Monday to Wednesday on the Braga Build, Feb. 10 - 12, 2020

Before breakfast, I explored some more around the Domus, the Habitat For Humanity Inn where we are staying.

Besides the two buildings with rooms for guests, they have a storage garage and office space.

The main building of the inn is two stories tall, with a nice porch upstairs and a covered patio below.

There is a large kitchen where we eat breakfast each day and dinner on the days when we don't go out to a restaurant.

They also have a nice van for use by the staff - I took a photo of the address in case I ever got separated from the group and need a taxi to get back.

Teams have been working on the house before our arrival and teams will work after we leave.  Here is what greeted us Monday morning when we arrived.

Tuesday, some progress could been seen.

One of the Portugal Caminos de Santiago pass right by the house.

Gary and I spent the bulk of Monday trying to put a smooth face on the front of the porch before tiles are installed on the deck of the porch.

 Wednesday morning, even more progress could be seen.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked on the project to install a drain for the run off of rainwater from the roof.

And we took some group photos.

The next door neighbor has these interesting characters on top of their fence.

We needed two sets of hands, one person to hold the rain gutter attached to the eave of the house and the second person to twist the downspout to get it separate.  Because of the location, a ladder was impractical, so Beatriz, one of the HFH staff members, sat on my shoulders to hold the gutter while Jose, another HFH staff member, twisted the down spout loose.

Wednesday evening, we had a tour of old Braga.

Here is a group photo that was taken by our tour leader, I believe his name was Reynaldo.

And then we had a most delightful dinner served family style at Retrokitchen, Rua do Anjo 96, in Braga.  We started with appetizers of baked brie, chicken sausage and some of the best clams I have ever tasted.  The main courses included a seafood dish with rice (somewhat like jumbalaya), steak with potatoes, and roast duck breasts with rice.  For dessert, there was the choice of lime pie, caramel mouse, chocolate mouse with peanut butter and red fruit  pane cotta. 

Here is our team: Brad, Bryan, Mary, Jim, Jennifer, me, Matt, Perry, Mickey and Gary.  Heinz and Donna took this photo from their end of the table, so unfortunately, they are not in the photo.

A great way to end the day.

Porto and on to Braga, Portugal, Sunday Feb. 9, 2020

Sunday morning, my Habitat roommate Brad and I walked down the hill and across the Douro River to explore the other side of town.  As we headed down river towards the Atlantic, we saw many boats.

And then it seemed like a motorcycle convention - hundreds of them were gathering on the waterfront, with the riders getting coffee and more from the various coffee shops and vendors.

After coffee and a pastry at the mercado, we headed back to the hotel to meet up with the other Habitat team members.  While waiting, I noticed this interesting water quality report.

At 3:00, nine of us gathered, rode to the airport to pick up three others and then rode for a two hour bus ride to Domus, the Habitat Inn in Ribiero, a suburb of Braga.  HFH Portugal has their office, equipment storage and an inn for international volunteers to use.  It is very nice - double rooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, library, swimming pool and more.  Apparently when international teams are not here, they rent out the rooms.

The grounds are beautiful with magnolia, camelia, orange and lemon trees, as well as a garden with many unusual plants, including cacti - unusual because the climate is so wet and lush.

I am sure I will enjoy my stay here at the Domus.