A premature return to reality

So, it's been a while since my last update and for those of you wondering what hapened, things have taken a significant turn....we are now back in the UK.

In the weeks running up to our return, we were having significant problems with our tenant.  We continued our travels north and stopped off in Germany to see some friends before our planned onward journey to Scandinavia.  Unfortunately, the tenant problems didn't desist and after some soul searching, we decided that the best solution would be to return to the UK, fix the problems then continue our travels.

We headed back to the UK for what we thought was going to be a month of DIY and catching up with family before jumping back on the ferry and resuming our euro travels.  Turns out the tenant had left the place in a bit of a mess, in addition to having left with substantial rent arrears and once we'd cleaned up that mess, there were more underlying issues with the house that we needed to fix before we could re-let.  That was in May...

We made the decision to do what needed doing and to postpone our travels to a later date.  After spending so much time and effort sorting the house out, we were really quite loathe to let anyone else live here and risk someone else trashing it.  Probably sounds like a cop out to some people but this house was always intended to be our home and not just a temporary investment.  If we'd had a reliable tenant, we'd have stayed on the road, but I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason.

We probably won't get back on the road for a few years now, but time is on our side and we still have Dora, so we'll still take short holidays when we can.  It's not quite what we'd planned, but we're actually enjoying making our house a home.  I've yet to secure employment, but I've applied for jobs so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Since we returned, it's been home improvement central here!  Pete's in his element as there's so much to do.

As much as we do miss life on 4 wheels, we're loving being back in the UK and having our own house on no wheels is still a bit of a novelty.

Obviously there won't be any more updates on here for a good while, but if you're on Facebook, we''ll see you there!

Back where it all began

Well, today marks 6 months on the road for us.  I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone.  We’ve so much left to see and time just whizzes by.  We knew it would, which is why we’ve picked up the pace considerably this week.

Decisions, decisions

If indecision was an Olympic sport, we'd be serious contenders for the gold medal.

We're still in Foz Do Arelho, but will be leaving early tomorrow morning. We should have left today, but a couple of beers round at Callum and Issie's last night turned into dinner and a lot of wine.  We both feel fine today but it was a very late night, so we've had a lazy day today.

Summer days and long drives

Summer is here, even if it is only temporary!!  We left Portimao on a balmy Tuesday morning, having decided to head north to Monchique.  However, sticking to plans has never been a strong point of ours and after stocking up on food and gas, with the temperature pushing 27 degrees C, we decided we'd try and cool down on the coast and we were soon on our way to Sagres instead!

Almost Northbound

After leaving Lagos on Monday, we headed east again back to Portimao Marina.  The intention was just to stay a couple of nights and start heading north.  However, as the weather still wasn’t great, we decided to hole up here for a while longer.  We also figured that after a budget busting (but very enjoyable!) few days in Lagos, we’d be as well to stay here for the rest of the week as it’s only 2.50 a night, to balance the books and wait for the weather to improve.

Update from Portugal

Pete has invested in a body board.  It's the next best thing to surfing (although I'm sure some would debate that!) until his wrist is stronger as the body board is much smaller and lighter.  After his shopping trip on Thursday, a weekend of surf hunting ensued, starting with a day at Praia do Beliche on Friday.  I don't recall seeing Pete catch any waves, but plenty of waves caught him; it was a bit like watching him in a giant washing machine...!!  He had fun though, so the main objective was achieved!

Laid back in Lagos

I don't know where the time's gone since my last entry almost two weeks ago.  Since then, we've moved from Manta Rota and following a couple of nights in Portimão, we're now in Lagos.