‘Comer o pão que o diabo amasou.’
(‘To eat the bread the devil kneaded.’)
– A Portuguese Saying that is used referring to periods of intense hardship and suffering
There was a time in my life when Paulo Coelho’s book The Alchemist reinforced my belief in signs and omens. Luckily, I no longer buy into that, as I’m not sure I would be able to give the freak tornado that ripped through the area, and blew over an enormous cork oak, a positive spin.
Ironically, the thing that tipped us towards buying the land was a shady corner of enormous cork oaks, some of them on our land and some on the neighbour’s. Since then, not only has one of ours died, but with the one from the neighbouring land blown over by the tornado, there is now a big empty gap. It inevitably made me reflect on the enormous divide or disconnect that often exists between expectation and reality, especially when it comes to dreams and life in general, and how we adapt to it.
I am currently suffering from a bout of bureaucratic fatigue. Over the last three months I had to contend with various hurdles and stresses to complete my nationality application in the small window I had available from becoming eligible and before the law changed. Although it has been filed by the lawyers in Lisbon, it will take a couple of years, as there is a backlog of 500,000 people that is already in the system, to know if it will have a positive outcome. And, as it usually tend to go, just as one thinks that one is in the clear, another bureaucratic hurdle looms. This time an unexpected one, which we are still trying to find a solution for, although with the help of a Portuguese friend, we are hopeful that it will get resolved.
Dealing with Portuguese bureaucracy is like “eating bread the devil kneaded”, and for some the reality of the unpredictability of official processes eventually becomes too much, and they leave. Or they sue the government, like 500 Golden Visa applicants are doing after the new Nationality Law came into force on 19 May.
Notes:
# Despite the many challenges Michael and I are facing here in Portugal, the reasons we are here still outweigh them, and with Michael currently on the quinta for a 2-week visit, there is a lot of work getting done. Not huge projects, but various small, fiddly jobs are targeted.
# The current hot weather, with temperatures that resemble those usually experienced in July and August, certainly makes outside work a challenge, and I limit the endless strimming to the early hours of the morning only. The only time I braved the heat of the day was the two days it took me to clean the paving with the power washer.
# May is also the month in which the olive trees flower, and luckily for us, they only opened after the rain in the early part of the month, as it affects pollination. I loved working near them after the flowers opened, as they were buzzing with bees, and the slightest of breezes made them flutter down like confetti at a wedding.
# A couple of snakes have been spotted, and I nearly stepped on one, but luckily Lily has not again brought one into the house. Michael and I were entertained last night when Midnight came running around the house. Her body language was a clear indication that something was off, and when we followed her, we spotted a fox ambling down the road. Lily wanted part of the action, but it was mostly Midnight who made sure it kept going and didn’t invade her territory.
# Spring’s bounty meant cherries from a nearby organic farm, and gifts of nêsperas (loquats) and oranges from a friend. I also made a tincture from all the lovely marigolds that carpeted the quinta, using both petals and leaves.
# Instead of driving the usual highway route to Madrid as I always do to fetch Michael, I decided to drive a route that takes much longer, but with places on the way to visit. Driving through the Jerte valley in Spain, which produces cherries, was an absolute delight, and gave me the perfect breakfast-with-a-view spot, looking back across the valley I just drove through.
I stopped in at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which is the biggest Renaissance building in Europe, and although it is quite picturesque in its setting, the only feature I was drawn to was its Hall of Battles. I was mesmerized and could have spent many hours there, as the details were incredible. Painted by Genoese artists around 1590 it held a powerful propogandist significance at the time, and was a place where the queen and her daughters would have strolled through regularly.
A Moment of Joy:
While Michael was working on the electric wiring in the workshop, and Lily snuggled up close to my feet, I spent a delightful hour in the cool of the morning painting the frame of an insect screen Michael made for me to place in the door of the bedroom for those hot summer nights that are creeping closer and closer. With music playing and birds singing, it was a moment of pure contentment.
Portuguese Traditions:
In May, university students in Portugal celebrate Queima das Fitas (Burning of the Ribbons). It originated in Coimbra in the 1850s when students burned the faculty-coloured cotton ribbons that was used to tie the folders which held their university notes to celebrate the end of the academic year, and for some also the end of their degree, just before the commencement of their final exams.
Written by: Jolandi
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Thank you, Jolandi… your stories make me wish Lindi and I were back on the Quinta with you!
I hope you and Lindi will return one day, Tom. And hopefully by then we will have a lovely guest bedroom, and you don’t have to sleep in the workshop. 😇
Good luck with all the paperwork. I’m glad the positives still outweigh the negatives.
Thanks, Peggy.
Sometimes I think that bureaucracy is made to make people’s life hard, despite what policymakers want us to believe. I hope this ‘comer o pão que o diabo amasou’ will end soon in positive note. I had no idea that there are tornadoes in Portugal! I’m glad you were safe. That mural at the Hall of Battles of El Escorial looks amazing. It’s clear why you were drawn to it.
I think you are right about bureaucracy, Bama. That said though, the UAE is a good example of how it could work efficiently, but Portugal is definitely the polar opposite. The Portuguese embassy in the UAE for example refused to accept my paperwork to legalise my UAE police clearance certificate (although it was acknowledged that it was correct) because the appointment was made in the name of the agent who was dealing with it in Abu Dhabi and not in mine. Don’t get me started on how difficult it was to even just get an appointment and the months of unneccessary stress! It is that added layer of the whims of the people who work in these offices, and not the legal requirements as such that make not just for traumatic experiences, but is slowing down and already backlogged system. It’s insane. 🙊
This tornado really was just a freak occurance. One I hope won’t repeat itself. What I find shocking is how quickly it all happened.
