Trams, travel and a Portuguese Adventure.
Blog Post No. 9 September 2026
I’m writing this month’s blog from Seat 3D (right at the front!) on a FlixBus from Castelo Branco in central Portugal. Bob and I have spent the last ten days staying with our good friend John Davis in his gorgeous home in Lauriçal do Campo-Torre. What a ride it’s been.
Before I catch you up on our Portuguese adventures, I’ll just fill you in on the beginning of September back on the tiny isle.
At the beginning of the month, after several hikes around the island with our good friends Claire and Steve over the summer, Bob and I felt confident enough to take ourselves on a hike from the tram tracks at Dhoon Glen, on the east coast, down to the beach. It’s a steep, ragged pathway through lush, moss-covered trees and lots of waterfalls, over wonky wooden bridges that need a bit of TLC, following the river as it twists and turns down to the pebble beach at the far end. We loved it. The trek back is a bit daunting, but with plenty of stops to look at the gorgeous views, we took it in our stride. Our treat at the end was a game of Scrabble, sat at a picnic table in the sunshine. I’m not saying who won!
It was Bob’s birthday on September 9th, so we took a bus to Ramsey to have brunch at our favourite café, White Tiger — delicious! We then took the electric tram to Laxey, sauntered down to the beach, had cake and coffee, and another game of Scrabble, then wandered back to grab another tram to Douglas. The weather was perfect. A great way to celebrate a wonderful human!!
Here's a REEL of Bob's birthday celebrations.
We left the island several days earlier than necessary, just in case of weather or other travel challenges (living on an island gives us the nous to have back-up plans!). It gave us the opportunity to see our dear friend Diane — she who lives in a black windmill! Always a treat. From there, we drove to Stansted Airport early on September 16th, dropped the car (with all our tour gear!!) in the long-stay car park and checked in for our flight to Porto.
Bob has known John since 1981; in fact, John met Bob through Bob’s brother Mick way back then. Both John and Bob have been involved in many business adventures, especially in music. They also share the same ridiculous sense of humour, which makes for a very entertaining experience! We have laughed and laughed, and will no doubt continue laughing as we remember our wonderful holiday.
John and his girlfriend Beryl picked us up from Porto. We arrived in Lauriçal after 10.30pm, so the spectacular countryside was a great reveal the following day. I won’t give you a blow-by-blow account of all our adventures, but I will try to capture much of it in photos and video. I'll share a sprinkling of what we did, including river dips and visits to phenomenal, culturally rich places like Monsanto, Alpedrinha, the Estrela Mountains and Poço de Boca.
Here's a REEL of some of those adventures.
Interspersed between these gorgeous excursions, we attended two birthday parties and ate at a fabulous 600-year-old mansion owned by friends of John’s, who invited us to a private, beautiful and delicious Indian meal, even though our hosts were away in Canada at the time. There were numerous lunches and coffee stops, and John invited me to add backing vocals to some of his latest songs — always a privilege and a pleasure. The weather was great; temperatures soared to 37°C on a couple of days, but we always found shade. I read several books, did loads of arty doodles and paintings; I even created a birthday card for Beryl, which she loved — not necessarily for the art, but for the personal nature of a handmade offering.
Here is this month's video/song - images from Portugal accompanied by Skin Deerp, an original song taken from Under Construction II.
I didn’t practise nearly as much as I promised myself I would, but I’m ready for rehearsals with Dave Kelly. Our first gig is this coming Friday in Kinross, Scotland! There are a number of new-to-me venues on this tour, including Chelsea Pheasantry Pizza Express on October 7th, Sutton’s The Sound Lounge on the 8th, and Darenth St Margaret’s Church on the 10th (ticket enquiries: darenthchurchevents@gmail.com), which will also be our final show with Pete Filleul. It’s all lining up to be a wonderful tour. We hope you can make at least one show, and if you know anyone who would love a magical, musical night out, do share the info with them. Thanks!
OK, I think that’s all I have for you this month. Thanks, as always, for stopping by to see what’s happening in my world.
Till next time, stay well, be curious and keep rising above the turbulence!
Much love and endless blessings.
Christine x
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