooth the wall out.
After the final layer, we primed and painted. This is the colour that the house will be in the end. The nice thing about working in this heat is that the paint dries really fast. We can get three coats in eight hours if we time it right.
Inside of the house things have been changing rapidly as well. We've had three teams in there rotating through all of the rooms in shifts. Between painting the roof, tiling the floors and walls, and doing the final grouting, things are starting to look finished.
I'm not sure what our last three days will bring. Hopefuly we will have a chance to do some cabinetry or install the toilet and shower.
Friday, July 23
Mobile blogging.
Last year I didn't write much about our Habitat trip. My excuse being that it was a pain to get near a computer, and nigh impossible to upload photos.
This year, iPhone in hand, I'm experimenting with mobile blogging. Both of my previous issues now gone, I am free to write about our travels almost as fast as we experience them. Writing while driving back to the hotel at the end of the day is a nice way to conclude our work, and it helps keep my mind off of the rollercoaster bus ride through the hills.
The only difficulty I have now is getting a wifi signal long enough to actually post something. Amarante has free municipal wifi, but it is extremelly spotty. Consequently, my evenings in Portugal are spent very semaphorically. As I post this, I'm standing on a chair, one leg wrapped around a pole, waving my arms wildly at the sky, trying desperately to avoid the eye of any passing airplanes.
I'm also not totally sold yet on the blogging apps that I've found online. One likes to post everything twice, and the other sort of mangles the layout of text and images on upload. Neither has decent spellcheck. For the time being, though, I'm happy to make the quantity/quality tradeoff if it means I can actually journal some of our travels.
This year, iPhone in hand, I'm experimenting with mobile blogging. Both of my previous issues now gone, I am free to write about our travels almost as fast as we experience them. Writing while driving back to the hotel at the end of the day is a nice way to conclude our work, and it helps keep my mind off of the rollercoaster bus ride through the hills.
The only difficulty I have now is getting a wifi signal long enough to actually post something. Amarante has free municipal wifi, but it is extremelly spotty. Consequently, my evenings in Portugal are spent very semaphorically. As I post this, I'm standing on a chair, one leg wrapped around a pole, waving my arms wildly at the sky, trying desperately to avoid the eye of any passing airplanes.
I'm also not totally sold yet on the blogging apps that I've found online. One likes to post everything twice, and the other sort of mangles the layout of text and images on upload. Neither has decent spellcheck. For the time being, though, I'm happy to make the quantity/quality tradeoff if it means I can actually journal some of our travels.
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