Neigbhours Ruin is Demolished
“What a space and what a lot of abandoned houses and ruins in Portugal.”
This is something everyone will notice when they are in Portugal.
Not all the houses are abandoned, they just look closed. The shutters are closed and you don’t see people outside, except when working on the land or in their vegetable garden. Outside it is too hot. There are also a lot of second houses, so the owners are there only once a while in holiday time. However, it is true that there are a lot of ruins. The inherited houses are not used, and not sold, There is no need to because the family normally already has a house to live in and because there are no taxes to be paid for the house, you leave it like that; abandoned.
So eventually it will be a ruin. It doesn’t take a long time that it crashes. We know this because we heard the stories from the people in our village.
The big stones around the two window tells us this one was the better or richer house. Our house was for the water mill and the workers, and that house was may be the one the owners lived in.
Ruins of Our Neigbhour
When we bought our house, it was about to collapse. It was almost a ruin. An old man lived here but he couldn’t take care of the house and himself anymore. It was empty for a few years. Luckily his children agreed on selling it.
This is always the most difficult part in Portugal; that all the owners, brothers, sisters and cousins agree what to do with it. If they don’t agree, which happens a lot, it is just there waiting to collapse..
The house next to us, was still in use around fourty years ago I guess. People in our village worked in our mill house, and the other house. After all the years, the grandchildren of the owners inherited it. They wanted a huge sum of money for it. Nobody bought it of course. And then it collapsed. What a waste, it think it used to be a beautiful house.
A machine demolished all in half a day
One day, last week, they came with a machine, and broke all down. Not all, they stopped when the rubble reached the height of the wall still standing. So it is not totally gone there is a wall of two meters with rubble inside. They left the stairs where a tree also grows.
I guess, we have a place with the best view ever!
They like to sell it again. I know they like an absurd price again, but they were still very secretive about that part.
We are not afraid that we will get new neigbours soon. But who knows. Life in Portugal does have surprises!
