A Specialty of the House

 

Yesterday, after our language class, we went to a new restaurant, for us. It specializes in bacalhao. Of course, at the time, we didn't know that, but when the first 3 pages of the menu all contained the word bacalhao, it became evident. There was, however a dish with beans, which I have been missing... A Feijoada de Samos de Bacalhau. Of course, the server explained what the "Samos" was, but I thought it was the flesh on the ridge of the fish, kind of like a pork loin.

When the dish came, we realized that we should have looked up the dish on Google translate. Turns out the the Samos, are the swim bladders of the cod fish. These tubes run down the back of the fish. The texture was not to my liking, but the taste was good. I would not order it again, but to every man his own taste.

So, if you have a hankering for fish bladder, remember "A Feijoada de Samos de Bacalhau"

Finally A Driver's License

 Portugal offers a foreign driver's exchange program, which eliminates the need to take a driver's test in a foreign language. It is, however, not an easy path to follow it requires quite a few steps in order to take advantage of it. You need to have the following documentation:

1. Your US driver’s license. This must be an original card, not a copy.

2. Your Portuguese Residence Permit (Titulo de Residencia Temporária) Card.

3. The original confirmation of your Portuguese address (Comprovativo de Residência) from your local Junta de Freguesia (some IMT / Lojas accept your Residence Card as proof of address if it is your current address, but you won’t know that in advance)

4. A copy of your state driving record, usually called Driving Record Abstract, apostilled by the Secretary of State for the state in which the license was issued.

5. Your NIF (Número do Finanças) paper (some IMT / Lojas accept the NIF shown on your Residence Card, but you won’t know that in advance).

6. The Certificate of Authentication of Driving License (Certificado de Autenticação de Carta de Condução) issued by the Portuguese consulate.

7. A health certificate electronically transmitted by a medical facility to the IMT system.

8. €30 in cash or payable with Multibanco (Portuguese bank card).

Item #6 needs to be obtained from the consulate in your home country. It cannot be obtained in Portugal.

After submitting all of these documents on the website (IMT Driver's License Exchange), you wait for about a month, in our case, until they request your current valid driver's license to be mailed to the IMT, after which they issue you, via email, a temporary driver's license.

Then, a month or so later, they will send you an appointment to show up for a photo.

After that, only time will tell how long it takes to receive your license. Two months, in our case.

All told... it was a 5 month process. Your experience might be longer or shorter. It all depends on where you are.

But... whoopee! Now, when will mine be processed?

In Search of Clubs

We went to Leiria, yesterday, in search of a cheap set of golf clubs. There is a course about an hour away, and the green fees are such that I might play once a month, or so. It all depends. But I wanted to have a set of clubs, just in case. So I found what I needed in Leiria and took the 1 hour trip to buy them.

Municipal Pool

Leiria is quite a lovely city. When we arrived, we found ample free parking in the lot across from the stadium and right next to the municipal pool. We went inside to use the restrooms and found a fantastic pool for public use. 

Lift to Castle

Just a short walk away is the castle and there was a free lift to the castle entrance. Something my wife assures me is rare. The castle, itself, compared to many in Portugal is small, but very nice and the ticket for 2 seniors was a whopping 2.10€. So it was quite a bargain.

View from below

Just before you enter the courtyard

View from the top of the old castle

Detail of an archway

The "New" Castle

And finally, at the end of the day, I contacted the seller and retrieved  a 30€ set of clubs, used, but serviceable. Now, if I can just find a putter, I am in business.

Porta to Porto a Day Trip

 We finally took our first day trip. This to Porto, the second largest city in Portugal and just a little less than 50 miles away, or a 1 hour drive. Porto is one of the 2 arrival points for air travel and it was where both Denise and I had landed, but I never even had a glance at the city, so while Denise had spent 3-4 days there, for me, this was all new.

This video give you an idea of the waterfront facing the Gaia side.

