A month back in Portugal was just what we needed after our busy spell in the UK. Arriving in mid-March, we were in time to really appreciate spring in the Algarve, which is a wonderful time of year. The wild flowers cover the countryside and the peace is interrupted only by the buzzing of bees, happily visiting as many flowers as they can as they go about their business. My parents live in a valley near Silves; the ancient Moorish capital of the Algarve. The valley has a river which runs during the winter months, once the rainy season has started, and we love to paddle and swim in its clear, fresh water. It brings life to the valley; soon enough, frogs and toads can be heard croaking, harmless viperine snakes can be found clinging to rocks in the running water, and birds such as egrets, herons and storks come to eat their fill of the seasonal aquatic life. Outside of the valley, the Silves region is filled with thousands of well-kept orange groves. Driving around in our little red Peugeot 106 (which we bought at the end of last year), with no A/C and the windows wide open, the incredible scent of orange blossom on the warm air blows through the car, and I find it hard not to smile as I am filled with that wonderful feeling of warmth and contentment.
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| Nêspera trees produce a delicious, sweet fruit at this time of year |
The children and I visited Hope briefly, mainly to pack our winter clothes away into her lockers and collect some more appropriate summer clothing for ourselves, but then returned to stay with my parents who were keen to spend some time with us. Their house is only a 20 minute drive from our land, so I was able to borrow my dad's brush cutter and spent a good few days clearing the ground between the fruit trees, in order to be ready for fire season. On these days, the children played happily for hours in the stream beside our land catching tadpoles, and around the land itself climbing trees and having all sorts of imaginative play. Unfortunately, I only got half way through the land before the temperamental brush cutter refused to start one afternoon so I had to take it back to my dad's tool shed in order to investigate the issue and, eventually, get it working again.
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Hours of fun paddling and catching tadpoles in the stream |
During this stay with my parents, Dad and I spent a lot of time in and out of the tool shed fixing things... so much so, in fact, that we spent a full day organising and tidying it to make our lives easier, which felt great! We worked together on the Peugeot 106 (trying to fix a fuel starvation issue), fixing various issues with the brush cutter, gardening and land clearing, and assembling a storage shed for the childrens' new bikes. It was really nice to be working together fixing things, especially the car; Dad made a comment that it was just like the old days, and indeed it was! I loved learning how to fix our old cars with Dad growing up, and then having him help out with mine as I got older - it's just a shame that cars these days are so difficult to fix at home, due to the increased use of electronics (meaning diagnostic tools are required for most things). This is one of the reasons that I absolutely love our little Peugeot 106; at 30 years old, she is very simple to work on and fix, cheap to run and so much fun to drive. I would love Beth and Zach to experience the same joy of working on internal combustion engines as they grow up, but perhaps they will eventually become a thing of the past as electric takes over. I did use the opportunity give them some lessons on engines whilst working on the brush cutter, explaining about the differences between 2 and 4 stroke engines, but I think perhaps it will be a few more years before they really start to take an interest in mechanical engineering. For now, they are content to be given the tasks of doing/undoing fixings such as screw, nuts and bolts, and I'm happy with that!
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| Our lovely little Peugeot 106, which we have named Scarlet |
One of the positives I've drawn from Alex being away is my realisation and reconfirmation that I can still do for myself the many tasks that Alex usually takes care of. I think that it is fairly normal in any relationship for each person to assume a certain role and take on certain tasks (usually those that they prefer doing, I would hope), which can perhaps lead to the other person losing confidence in their own ability in this area. A classic example is driving; I see a lot of cases whereby one person does all the driving and, eventually, the other loses confidence in their own driving, which always seems like a shame to me. Anyhow, in the case of myself and Alex, the main thing that Alex always takes care of is anything relating to electrics and electronics. This is mostly due to him being so passionate about it, whereas I am not, so it makes sense for him to assume this role. However, with him away, I stepped up to the plate and found myself using a multi-meter to test a switch on the brush cutter, disassembling and fixing a belt on an old CD player and fixing some wiring on an electric scooter. Whilst I am more than happy to let Alex take over when he is around to do so, it feels good to know that I am still capable of fixing such things myself when he is not available.
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| Enjoying a freshly squeezed orange juice after a haircut |
I briefly mentioned the children having new bikes; this is due, in part, to Zach learning to ride a bicycle within the last few weeks! One morning, Beth raced outside clutching her skateboarding safety gear (knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, etc.) and announced she was teaching Zach how to ride. I didn't think much would come of it, since the bike she was trying to teach him on was way too small for them both and has become very stiff and rusty over the past few years but, blow me down, she was soon calling me outside to see the little guy pedalling along on it! I was amazed, and very proud of Beth for taking the time to teach Zach to ride! I decided that it was time to get them both a bicycle that would allow them to ride properly up and down the valley, and what a great decision it was. Now, instead of nagging the children to keep up when we walk down the valley, I find myself running trying to keep up with them! Zach's riding went from wobbly to wonderful in a matter of days, with him working so hard at it every day, and they have been having so much fun. What with all the riding and lots of swimming, I've never known them go to sleep so quickly at the end of the day!
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| Zach, ready to ride, on his new bicycle |
The week after Easter, Alex flew out to join us for a week in Portugal; his first proper holiday since starting his training back in January! Unfortunately, due to signalling issues with the UK trains, he had a complete nightmare of a journey from Dartmouth to Bristol Airport. Thank goodness, he did manage to get to the airport on time (with the help of a taxi or two) and the children were overjoyed to meet him at Faro airport, where we held up a large, handmade sign to welcome him in. We spent a night together on Hope and visited the land together a few times over subsequent days, to talk about possible future plans, prune some trees, organise some land clearing and chat/drink coffee with our lovely Italian neighbours. Mainly, though, the week has been spent enjoying the sunshine, eating lots of good food and spending quality time together with family and friends. Alex fitted in some physical training, running up the valley and around the park whilst the children cycled, and he even got to take an afternoon nap one day. This must have felt like an absolute luxury since sleeping during the day is completely forbidden at BRNC!
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| Happy to be reunited with Officer Cadet Mitchell at last! |
Now, having acclimatised to the warmth of Portugal, we have headed back to the UK for the second week of Alex's Easter break, in order to go sailing with my cousin and her husband in their new boat. We are aiming to sail her from south to north Devon, around the south-west tip of the United Kingdom. I am very much looking forward to this trip although, having landed back in the UK this afternoon, I do wonder whether I was a little premature in packing away my winter clothes on Hope last month!
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| Enjoying a final meal in Silves before heading back to the UK |
