Living the Vida Local...

My earlier visit to the Azores and Faial Island saw me enjoying the tourist way of doing things - every meal was eaten out and lots of time was obviously spent seeing the notable sights of the island. And much fun was had... and I came away the proud owner of my plot of land.

This most recent visit though has seen me trying pretty much to enjoy my time on the island whilst doing lots of jobs pertaining to the house and mostly living life as if I actually lived there.

This meant mostly eating 'at home', cooking on the bbq or eating out cheaply at the local cafes and eateries. I did get out for a 'posh' meal once with friends, and another lovely no holds-barred lunch with some other friends. On the first occasion I was the guest and on the second occasion I picked up the tab, which seems equitable for expenses calculation.

This enabled to get a handle on the day to day living expenses. If I told you how little I spent in 9 days you wouldn't believe me. So I won't. Let's just say that living is very affordable, and the local shops are incredible value for money with superior produce.

Where possible, I tried to buy locally produced goods; virtually everything is organic, although not labelled as such - it's just the way it is. Local cheese, meat, wine and vegetables and gorgeous bread and butter. The only thing I came across that I didn't like were some sausages - but there you go, processed meat of unknown origin. However the cat ate them, so they must have been alright:

Yes, the cat... it adopted me when I arrived at the Quinta. Really I'm not a cat person... or at least I wasn't. So, I'm now a convert. I called her Gato (which is Portuguese for Cat). She could eat and eat and eat... ate all my unwanted sausages, scraps, a full rump steak and got through a few packs of proper cat food, as well as some bacon, a couple of eggs and some salami. Good taste.

Apart from feeding the cat my time was spent usefully: I visited the local kitchen factory, the flooring specialist who also was like your local B&Q and sold bathrooms and all things for building and DIY. I also got out to the local Worten's which is like the Portuguese equivalent of Currys and a more local furniture shop that stocked everything from white goods to dining tables and beds.

So Kitchen first: I specified two kitchens of different quality for a quote. One cheap budget, and the other with top quality 'Silestone' worktops and heavier duty units and doors. The difference cost wise was not exactly 'minimal' but I am opting for the top quality and trying to make savings elsewhere. Essentially, the silestone worktops are far superior and available in pure black 'negro' as I wanted. I was also able to get the red poppy splash back for the cooker hob and toe kicks. The higher quality units and doors are also resistant to high humidity, which is important in the Azores. They will wear well.

So, as per my renders of the kitchen I'm going for white handleless units and doors, black silestone worktop and under-mount sunken sink unit. A 3 meter breakfast bar matches a 3 meter work surface opposite. The quality is top class and of course it will be measured and engineered to fit perfectly, unlike the situation of importing something flat-pack from the UK.

Cost wise, this has put me over budget somewhat, as this is a bespoke fitted kitchen and not a flat-pack. I need to claw this money back from other areas. The price quoted did not include white goods, so these still need to be sourced, and will most likely be shipped from the UK.

This was the very cheapest fridge-freezer at Worten's.. and it's not frost free, which is essential in a high humidity area. You have to spend around 440 Euros for a frost free and even then it is a non-name brand. So I think I'll bung one in the container. The disadvantage of course is the loss of guarantee if importing, whereas a good warranty exists for goods bought locally. You makes your choice....

With white goods, the most expensive items seem to be anything to do with cooling - yes, the Azoreans *need* a fridge, so of course they get screwed on it. For similar money or less than a fridge freezer in the Azores I can buy a top of the range Samsung or similar. Of course fries and washing machines are heavy and have to shipped out to the island, so a premium is expected.

Ovens and Hobs are on a par with the UK price wise, but of course the selection is much more limited, as everything has to be imported in. I'm a big fan of Samsung and Zanussi Products - but these just are not available in stock, so I will most likely source these in the UK and give the kitchen fitters a link to the product so they can make the required 'cut outs' into the work surface and housing units.

A similar situation appears to be the case with washing machines and washer-dryers as shown above. This is 550 Euros... yes, read it and weep. I have sourced this same machine in the UK for 345 Pounds Sterling at Currys:

And here it is. It's a no brainer, since I'm sending a half container over anyway.

My visit to the flooring specialist was an education. The owner showed me a bewildering array of tiles and flooring finishes. He was very 'on the ball' and spoke great english. He soon got down to offering me a selection of suitable products after finding my likes and dislikes.

In the end, we got to a product that could be laid both inside and out in a large tile format of 600mm by 600mm. The tile is of a stone type, low maintenance and in grey with an interesting random pattern, that does not repeat across tiles. I am still awaiting a quote for this... it is a large area (to include the patio and house paths and borders), so should be competitive.

Whilst there I also specified a toilet and sink as well as a black tiled floor for the bathroom, a white tiled wall with blue chair rail height border, and a walk in shower. The walk in shower does away with the need for a sliding door and shower tray, giving a much more contemporary look, as well as practicality and safety (there will be no step into the shower).

So, my idea of laying LVT (luxury vinyl tile) is scuppered - they just don't do it on the island! But they know what works best. My project manager had suggested cork - and i agree, but the cost and that it needs importing from Mainland Portugal made it a no go. Similarly the LVT was expensive and would need importing to the island from the UK - added to which, the local trades would perhaps never have used it before. Risky.

Talking of 'new things'.... a really funny situation occurred with the house builder. When visiting with the project manager, the builder commented (in Portuguese as he doesn't speak English) that there was no hot water provided on the plans. Believe me that it took nearly half an hour to try to explain that I was using instant electric heaters under the kitchen and bathroom sinks. He was quite perplexed that there would be no hot water pipes and no gas boiler! He was also similarly interested in the concept of an electric instant shower :)

This is all a great break from tradition....

Next Up: Mixing work with Pleasure ....