Home - It Takes Dutch Courage

Welcome!

We’re Rene and Gaby. We are both Dutch, and moved to the UK in 2011. Since then, both the country and we ourselves had changed so much that in 2022 we decided that it was time to start another part of our journey.

In February of 2023 we set off to Portugal to start something new. We’re now in a wonderful seaside village just South of Porto, but are in the process of buying a house at the edge of the Serra da Estrela in Central Portugal

On this website, we will share our progress on what will likely be an exciting DIY and learning journey to start in 2024 hopefully.

Blog

When we’ve moved…

For the last 12 months, it feels like every other...

Update on our house purchase: problem vs solution

Hello everyone, it has been a while! Once you start...

Feliz Ano Novo: It’s 2024 and we’re -almost- buying a house!

Feliz or Bom Ano Novo! Happy new year! I hope...

Buying a House in Portugal: Road Trippin’, Box Tickin’, Signature Flickin’…?

Our life is basically one big Excel workbook, or Notion...

Other stuff

Our Beer

ittakesdutchcourage

New Blog out today! "When we've moved", so many s

New Blog out today!

"When we've moved", so many sentences start with this phrase... Find out the latest progress update and our favourite "`When we've moved" follow-ups here:

https://www.ittakesdutchcourage.com/2024/08/10/when-we-have-moved/

Another hard but wonderful day of hiking yesterday

Another hard but wonderful day of hiking yesterday.

The trail was called "the trail of the adventurous", and we could have known it'd be a challenge. Or 5.5 to 6-hour finish time was a BIT too optimistic 😂🤣

The path disappeared on us a few times (it was a route from the Council, but not sign posted) so we had to find some alternatives, and eventually took a shortcut taking off around 3-4km as well. And still it took us 7 hours (including two breaks) to make our way back to the car, covering 20.5 km.

Stunning views though, and the bit through the forest was quite the adventure with some technical bits.

Next week we're taking a week of rest from hiking probably, giving some more rest to the feet, and bottling the beer we brewed last week! 🍻

#hiking #hikingPortugal #outdoor #walking #walkingPortugal #Portugal #trails #trilhosecaminadas

What? A new blog? Yes! Does that mean we have the

What? A new blog? Yes!

Does that mean we have the house sorted?

As the title hints: no.

But, we do what to let people know what the problem and solution are, and why there's still no DIY content to enjoy!

Link below to copy paste for you!

https://www.ittakesdutchcourage.com/2024/07/03/update-on-our-house-purchase/

#portugal #immigrantsnotexpats #immigrantadventures #diy #diyprojects #housemove
#housesearch #buyingahouse #redtape #bureaucracy #waiting

Sometimes hikes aren't all stunning and perfect al

Sometimes hikes aren't all stunning and perfect all the way around...! But we just don't get to filming the bad parts because you want them over and done with 😂

Our 4 days in the Sierra Nevada 🇪🇦 were wonderful.
We did our biggest hike the day before we vacated our lovely AirBnB to drive up North to the Sierra de Gredos.

This hike, or a very similar version of it was a second chance of a hike we did in 2017. Back then we did a lot of trail running, but we weren't as experienced when it came to hiking perhaps. Back then we did this walk on a whim because the first bit felt too short, but we ended up being quite overwhelmed. Not enough to drink, quite technical bits...

So this time we brought enough water, sticks, snacks, bread and hats!

For the first half, the way up, we were rather pleased! Stunning views, clear paths, all was good!

The way back, however, was quite the struggle. Very overgrown, a lot more than in 2017 for sure, and we fought a lot of flies, mosquitos, and prickly bushes of many varieties... It took forever!!! There was no winning back the pace on the way down!

We estimated 4.5hrs, maybe 5, and were well on course for that when we reached the top, but ended up 6.5hrs 😂

When we were fighting the mosquitoes life wasn't great, but once we made it back and had a donut, on average, it was still quite a good hike!

#hiking
#hikingholiday #spainsierranevada #hikingfordays #outdoorlife #hikingspain #hikingspain🇪🇸 #hikingfun #outdooradventures #mountains #mountainhiking #spainhiking #

Wonderful hike in Las Alpujarras/Sierra Nevada ❤

Wonderful hike in Las Alpujarras/Sierra Nevada ❤️
🥾 21km
⬆️ 750m
⌚ 4hr57m (4hr39m moving time)
☀️ 21°
🏔️ 2233m above sea level

Tale of two halves, but both enjoyable. First half was divided in up in another halves: up and down. Lovely climbs through a varied landscape, to be blown away in a chilly wind at the top at 2233m. Turned out of the wind to begin out descent. Again varied and really great small trails.

We got 'down' with just under 9km to go, which was all on a wide sand road. Views were gorgeous but the lack of diversity in the path was heavy on the feet.

Success though. Just a bit tired. No blisters, no aches. Winning at holiday!

#hiking #spaintravel #spainhiking #sierranevada #spainsierranevada #outdoors #alpujarras #outdoorlife #hikingholiday #hikingfordays #outdooradventures

Today we did a shorter hike close to home at a 30-

Today we did a shorter hike close to home at a 30-minute drive. Back to the @serras.do.porto ! PR5 is a shorter one coming in at 12km. The trail is on the urban side of the park, so the views are mostly of the Porto region.

