Following the previous trip to Braganca, I returned with Odete the following week. Visit number four. Originally, the purpose was to spend time there with with Alex, an amazing natural builder I met during my travels in Ireland, the year before last, and who is part of the Earth Collective project. He was coming for a short visit to view the land, and help envisage the project layout and infrastructure. However, just before the visit, poor Alex injured his back and was confined to his bed for two weeks. Ironically, he seems to have the same back injury as me, but worse. Having booked accommodation, I didn’t want to waste the opportunity. So, I arranged a meeting (in person instead of online) with a solicitor I had been recommended to, in the region, and another meeting with the land owner and his son to clarify some issues and understand exactly what progress had been made towards resolving them.
It was a very cold day. Most buildings in rural Portugal (residential and offices) do not have central heating. Well, not in terms of an installed system. The most common form of heating, apart from a fireplace, is a wall-mounted air conditioning unit which pumps hot air out in winter and cold air in summer. Heating the air is a very unsatisfying form of heat. You also have noise. If it’s on for long enough and the room actually warms up, it usually results in a flushed face – at least, for me. But when you switch it off, the air temperature plummets and you are freezing in minutes, as as there is no heat retention in the structure itself. Bring on the Earth Collective, which will be comfortable all year around due to its unique structure and building materials.
The solicitor’s office was small and the heater warmed the air up, so I was able to take my coat off. We had a long and complex meeting exploring different legal strategies that might satisfy the requirements of the project, though nothing is conclusive as yet.
The land owner’s office was in a grotty basement, and did not have heating. So, Odete and I sat in our coats, shivering, which was not exactly conducive to optimising the outcome of the meeting. I presented the anomalies and was taken aback at the response. I’m pretty shock-proof these days but I could feel anger welling up inside me and it was going to come out. I had been given misleading, inaccurate and contradictory information from the owner, on numerous occasions. At times, he also seemed confused and I had started to wonder about his mental faculties. Judging by the son’s expressions, he too was surprised by his father’s muddled answers. It may be his business style to say what he likes and brush over things, but it doesn’t work for me. As an example, he told me the three patches of land he doesn't currently own (which was not disclosed until the first viewing) had been pawned by the now deceased owner, to pay a debt. He said it would take 4-5 months to purchase the land from his children. Then he said he had bought the land and just had to change the documents into his name. However, in the meeting, I was informed he hadn't even approached the owners (who live in France) and wasn't intending to do so until he had a promissory note from me.
I was infuriated. So, I expressed my displeasure in no uncertain terms. Odete who interpreted and was only sorry she couldn’t replicate my tone! Clearly the land was not in a state to be sold. When it was (I told him), we could resume discussions, if I hadn’t found other land by then. Odete and the son rescued the meeting, just as I was about to leave, though I will have to see clear signs of progress before negotiating a deal. In hindsight, I think my outburst was necessary to reboot the relationship with a little more respect and honour. I have been patient. But there comes a point.
Odete drove back that evening and I stayed in the accommodation. It was freezing. The douve was thin, the house was large, the floors were stone and the wall heaters were inadequate. There was no point in undressing. I slept fully clothed plus a woolen hat, with my coat on top of the bed. The next morning, I woke up with a blue nose but braved a shower before heading off to visit the land again. I stood for a while connecting with the earth and the cosmos, and asked for divine intervention, if it is for the highest good that the project should be built there. The energy was sweet and I felt an urge to fight for the land. Connecting to the essence of it and imaging the project there, is part of the ‘lining up’ process. It adds power to manifestation. “This or better”, I whispered into the wind.
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