The scene at the top of this post was the little restaurant, where we could have a glass of port wine, a couple of pasteis de natas and enjoy the view of the Porto side of the Douro River, while sitting on the Vila Nova de Gaia side.

Port wine in Porto

Boats tied along the riverfront like the one on the left are reminiscent that Porto was where all of the wine was brought by barges to warehouses, which have now been converted to restaurants and condominiums. I am pretty sure that these boats are now just tourist decorations, but I could be wrong. They still have the famous brand names lining the Gaia side and you can take tours of their "caves, or wine cellars.

This is one of the establishments selling food for which Porto is noted. They sell pastel bacalhau which is like a fritter, filled with cod. the interior of this shop is reminiscent of the famous library you would visit in Coimbra. I am sure that is intentional.

Just down the street, you find little pieces of hidden art, such as this "rabbit" made from found objects, attached the the corner of a building.

And just a short distance you can walk across one of the best known sites of the city, the Ponte Louis I, one of the bridges connecting the Gaia side to the Porto side of the Douro River.

The top level of the bridge is for foot traffic and a beautiful train system that runs and the bottom level is where you drive across your car.

Douro River

A short walk from the bridge is Sao Bento, the main train station in Porto and site of beautiful tile work that depicts the history of some of the area. I have to say that the station is very well kept and clean. Remember to bring 50 cents, if you want to use the bathrooms, though.

Sao Bento Train Station

Driving to a restaurant for lunch, we headed down streets in our little car, that would have been impossible in a bigger vehicle. I couldn't believe that these streets were used for cars, but they were parked all along the way, so I kept going. I was happy to finally exit into a normal sized street though. 

Before returning home, we needed to try a francesinha. This is a sandwich made famous in Porto and sold all over the country. A francesinha is a heart attack waiting on a plate. It is grilled bread, with ham, sausage, fried steak slices, covered with cheeses, topped with an egg (if you desire) with a hot sauce poured all over. The secret is in the sauce, and apparently, everyone has a secret sauce. The one we had was good, but it was not the holy grail of francesinhas, so we will still be on the lookout for the ultimate experience.

The trip back to Ilhavo was without incident and the toll of 3,60€ was well worth the 45 minutes that it cut from the trip. Porto is a beautiful city, but I was happy to get back to our sleepy little town.

Finally A Car

 I have been holding out for almost 7 months. Seven months without a car! Having spent my wasted youth in San Diego, California, you should know that from the time I was 18, I have had cars. Let's take a little trip down memory lane.

Not my car... but just like it

My first car was an 1958 MGA. My Dad thought I was crazy, but I earned the money and bought it, anyway. About the 2nd or 3rd time driving, I had a little accident, but nothing big. I ended up driving it to San Jose State college, when I enrolled in 1965. A funny story about that. The car developed a starter problem and needed a shove and a popping the clutch to get it going. One night, coming back from my father's house to college, the car stopped and I needed help to get it going. Some nice fellows came along, with a gas can, looking for an open station because their car had run out of gas. I offered to take them to the station, if they would push the car for me. And off we went.

When we got back to their car, they were very messy, trying to get the gas into the filler tube, so I offered to do it, myself. Suddenly, we were surrounded by cop cars, flashlights and orders to put our hands in the air. It turns out they had just robbed a local business of their payroll and were attempting to flee when they ran out of gas. They admitted that I had nothing to do with their plan and the sergeant who was holding me in the back of a police car, let me go with a warning to make better choices.

Just like mine

Anyway, that was my first car, which got put up on blocks to store, when I went into the Air Force. Years later, when I came back from a tour in Vietnam, it was waiting for me, so I rebuilt the engine and used it for a while.

My next car, which I bought while stationed at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino was a little Nash Rambler. It don't know why I bought it, but I drove it for years. Then I went through a series of sports cars: TR3's, Austin Healey's, Jaguars... you name it, I bought it, fixed it up and sold them. The problem was... the price I paid, the materials I used and the price I sold them for always ended up losing me money. But I sold them fast. This is why I am not rich.