The bureaucracy just sounds like Indonesia! Sometimes I feel helpless when I have to deal with such thing. But more often than not the only way for us to get through all of this is to take one step at a time.
Ugh! I always hope that it is better in other places. One step at a time is definitely the only way to survive. Thank goodness we can afford to pay professionals to help so that the stresses can be minimised. Apart from the immigration lawyers in Lisbon and the architects in the area that we use for the big bureaucratic processes, I also often make use of a small company in the area to help me deal with a variety of small issues that regularly pops up that I usually have no idea how to even begin to deal with, and they are fantastic and worth every euro. We like to look at it as another way we contribute to the economy and livelihood of others, which definitely helps us cope with the burdens of officialdom. 😁
Oh, the poor tree. Lately I’ve been saddened by the loss of trees in general and the American chestnut in particular, a species near and dear to my heart at two homes and one that was decimated a century ago by blight. Different from a tornado and sudden loss, but heartbreaking either way. I’m sorry to read about more bureaucratic frustration but happy to read that Michael is/was there for two weeks!
Like you, I find the loss of these old trees incredibly sad, Lexie. I guess all living things have a limited lifespan, but it just feels more heartbreaking when these big trees disappear from the landscape.
Hi Jolandi, I’m just curious. If you are unable to gain Portuguese citizenship by the legal deadline, will you be forced to leave the country? Or will they allow you to stay, but as an expat or with permanent residency? I am hoping Portugal’s immigration laws are not as terrible as the United States’ under the current administration. Here in the US, they seem determined to not allow anyone into the country unless they’re millionaires.
I realize rural living can be difficult, as the downed trees and all the technical upgrades you’ve installed attest to; but I still think your day to day life on the Quinta is to be envied. I’m not a fan of snakes, but I would rather deal with them than gossiping, malicious humans (who could be called snakes themselves, lol). I hope the paperwork soon becomes a distant memory and you are able to focus on olive trees, herbs, and cats.
Hi Hangaku. My application for citizenship was filed before the deadline, so that means it will be processed under the rules of the previous law, no matter how long that takes. I currently hold a 5 year temporary residence permit, at the end of which I have to apply for a 10 year permanent residence permit. As long as I comply with the requirements for these, I am allowed to stay legally in Portugal. Immigrant labour is much needed in Portugal and it contributes billions of euros to the economy, but because of the immense bureaucratic backlog and inefficiencies in the system when it comes to the renewal of residence permits, many people leave for places like Spain.
I must admit that I prefer my day to day life on the quinta, despite the hard work and struggles. Like you, I cope better with snakes and other critters than their human counterparts. 😇
Lily is such a fluff bucket. Love those photos of your kitties. But… a tornado?! For reals, that is so much to endure Jolandi. Bless you two, for the persistence, under relentless bureaucratic challenges. Your breakfast-with-a-view spot is really wonderful. :o) I am sad to learn about the challenges to the cork oaks, and glad you have such a great life perspective that you are finding new ways to look at why to love the quinta. I guess we all have an idea of what it’s like to eat the bread the devil kneaded.
She is, and is currently becoming more and more a very brown fluff bucket – her summer coat is definitely more brown than white. 😆
Yip, we all have to eat our own version of the bread the devil kneaded, don’t we? Never pleasant, but as long as we keep going, life always gift us with beauty and pleasure too.
Tornados are not the norm. It was such a freak wind, and I must admit that we are grateful that we had no damage, apart from the small ‘dent’ in our dry-stone wall.
I’m reading again, and I neglected to mention those fabulous shots of the murals in the Hall of Battles. Oh, Jolandi, I could stand and gape for hours. Thank you for sharing them with us. I also appreciate the loss of your oak that died, with the side by side photos. So funny that Lily’s summer coat is brown. Like our wild hares here in North America! They are brown in summer and white in winter, ha ha.
I wish it was some quirk of nature that gave her a brown coat, and not the fact that she is forever rolling around in the dirt, Crystal. And then bring all of that into the house, of course, for me to clean. 🙈
Those murals are truly amazing, and it is worth visiting just for that.
Hang in there, bureaucratic paperwork can drive one mad. Hope it is resolved in the best way and you will have some peace.
I love seeing the photos you post of the quinta and am reminded of what it looked like when you first arrived. So many improvements and changes. You and Michael are creating the perfect peaceful place to live.
Enjoy your time with him while he is there.
Terri
Thank you for your kind wishes, Terri. It is the looking back and ackowledgement of how far we’ve come that keeps me going.
Despite the ups and downs it is always a pleasure to hear how your month has passed. Your photos are a delight.
Thanks, Gwen.
I’m glad that you are looking at things positively and that the positives outweigh the negatives. As for the freak tornado, sometimes it makes you wonder what the universe is thinking! You’re handling it so well and making the best, having the cats there must be a source of comfort too.
Inshalla things only get easier and brighter from here and you will be blessed with cooler weather.
Thanks, Sarah. It looks like we are in for a brutal heatwave in the coming days. On the bright side, it is still nothing compared to the weather in the UAE, so there is always something to be grateful for. 😆