When our friends from Óbidos visited us recently, we went to a miniature model village named Aldeia Típica (meaning Typical Village). Although not too typical now, it represented a rather normal, simple life here in Portugal about a century ago.
Its creator, José Franco, was a creative, yet humble, son of potters. He recreated a little village with miniature ceramics representing people and animals in daily life situations. He also made lifelike mannequins in model occupational settings.
Here are a couple of pictures from the village. Throughout the village, you can see merchants engaged in a variety of occupations within their typical surroundings. We tend to think how deprived people were back then, without all of our modern conveniences. However, José Franco created this village in order to share his fond memories. He obviously didn’t feel deprived in the least bit to be inspired this much.
Many Things in Portugal are Small
But even in a modern-day, normal-sized village, things tend to be miniature. Especially shower stalls! We just moved from our rental apartment in Mafra to a rental apartment in Ericeira while we await completion of our new home. Shower stalls are typically small all over Europe, but the one in this apartment is comical. I had better not gain any weight because there is barely enough room to turn around!
Our shower area is a small rectangle stall. To make matters worse, instead of plumbing the shower on the short breadth of the rectangle, they plumbed in the middle of the length. So, when I turn around to rinse my back, I turn off the water with my butt. Here is a picture of the shower, with only a foot and a half of wiggle room between the faucet handle and the glass door. I would post a video of creative ways I have accidentally found to turn off the water, or turn it from hot to cold, but this is a family-friendly blog.
Refrigerators also tend to be on the small side. In the US, refrigerators are often the size of a pantry. Some of the newer ones are even loaded with artificial intelligence that knows when you are running low on certain items and makes out your shopping list. You won’t see those here.
It is customary to pick up what you need for a shorter period of time. There is a healthy tradition in Portugal to buy fresh products without preservatives. When we first got here, we were amazed at the quality of the bread and how inexpensive it was. But we found that after a few days, it got moldy. So now we buy a lot of our food every couple of days with a close walk to the market. We canceled our Costco membership because there are no Costcos in Portugal! I am happy about that but I know Cathy kind of misses it.
Maximizing Minimalism
This small apartment we are in now definitely serves our immediate purposes. But it has also killed any romantic notion of becoming minimalistic and living in one of those tiny-houses. It’s only romantic for maybe 48 hours. When you have a kitchen where you have to choose between a toaster or an electric wine opener, it’s just too darned small. By the way, choose the wine opener.
We did hit a few snafus during the move from Mafra to Ericeira (while we await completion on our condo). We hired professional movers who were terrific. They disassembled all the couches and beds we bought to accommodate friends and family who never arrived due to Covid. These things needed to be stored because this airbnb in Ericeira is too small.
Two days before the move, our mover said that he ran out of storage space. Then one day before the move, his truck broke down. He moved heaven and Earth to resolve these issues, thank goodness, and everything thing worked out fine in the end, as things usually do.
Even though we had professional movers, we still had a lot of carrying small stuff up and down stairs. After one of the many trips up the stairs to our new apartment, my wife said, “Look at the turtles.” I said, “What do you expect after our 20th trip up these stairs?” “No,” she said. “I mean look at the nice turtle sculptures they left for us.”
Sights Around Ericeira
We are all moved in now. In a few months we will have to do it all over again. Before this, we were comfortable in our Mafra rental, but we decided that after a year there, it was time to be in Ericeira. We are happy to be here, even if it is a bit cramped. The condo that we will be moving into will be a lot roomier and we made a few design choices, like larger showers, to bring it more to our level of comfort.
Walking around Ericeira is much more vibrant than Mafra. Maybe it’s the energy of the ocean. Because Ericeira’s roots are centered around fishing, you see many colorful boats that go out and supply the many restaurants. I am amazed that they all still float, but they do. Although, I’m not too sure about the last one here:
You can always find young people playing or meditating on the beach. Ericeira is an interesting combination of old-time fishing villagers and new-age yoga practitioners. Everyone seems to cohabitate just fine, though.
There is no shortage of restaurants. While I was sitting at one the other day, a dog was begging for my last french fry. I know that its owners were at another table so I’m thinking that he was trained to bring food back for them. Just a hunch, but this was no amateur.
We are living across from the Adega bar, at the end of a narrow, meandering cobblestone road. It is one minute out the door to the beach.
There are miles and miles of walking and biking trails along the ocean and it is quite invigorating to walk along the boardwalk, watching the surf and the surfers while listening to the waves and seagulls. I will never get tired of this.
There is an old, rather dull looking church sitting on a cliff in Ericeira. I had walked by it many times without any inclination to look inside. Cathy had gone inside on one of her walks (she walks more than I do) and suggested that I check it out. Lo and behold! It just goes to show you that you can never judge a book by its cover.
The Fly Zapper
I bought myself one of the coolest things ever invented the other day. A fly zapper. If the moderator of the Vice-Presidential debate had had one of these, then the fly might not have been the winner that night. On the other hand, they would have had to zap Pence on the head to get the fly. And it does carry a jolt. I tested it on Cathy first. The flies don’t stand a chance. Joking, of course. I tested it on myself, not her.
Typically, there are no window screens in Portugal. Hence, the flies. You can get screens here but you will have to have them custom made. Windows aren’t really designed for them. Having grown up in Miami and having lived in Hawaii, I am very familiar with all kinds of bugs. Fortunately, Portugal doesn’t have many bugs, and I think I have found a solution to the fly problem.