Much like one of my 3 TR3's

I eventually bought 3 TR3's at various times. Now these cars have
a unique system of locking the bonnet (hood for you Americans). They use a little square key, that turns 2 bonnet locks on the front of the hood. There is also a safety catch to prevent the hood from flying away, in the even that you forget to lock it down. Of course, none of my cars had that safety catch, and as a result, I damaged 3 hoods.

Here is what happens when you forget to lock down a TR3 hood. You are driving along after having filled up your car and checked the fluids. Wind is going through your hair with the top down, when suddenly there is a little rumbling, the hood begins to flutter and it suddenly goes straight up in the air, crashing across the top of the windscreen, leaving a nasty crease and it hits your head just hard enough to give you a splitting headache and breaks both hinges in two.

Hood Straps

Now you would think that having that happen once, you would never do it again. Except weeks later, while in San Diego looking to purchase a used hood from a junk yard, after having filled up the car and checked the fluids... driving along the freeway... rumble... flutter, but in this case, since the hinges were already broken - it just floats away in the wind to land somewhere behind me. This time, when I bought the replacement hood and hinges, I invested in a set of leather straps, which reminded me more than those little chrome buttons.

I would like to think this is the end of it, but several years later, when I found another 2nd hand TR3 in need of much work, while driving it back to my Mom's house... well you know what happened. But I was still thrilled and when I got home, I proudly announced, "Mom, come out and look. A Triumph!" Her reply was, "Over what".

Anyway... there are many more auto related stories, but I have gotten off the track. Back to my purchase in Portugal.

First of all, there is finding a car. There are several good listing sites (OLX and Stand Virtual) where you can search and determine criteria for your purchase. Then when you find a suitable vehicle, the fun begins.

2010 Peugot 107 Automatic

There is insurance to get (I bought mine from our bank). Insurance for the year (a basic policy with no comprehensive) cost me 372€. Then there is a transfer form to fill out and sign with the seller. Usually, you go to an attorney, and in this case I paid 70€ for the service.

After that, there is a yearly inspection (32€) and road tax, which I am told in 100€ for my 2010 Peugot 107.

After taking the train down to Lisbon and making the purchase, my wife and I drove back home very satisfied. We could have spent more and gotten a better car, but for the minimal use we plan for it, this little car should do just fine.

Denise's First Jab

Centro De Saude de Gafanha de Nazaré

Denise finally got scheduled for her first round of Covid vaccine. She was scheduled at a Centro De Saude about 14 minutes away, not at our local Centro, where I just went for my 2nd shot.

Gafanha de Nazare is a cute place. Across from the medical building is a park, with basketball, soccer and tennis facilities. And right next door is a cemetery. It is nowhere near as elaborate as the famous La Recoleta in Buenos Aires (here is a link to that visit), but it did have a number of mausoleums and we noted also that a lot of the tombs had pictures of the "residents".

    

Some Observations About Portugal

Portuguese people are not at all shy or retiring. When we lived in Uruguay, we found the people to be mostly quiet and not given to outbursts. I accidentally made a workman cry when I told him that my high school woodworking class would have done a better job on the cabinets. Hey... I was angry. Our house in Ilhavo is right on the street and you can hear conversations coming a block away.

One of the many local cafes

Coffee is just an excuse to sit around and talk for hours. When I stop into a cafe... it is to get a coffee. But I learned, today, that the best thing I could do, to learn Portuguese, is sit outside, with a coffee, next to a full table and just sit back and listen. Almost free Portuguese lesson.

The Portuguese have a great sense of humor. They love laughing and that is a great advantage when you are massacring their language. I think they get a laugh out of my poor attempts. I remember when we lived in Germany, that the locals enjoyed teaching us slang phrases, because it amused them when we spoke them. While sitting at a table for lunch, I said (and this is not spelled correctly) "schmeiss mal die butter ubber", which, loosely translated means "toss me the butter babe". The head of the table, gave me a solemn look and said "don't lower yourself, Wally".

