Blogging from Faial …

Here at last! It is great to be on Faial, knowing that this is my new home; finally able to relax, in as much as knowing what can be done, has been done.

Wearing the hat that I was presented with by my colleagues upon retirement, it sure feels good to be here, and not as a tourist, but as a resident.

There are loose ends of course: The UK property sale has still to complete, and importantly the funds from that sale, although very modest, will be welcome. My main pension has also not come into play yet...

Watch out; those of you on local government pension schemes... they won't even start the pension process until after you have retired. This could have dire consequences if you have lots of outgoings upon retirement!

Also, as expected, the house build is not complete, and to be frank, has some way to go for it to be remotely habitable.

That aside, as I say, I'm relieved to be here, as so far it has been quite a journey. I can feel the stress just literally falling away. A wallet full of Euros sure helps in making the immediate pressing needs of pensions and day to day expenses fade significantly, as does a secure roof over my head at least until nearly the end of the month, at the "Quinta das Proteus", where I stayed last summer.

These amazing clouds banding the neighbouring island of Pico illustrate just how high 2,500 meters is. It's the only view I have seen of the summit in the five days since my arrival. The weather being overcast with showers in the main, with the odd sunny spell ,which is brilliant when it comes!

My arrival on Faial was delayed by a couple of hours; not too bad in the scheme of things, the delay being caused by high winds at Horta Airport. If we had set off from Lisbon on time, there is no way a landing would have been possible: As it was, it was done at the first pass, but it was a rough and slightly harrowing experience! Grip those arm rests guys. Pray.

The upshot of this delay though was a near 12 hour 'commute' from the hotel at Heathrow to the Quinta das Proteus in Pedro Miguel. Most of this time was either spent in a departure lounge with uncomfortable metal seats (if you know gate 7 at Lisbon you will sympathise), or strapped into a seat suitable for a vertically challenged, anorexic contortionist. This has resulted in me suffering from a bad back since arrival.... Argh!

How to make a really terrible burger look expensive, and worse, actually make it really stupidly expensive. This, my friends, cost nearly £17 … well, £25 if you include the pint of Grolsch Beer.

The pint was great, and so it should be for the price; in fact it should have given me eternal youth.

The burger was 'reheated' - was dry and just about warm enough to avoid instant food poisoning. The thing had half an iceberg lettuce in it, a slice of tomato and one strip of over sweet gherkin.. the bun was a very sweet Brioche - bloody foul. Stacked so high it had to be pinned down to stop it running away.

Chips is chips and OK, despite being served in a tossy tumbler. Coleslaw on the tray? Yup. How about a little bowl? Jeezus.

Yes, apologies for the moan above, but having been travelling to London, no food, and knowing that I would be subject to two helpings of 'Sanduiche Misto' during the flights the following day, I thought I had better have something nutritious for my evening meal! Oh dear. Onwards.....

After a beer and yet another sandwich upon arrival, I got an early night in preparation for a nice early start the next day. Slept like a log, despite the bad back. Bliss. Brilliant silence... well apart from the odd dog bark; it's one of the things you expect anywhere in Portugal in general.

First task in the morning after coffee, was to wander up the hill to the house with my project manager. I could not really have anticipated how amazing it looked:

Walking around the outside of the house, which is all paved, led to the main patio, or deck. A bar has yet to be fitted under the kitchen window and the tiles yet to be laid, which will match the interior floor tiles to provide a seamless feel: for much of the year the covered deck is just an extension of the living room.

The patio is nicely beamed, with wood cladding between the beams. Love the timber.

Balustrades have to be fitted of course; a fall off the decking would seriously spoil your day. Wire is the order of the day. Glass was considered but it would be murder to keep clean, especially on the outward facing surface, and I want less hassle, not more.

Lighting will be with wall sconces.

It does not take a massive amount of imagination to realise that this area could be sheltered even more if ever required, by a full height glass panel. However, the patio is really well sheltered in the two directions of the prevailing winds, namely the south and west. Easterlies are partly disrupted by the neighbouring island of Pico...

Just for completion, here's a view from the other aspect of the patio. Plenty of room for a BBQ at the end there, near to the kitchen window and bar: Funds allowing it may be possible that a built in affair could be constructed. Then again a wheeled trolley type may give more flexibility. Options open, and no rush.

Walking in through the patio doors brought me into the living area, the stairs leading to the mezzanine and the archway that leads to under stair storage and the main door.