The Two Most Asked Questions about Portugal Expat Life
People naturally have a lot of questions about becoming an expat in Portugal. The two most common questions I hear are about cost of living and access to medical care. I write about cost of living a lot because that has been one of the many positives about living here. In my mind, I had always thought Europe was expensive. And it is expensive in some areas. But most of Portugal is not expensive. Even in expensive neighborhoods, groceries and other items are very inexpensive.
I have one anecdotal experience about low-cost service I recently encountered. I’ve been carrying around a leather belt with a broken buckle for the longest time. I even bought a brass buckle on eBay a couple of years ago to replace it but never got around to dealing with it. I had been passing by a tiny hole-in-the-wall shoe repair on my morning walks in Mafra with a little old man sitting inside. Actually, the scene looked a lot like one of the scenes from Aldeia Típica. I wish I had taken a picture for you to compare. He looked a little bit like this mannequin from the miniature village, except much older.
I finally brought my belt with the broken buckle and replacement buckle to the man. Cathy also had me bring one of her broken shoes, seeing as he was a cobbler. I asked him how much to fix both. He said “Três.” I asked “Thirty?” Then he held up three fingers. I gave him five euros but still felt guilty about it.
Medical is the other question most on people’s minds, especially since most of the people inquiring are older, retired folks like us. We have had some confusion about it ourselves, but recently cleared most of it up. I haven’t seen a doctor yet, but Cathy has. Her first experience was for a Covid test, which came back negative. There was no charge for that.
Her second experience was just the other day for a kidney infection. She is leaving for the US on October 18th and we were concerned that she wouldn’t be able to get an appointment before then. However, we drove to the clinic with no appointment and they saw her right away, ran a few tests and prescribed antibiotics. They even booked her an appointment at the hospital for an ultrasound. The total cost? Only 30€ (about $35).
We pay about $100 a month each for very good health insurance coverage. We hear many stories from other expats who have had extensive procedures for various physical ailments and parts replacements. They are always impressed with the care and the low, low co-pays.
Cathy is also having cosmetic dental work done for less than half the price of what it would have cost back in the US. She did need to go in for a quick fix on one of her teeth. The beautiful dentist came in at night, dressed in heels and sexy evening wear on her way out for the evening. Come to think of it, I think it’s time that I go in for a checkup.
So, there you have it, a few more examples of costs and medical experiences for those contemplating a move across the pond. We continue to be impressed with the lifestyle here. If you have any other questions about Portugal expat life, feel free to comment or shoot them my way!
Enjoyed your blog, once again.
I am glad that you are enjoying my blogs! As soon as we get into our new place, you and Rob will have to visit.
I can’t wait until I can come stroll with you on the boardwalk. For some reason I had thought of the Silver Coast as being more like Oregon’s coastline as opposed to California’s, meaning gray, cloudy and chilly. But the picture you posted has lovely sunshine and seems warmer than that. What are your temperatures there?
Looking forward to it! It’s been in the mid-70s lately. Sunshine every day. Summers are often in the low to mid-80s. Winter can drop into the mid-40s and get blustery, but not like the Oregon Coast. The sunshine doesn’t stay hidden here for long, as it is prone to do in Oregon.
I look forward to reading each of your pieces. My favorite lines from this one? “When you have a kitchen where you have to choose between a toaster or an electric wine opener, it’s just too darned small. By the way, choose the wine opener.” It’s reassuring to see you’ve got your priorities straight! Take care and wishing you the best!
Yep, it’s all about priorities! 🙂
Love your blog…thank you for sharing
Another fantastic article!
Hi Bob,
I did hear there is a Costco in Seville. Kathy might enjoy that adventure!
Yes, there is. I’m sure we’ll get there eventually, but that’s a long way to go for pumpkin pie!
Best 7 words of this blog edition, drum roll please……
“I will never get tired of this” And I can see why – that beach looks so inviting!
I got a chuckle out of the shower pic. We have seen some teeny ones in our European travels, and poor Dave at 6’3 has had a hard time fitting in some of them!
Carry on, ExPat! And be good while Cathy is back in the States!
Well, you and Dave wouldn’t be able to shower together, that’s for sure!
My wife gets your blog and shares it with me to my delight
Please add me to your e-mail. We had planned to move to Portugal just before covid stopped that possibility.
We currently are caretaking a fantastic oceanfront home on the ocean on the Eastern side of the Big Island, HI.
The owner won’t be returning from the East coast of the mainland until it’s safe to fly so we’re quite content.
Keep the news coming, we’ll be there soon!
Aloha Arthur! Hawaii and Portugal, my two favorite places. My daughter lives in East Hawaii also, mauka Honokaa. Hopefully the travel ban will be lifted soon!
I’m with you on the choice between a toaster and an electric bottle opener. My husband gave me one for Christmas a few years ago—best appliance I’ve ever had! Besides, with such good fresh bread, who needs toast? Enjoy Ericeira!
You are so right about not needing a toaster with the fresh bread. With Portugal making both the best wine and the best bread, the choice between a toaster or a wine opener should be obvious! 🙂
Hoping this will be in my future. I loved reading your blog.
Thank you, Janna. I hope 2021 is a much better year for you to travel safely. I know many people who aren’t allowed to come to Portugal just yet, unfortunately.