A German friend of mine who spent some time with me in New York, learned some phrases and tried them out on his wife. "You know, dear, this morning we had a job that we thought was a 'piece of cake', but it turned out to be 'a real bear'." He was so proud of that, but it was so funny to hear him say it. So I get the humor of listening to my attempts to speak the language.

Anyway... got off the track. So the take-away is that I love Portugal and am very glad we are here.

Zoom Assembly

Wally and I, just finished attending our 1 day Circuit Assembly (by Zoom). We are in a foreign language congregation, English! So the entire assembly was held in the English language. Great for us!

Even though, we couldn't see them, there were 3 people baptized. The morning attendance was 902. I joked that Wally and I were the 2! The afternoon session saw an all-time high of 1003 in attendance.Those were English speaking attendees. Portugal has over 50,000 Jehovah's Witnesses. There are Spanish, Russian and English speaking congregations in addition to the main Portuguese language ones.

The day started at 9:40 am. and went till 4:40 pm; with a 1 hour and 15 min. break for lunch. There were audio Bible dramas and video presented situations to remind us of Bible principals. All in all,

the time flew by.

Chave Movel Digital

The citizens area

We were able to get our Chave Movel Digital, today. What is that, you ask? It is the government sponsored account that allows you to identify yourself, via your cell phone number and a 4 digit code you select. It is used in banking, healthcare and many other areas.

All the operations are visible

As non-citizens, we had to appear in person at our local town hall after making an appointment. This is a citizen's area where such transactions are handled. It was done very quickly and efficiently and in the end, we were able to log onto our health network, easily. With access to SNS (national health system), we can view our prescriptions and appointments. So this is a big help.

After that, we went over the the clinic where we had our blood drawn for tests, yesterday and received the results. When I have my next appointment at SNS, I will bring these. The costs for the blood tests were a whopping $0.00. Of course, that is in euros.

Centro de Saude (Central Healthcare Clinic)

We had planned on using our private healthcare system, the cost of which is quite reasonable. But having had an examination for the driver's license exchange (which has to be done through SNS), apparently we are in their care system.

That is why I received my first Covid shot last week and am scheduled for the second one in a few weeks. Again, at the whopping cost of $0.00. They seem quite intent on keeping us healthy, here.

I got my first Covid-19 vaccine shot from the Public Health Service in Portugal. This was a free service and I was very impressed with the process.

First of all, it was offered to me via messaging on my phone. Obviously it is linked to my SNS account information. They gave me the option of accepting or rejecting the vaccine. Normally I don't take vaccines. Not out of any great bias, one way or the other... simply I'm usually too lazy. But it was free and that appealed to me. After accepting the offer, I was immediately given an appointment day and time.

Then a day or so before my appointment, they texted me and after that a person called me on the phone to confirm. Wow! That was unexpected.

I showed up a little beforehand and was ushered right in to a table to fill out a simple, one-page questionnaire. Then they took me to a private room where the vaccine was administered. I was given an appointment for the second dose and the card they issued stated the type of vaccine and the batch number (should anything go wrong).

After the vaccination, they kept me there for an additional 30 minutes to make sure I was OK and then let me go home.

Very efficient and I am appreciative. BTW - the shot was administered without any discomfort.

So far, the care we have received and the help to acquire necessary paperwork have been very helpful. Portugal has been very good to us.

2021 Portugal Census

City Hall - Ilhavo

We just finished filling out the 2021 census. Having lived in the U.S. for many years and responding to many requests for census information, I found the Portuguese process VERY detailed, and yet somehow comforting.

The U.S. census asks a few questions, and at this point, there are a lot of questions they don't ask, because of various restrictions. But Portugal has no such restrictions. You log onto the census website, using the code and password provided on the form they leave at your door. This quantifies the information to the local.

