Archive for September, 2007
Welcome to Quinta da Mizerela!
Quinta da Mizerela is ours…well two thirds of it and almost! After a long and winding road over the past two months we recently reached a deal with two out of three owners. In a very poignant moment, Antonio, a sweet fellow who carves wooden spoons by hand and makes potent port and firewater in his basement, agreed to our offer of 15K for his land, despite continually insisting up until that moment that we wanted 20K. And then his cousin Elsa, and her delightful grandmother, agreed to our offer of 15K for their part. We were amazed when they both graciously accepted our offers as we had expected to have to bargain. I think the friendly relationships we have struck up with them and their respect for the fact that we want to revive the Quinta, a place that is dear to their hearts, and the hearts of many others in the nearby village of Pardierios, has been a big factor.
So there is another third to buy, which is a large swathe of land to the left of the group of buildings in the photo and includes the two houses at the back of the group. The owners live in Lisbon. We haven’t met them yet but they know, through Elsa, that we are interested in buying at some point. We can’t afford to buy that part right now, but who knows maybe someone who resonates with our vision would like to come in with us.
With that part included we would have the whole beautiful valley for the project. Several acres of fertile land both flat, terraced and forested with the stream running through it, leading all the way to the gorgeous gorge of Fraga da Pena with its cascading waterfalls!
With that part included we would have the whole beautiful valley for the project. Several acres of fertile land both flat, terraced and forested with the stream running through it, leading all the way to the gorgeous gorge of Fraga da Pena with its cascading waterfalls!
I said ‘almost’ ours at the beginning because we haven’t handed over the money yet. They have to get some paperwork sorted out first, which has to do with confirming what the boundaries of the land actually are (is it that big eucalyptus or that big chestnut over there?) and getting the buildings registered. This could take some time, but that is fine with us as we can earn a bit more money in the meantime! They haven’t asked us for a deposit and there is no lawyer involved at this point. But we aren’t worried; there is an admirable honor code that is still alive here so while there maybe some more hurdles until it is officially ours, it feels like the deal is done!
Pete