At the top of the stairs a guest toilet is being constructed, up on the mezzanine walkway. This also provides extra storage space behind, in the eaves (an otherwise unusable space).

This photo is taken from the approximate location of the kitchen breakfast bar. The fire surround has now been rendered and looks the absolute business. The shelving either side are absolutely perfect for the home 'server' computer on the left, and the TV and entertainment (Laptop, PlayStation and Soundbar) on the right.

I am stood at the bottom of the stairs, at the bedroom entrance door and dining room for this shot, showing the main patio doors and the land beyond. As you can see, a fair bit of plastering to be done!

Wandering up the wide stairs brings us to the mezzanine. I was a bit "Wow" at this point.

The 'head-height' useable area of the mezzanine is surprisingly large, in fact mostly all of it is useable, as low furniture, such as futon and coffee table can go under the eves. The studio area is pretty vast and I was able to approach within a couple of feet of the edge (left, over the kitchen), without banging my head on the beams.

The lower edge of the sky-lights is approximately just above head height (I'm about 6'1"). So not much space is wasted up to the eaves.

The guest loo is being built in the corner, with a sliding door. It makes use of an otherwise under utilised area. Unfortunately, one of the skylights was 'lost' here, although still useful for ventilation of the toilet, it will no longer shine into the living area below. Such is life.

The upstairs guest toilet, showing how it contains one of the skylights. Height at the bottom of the skylight is about 6' - I certainly can't see out of the skylights horizontally.

So, there is just enough headroom for the average person to comfortably use the suite in the standing position. Tall folk may have to duck or sit!

A sliding door is to be fitted. Lighting is wall fitted above the cistern.

The skylight gives the possibility of some potted plants to soften this little space :)

I'm currently undecided on the flooring - if tiles are left over from downstairs, this would be a good place to use them.

Here is the storage that is provided behind the guest loo. A pair of doors will give access.

The loo is small, so as previously mentioned, a toilet was sourced that has the wash basin built into the cistern. Clever.

Finally from the mezzanine, we can see the wide stairway, which will have a glass balustrade, along with most of the mezzanine area (wire is going to the 'front' edge for acoustic reasons, as studio monitors will be placed close-by). Loving the massive high ceiling over the living area. I am confident the log burner will keep it comfortable in the cooler months, if required. Bear in mind a heat pump is being fitted for background warming and cooling. Also the house is well insulated.

Down the stairs into the dining area, we turn right into the bedroom ….

Patio doors open out onto a small area that will most likely be decked or tiled - at the moment they open onto the path that runs around the house, as shown below.

The exterior finish looks very good with the marble threshold. The lower part of the walls will be painted dark blue - this is being done once the window shutters are fitted, so that a good colour match can be achieved. Similar windowsills have been fitted throughout. The quality is second to none, and I am very pleased.

This is the view from the bedroom through the dressing room, to the bathroom, taken on the 6th March. Note there are no tiles on the bathroom wall at this point. Also note the finished quality of the bedroom wall render, yet to be painted of course.

Moving from the bedroom towards the shower room is the dressing room... only a small area, but large enough for the built in wardrobe and a blanket box opposite to sit on

The built in wardrobe alcove is currently full of shower/bathroom tiles and floor tiles. This could have any type of door fitted, or if money is tight, just left open with hanging rails and shelves. The alcove is quite long (enough to hold all my clothes on hangers anyway) and is full height, so storage can be added above the clothes rail, as well as shelves lower down.

When I visited the property on Wednesday 6th, it was noted that the shower was not wide enough for a comfortable scrub; it had been done according to the plans OK... but drawing it and seeing it are two different things! I got 'in' the shower, and a decision was made...

So, the shower has been widened and the shower floor cut back to accommodate. This was done very swiftly (next day). Impressive to see alterations made so swiftly. The extra width will make showering more fun. Seriously. Thanks to my project manager for pointing this out to me, and sparing me from cramped showering in the future.

The bathroom walls where bare on Wednesday, but Saturday saw a whole bunch of tiles on the walls, up to the level where the blue border tiles go. The original plan featured square tiles, but these are far nicer, and laid in the 'brick' pattern is pretty classic and purposeful.

Finally, for this edition of the blog, is a picture from some little way down the field, showing how the house is shaping up outside. Plenty of earth works & landscaping to do.

Next Up... Interior Works Continue … Pedal to the Metal