Some of the questions for which they wanted answers were: Where are you from, How long have you been here, When did you arrive, Have you lived out of Portugal for more than a year at any time, Do you own or rent your home, How many people live there and what are their ages, Do you have health problems with hearing, seeing, getting around, understanding, being understood, memory... What is the square footage of your house, How many rooms are there, What is your religion (Jehovah's Witnesses are listed on the form)?????

And that was all I can remember off the top of my head. Now some would rebel at the thought of revealing so much personal information to a government, but it was surprisingly reassuring, as it seemed that the questionnaire was designed to provide the country information on how to best care for it's residents.

I found out through the process that we are "reformados" or retirees. I am finally reformed after all these years.

Errands

 

Such a wonderful, sunny day, today. It seems like the first time I have finally enjoyed our little community in Ilhavo. We moved here to be within walking distance of services and today sure proved that to be the case.

First thing, this morning, I bought bread from the delivery person who comes by our street every morning (except Sunday), announces her presence with a loud bicycle horn and parks right across from our house.

A nice clothing store

Our little shopping strip

Then I went walked less than 5 minutes away to: 1. mail a letter to the Washington DC embassy with a notarized copy of my wife's driver's license 2. Went to the store a few shops away to buy a dress shirt for meetings 3. Stopped by the pharmacy a few doors from our house to pick up a prescription 4. Picked up flowers for Denise - the first of our stay here.

Then - took my little cart and went grocery shopping at our local Continente, and picked up 2 wine glasses, a free bonus from purchases I made the last month.

My shopping bonus

Denise was able to walk over to a frame shop a few blocks away, and put in 2 posters that she had purchased to get framed, so we can start having a little decoration in the house.

When we both got back to the house, we went down the little Chinese store (we have 3 of them in town) just to pick up some miscellaneous items. I was able to find some nice fitting sandals, so I was happy that I went along.

This might not sound like an exciting day, but after so many dreary months locked away (it seems), getting out and running errands was a day off.

In Search of a License

Even though we don't own a car (yet), it is important for us to exchange our driver's licenses while the opportunity exists to do so without a driving test. This is no small feat. It requires many steps, some of which we should have taken before arriving in Portugal. So this will be a cautionary tale, as well.

Here are the steps to be taken. 1) Obtain your driver's records from your current location and send them off to get them apostilled by your state authority.  2) Get a notarized copy of your driver's license and send it to the Portuguese embassy, along with $30 to request the Certificate of Authenticity of Driving License. This is the step we missed doing while in the U.S. and now we are having to do it via 3rd party.

And you also have to have your NIF (like a national identity number) and a Residence Card (the plastic card, not the temporary), as well as a medical exam.

The medical exam is why I am really making this post, since this was the first doctor's visit that we made in Portugal, using the National Health System. Even though we maintain private insurance (at very reasonable rates), the SNS examination is needed to certify for license exchange. And I was very impressed with the process. So here are some of the highlights.

Firstly, we needed an eye exam from an optician. We had one just at the end of our block and it was very thorough, with a cost of €20 each.

We were given an attestation of our vision to take with us to the doctor's appointment. When we initially received our Numero de Utente (the patient number you use with the SNS, or national health care), we were given the appointment one month away. This is probably the downside of free healthcare. However, if we had needed any emergency care, we were free to come in to the clinic at any time. It is just that scheduled visits are probably always a little longer. In fact, we were told to come on the weekend, if needed, as that was the best time to be seen by a doctor.

We were ushered into the office and the doctor saw us both, together. She looked over our paperwork, asked a few questions then took blood pressure as a matter of course. I was able to ask her for a prescription for the two medications that I take and she not only filled them, but suggested a better blood pressure medicine, since I had received a basic (thus cheaper) medication from VA. I'm not complaining about the VA medical. They took great care of me, but she felt that the medication I was prescribed was in common use in the U.S. and not the most effective. We shall see if it helps.

