Wintering in Portugal

Wintering In Portugal…

I love the slow, purposeful pace of winters in Portugal.  The rest f the year can be quite hectic, but not winter, it’s just plodding along and we are forced to take shelter indoors more, nourish, nurture and make plans for the coming year.

I know though that many people are shocked by the weather here in Portugal in the winter.  It is assumed it will be fairly sunny & warm all year around.  Although we do get some glorious sunny days or even weeks in the winter, in fact a lot of the winter here is really pretty rough!

This is made worse by the fact that many of the houses here are made beautifully for summer heats but not for winter rains, frosts (yes we get those here too) etc.  I’ve been colder here in the last 7 years than I was in my last 7 years living in Scotland.  There the houses are set-up for winter, they are well insulated and dry, here a lot of the time that is not the case.  In fact, most of the homes I have lived in here have leaked, have been very cold, damp & mouldy.  This is the flip side of the amazing summers here, when these houses are fantastic.

We don’t usually have rain from May until Sept/Oct (sometimes Nov), so we need as much rain as possible in the winter months.  This means once the rains properly start, they really come down and this will usually go on for several months of the winter.  We also want frosts here to keep the bugs at bay otherwise they’ll be problematic come the summer too.

I’ve found that the best way to enjoy the winters here is to just go with it, but to also prepare, WELL in advance.  Here’s some tips for that…

• Dig a moat (I am not kidding) around anything important (buildings, chicken coops, greenhouses etc) before the winter.
• Once it starts to rain heavy get outside, see where the problem areas are and get digging.  It’s easy to guide the water away from areas it might be of trouble and into areas where it might be useful.
• Fill in holes and dig trenches in your road/track too, otherwise you’ll track will get destroyed/washed away.
• Store enough firewood so you can burn a lot on damp days to dry the place out and keep away the mould.  Firewood really takes at least 2 years to season (dried) enough to be used, so you are always thinking at least two years in advance here.
• Avoid gas fires as they create more condensation/mould.  Don’t try to dry clothes indoors for the same reason (take them to the laundrette if you have no where else).
• Open all the doors and windows at the first sign of sunshine, let the air circulate.
• Don’t put anything valuable in your cellar or against outer walls, it will likely get damp/mouldy/ruined.
• Store anything you are not using in plastic (yes, I know we don’t want to do this normally) boxes where possible to prevent damp.
• Don’t stuff belongings into cupboards, under beds and in areas where not much air can circulate as it’ll often get ruined.
• Store as much of the rainwater as possible in tanks.  It may look like you will always have enough to last the summer, but trust me, it goes quickly.
• Consider having several fuel sources to deal with the extreme weather differences here in Portugal.  We have always had a electric cooker (for summer solar system abundance), a wood fuelled cooker, for winter cooking, heat and hot water and a gas cooker for the days where it’s grey but not cold.  They you can still be warm, fed & showered no matter what the weather chooses to do.
• Never believe the weather app(s)!  It talks complete nonsense most of the time!

And, remember we need and should always have A LOT of rain in the winter, to make sure there is enough water to water the garden when it’s 40+ heat for weeks on end in the summer and to also reduce the chances of wild fires and if there is wild fires, to make sure you have enough water to protect your land and home if they come your way.

The rains are amazing, cleaning, protecting, nourishing and nurturing, if we remember this it also makes life a lot easier too.