After a long dry Winter, we have had a long hot Summer! The dry hot weather has been with us for months and there is a severe drought. For the first time since we came ten years ago, the stream below us has dried up. There have been a huge number of forest fires, although thankfully none really close to us. We picked our grapes, as did most of the village, during the second week of September, a full month sooner than normal. We have spent most afternoons sunbathing and swimming. A couple of weeks ago we took a narrow gauge rail trip from Aveiro, on a recently restored 1930´s train. The carriages were authentic but the engine was an old diesel. The end of the line contained a museum of railway artifacts. It was interesting to learn that the line to Viseu was closed in 1990.