Denise, on the other hand, had very high blood pressure. Very unusual for her, as she is usually too low. So the doctor gave us orders for a blood panel to be taken by a local clinic. We will have to do that in the next few weeks, as well as make a daily diary of our pressure readings.

All-in-all, I was very impressed by the care we received and the patience shown by the doctor who worked with our limited Portuguese, but never made us feel bad about it. The total cost: €0. Our next steps are awaiting the Attestation from the Embassy (being handled by my sister) and on the medical side, getting our blood drawn for the examination to come.

This will be the last step to finalize our move here. We have to file taxes this year, but since we received a 10 year "pass" on paying, due to an incentive program we took advantage of, this will be a simple matter. Will keep you posted on our progress.

A Day At The Beach

 

O Farol da Barra

Finally, for the first time since I arrived, Denise took me to the beach. It is about 11k from our house, a 15 minute drive. Of course, since we don't have a car (OMG, how can they live like that?!!!), we took an Uber for a cost of about €9 each way.

We went to Praia da Barra and took the Uber to the lighthouse. It is the tallest lighthouse in Portugal and the 2nd tallest on the Iberian peninsula. At least that is what my wife says, and you can fact check Denise if you have the guts.

Walking out to the beautiful white sand beach after being shut in for so long was exhilarating.  It is very fine sand and the beach was clean... no trash. Of course, after months of lockdown, it's cleanliness will have to be gauged after it has seen some use.

A ways down the beach is a breakwater and Denise took a look off the end.

It was a warm day (low 70's), but by the afternoon it had cooled off, as clouds came in.

Eventually, the day came to it's end. We weren't able to enjoy any of the restaurants that would normally be open at the beach. And since it was getting cooler, we didn't visit the well known Costa Nova, with it's colorful striped houses, but we will leave that for another day.

For now, I am very happy we had a day at the beach.

A Little Destruction

 It has been some time since I posted. Denise and I arrived in Portugal in November of 2020 and since then, we have been furnishing the house, and making ourselves comfortable. There is still lots of work to be done, before we are satisfied. Some of the delay can be attributed to Covid-19 and some to the speed of workers in Portugal. One thing Denise has learned, since she made all of the arrangements for the repairs.... never pay all of the money, until it is completed. As a builder, I have learned that holding back even 15% can be a great incentive. That last 15% is pure profit. Alas... we have what we have. Our time in Uruguay has conditioned us to be patient.

Anyway - I have decided to take on a few projects, myself. While initially I thought I would just sit back and get the work done, I figured I might as well plunge in and take on some of the upgrades.

I am in the process of removing an old concrete sink in our side patio. Probably 100 years ago, it was the family laundry, but since we have a separate laundry room upstairs, we need the space for a sitting area and some lounges. What I have learned is that the Portuguese built things to last. I have never had a harder time than trying to demolish this old sink. But it has to be done. A little each day.

Our Old Concrete Sink

Next step will be removing the completely decorative fireplace in our tiny living room. Why anyone would make a complete fireplace, without a chimney... I don't know. But we need the space. Our little TV room is very small and this will make a difference.

Completely Decorative

As an update to our journey, here, we have received our formal temporary residence cards. We made all the necessary appointments in the U.S., then made our SEF (Border Control) appointment, and a few weeks later, received the cards in the mail. We have also registered with the National Health Service and received our health number. That means we have the option of using our private insurance (which is so much more reasonable than the U.S.) or using public facilities. We actually have an appointment in a few weeks for the examination needed to exchange our driver's licenses. There is still some paperwork needed to complete that, but that will actually be one of the last (if not THE last) thing we need.

Still unable to visit other places in the country. Looking forward to visiting Coimbra and Porto, not to mention Tomar and Lisbon. Denise has stayed in all those places, while she was here for the 5 months needed to secure the house, but I just came in November and straight into lockdown.

Portugal is slowly removing restrictions, and assessing the situation every two weeks.

So, this is the latest. Will try to do better as things progress.