5th August FONTE DOS CLERIGOS

We went to visit the expats, Mark and Di, at 1.30 p.m.; they were much younger than I had expected with a three year old son (Rowan). They have been living in Portugal for six years and make a living breeding lizards. They have fifteen different types; they have all the adult breeding parent lizards in separate pens, they collect their eggs (digging them up out of the soil), they’re incubated (in an incubator, obviously) and then they have pens of baby lizards – it all looks like something out of ‘Jurassic Park’. They also breed tortoise and, no, it isn’t illegal, so long as you’re breeding from ones that have been bred in captivity. They said they are very busy with their business and don’t invite all and sundry to visit them; they implied that we had come across as worth meeting when we introduced ourselves on the expat forum, we didn’t leave until gone six. 

They confirmed everything we had suspected ourselves about our vegetable gardening; it was the ants that were stealing my seeds (hence the poor germination), it was too late in the season to start growing anyway and that we should sow in trays then plant on. One interesting vegetable they were growing was sweet potato – I’ve never tried that, they said it was very successful and explained how to cultivate the plants (it’s quite complicated, so I’ll probably research it properly before I have a go). They have also grown asparagus and rhubarb from seeds; both are growing very well (in fact the asparagus bed is only 2 or 3 years old and they’ve had to give away loads of crowns as they had far too much for their consumption) – I’ve come away enthused and energized, there’s hope for our garden yet! They also have contacts for Muscovy ducks and milking sheep; all in all a very worthwhile visit. Oh yes they also said the birds were bee eaters and they said our big lime green caterpillar, with blue spots, was an Emperor moth caterpillar, they’re very big, can be up to 15cms across, the biggest moth in Europe. 

Gary brought us some figs that he’d picked from an abandoned orchard they were much juicier (tastier) than the ones we’ve been eating off our trees – probably because we’re picking them before they’re properly ripe to beat the magpies to them! 

Mark, Glen and Nick are coming over for dinner on Wednesday – and now we have a proper social life.