The path is getting a bit overgrown in places, which also means that quite a few markers weren't visible. Of course we had our @garminoutdoor watches to guide us, but sometimes it's nice to just not have to focus on the route. Maybe some checking needed, will drop them a note to check the route.

Pretty close to having completed most @serras.do.porto trails by now, only a few more to go!

Next week we hope to do the PR4 PRD of 26km (actually had it on the calendar for today, but the weather was a bit unpredictable) and maybe we get to do the GR62 in 3 stages as well with some overnight stops!

#hikingaroundporto #hiking #porto #portugal #serrasdoporto #hikingtrails #trails #outdoorlife #outdoorportugal #portugalhiking #trilhosecaminhadas #caminha #caminhada #hikingfun #trailsfordays

Another day, another walk! #pr15arouca We recentl

Another day, another walk!
#pr15arouca

We recently did a few non-PR walks, but they always end in proverbial tears: inaccurate GPX files, private land, dogs, disappearing trails... The PRs are where it's at.

@aroucageopark, just like @serras.do.porto, has NAILED all their routes. Signs, multiple starting locations, posts, information points...

To be fair, can't go wrong with this wonderful @unesco site.

The views are tremendous, the trails diverse, the villages wonderful, the people friendly, the grass green 💚, the heather purple 💜 and the skies blue 💙.

#portugalhiking #hiking #portugal🇵🇹 #outdoorlife
#mountains #serras #trilhosecaminhadas #trilhos #caminadas #caminha

Even when things don't go to plan, there's always

Even when things don't go to plan, there's always something nice to find!

We had planned to do a longer hike around Lapa dos Dinheiros, but our friends' car ran a flat tire and needed to be towed. They had planned to drive to Porto tomorrow, but... As we were going there anyway, we changed plans, took them with us today, of course, and found this wonderful stroll on the way back.

Great change from a more challenging snowy hike around Torre yesterday 😶😂

❤️ 🥾

#portugalhiking #trilhosecaminhadas #portugal #hiking #lovehiking #riotorto

We keep running on! No big build-ups, no half mara

We keep running on!
No big build-ups, no half marathon aspirations, just slowly building up the distance and not forcing anything. Wasn't the most energetic of runs for either of us, but we put 11.5km on the counter in 6.09min/km pace.

Hopefully enjoying the flat runs while they last too, as the hopeful move location is anything but flat.

We're still waiting on good news on the house purchase. When we made the offer back in August we were first scared into thinking it might be sorted in a month, but the opposite is turning out to be true. Every few weeks there's minor movement, and we're just waiting for the final shuffle.

🥾 18km ⬆️ 800m ⌚ 4h50m Portugal has so

🥾 18km
⬆️ 800m
⌚ 4h50m

Portugal has so many wonderful trails! This time we were around @aroucamunicipio @aroucageopark walking the 18km long PR1 - Caminhos do Montemuro.

Depending on which way around you are going, it has either an unforgiving up or downhill. For us, clockwise, it was up. No rest for the wicked!

We set off around 12, had lunch near the top and got back just before 5pm.

The route as advertised on their official website isn't entirely correct, and we recommend you simply use the trail markers which are well-placed 85% of the time as that will navigate you around a bit of maintenance road for the windmills at the top.

It was on our list for a while, but reminded of it by @trilhosecaminhadas a few weeks ago, so put it on the "really have to do it soon!"-list.

#portugal #portugalhiking #hiking #hikingportugal #trilhos #trilhosecaminhadas #Arouca #aroucageopark

Absolutely wonderful to see the gorgeous ladies @c

Absolutely wonderful to see the gorgeous ladies @caroline_chapman_10 and H, who, in true teenager fashion, refuses pictures, in Porto this week ❤️

The predicted weather was shit, but we were strolling through this gorgeous city without jackets, the vinho verde tasted wonderful sat at Ribeira and we regretted not bringing sunscreen 😂☀️❤️

Another gorgeous hike in @serras.do.porto yesterda

Another gorgeous hike in @serras.do.porto yesterday ❤️

We went with the PR8 PRD today, advertised as around 19km. We didn't know yet we could download the .gpx tracks from the official website (stupid!!!) so we used someone else's from @alltrails as guidance. It wasn't the best for a 100% accurate PR8 follow, but served well as a rough plan until 2/3 in when we missed a marker.

Added around 2km to our route taking in some parts of the PR4, so in the end we got back to the car with 21km on our watches.

Want to give these hikes a go yourself? Have a look here: https://dev-trailexplorer.primelayer.pt/percursos

You can also download the GPX files from there!!

#Porto #portugal #portugalhiking #hikingaroundporto #hikingportugal #outdoorlife #walking #hillwalking #serrasdoporto #trilhasecaminhadas

Sun was out, so there was no excuse. With the wond

Sun was out, so there was no excuse. With the wonderful Senhora do Salto starting point for multiple Pequenas Rotas at 24 from home we set off to explore PR9 Trilho Histórico in @serras.do.porto ❤️ 16km, 666m descent!

☀️ Saying goodbye to 2023 with a wonderful hik

☀️ Saying goodbye to 2023 with a wonderful hike in @serras.do.porto today, just 25 minutes from home as the sun finally came out to play today ❤️

🏔️ PR10 is a great mix of different trails and views, and the december sunshine that came out was so lovely that we only needed a long sleeve. 14km and 500m of ascent.

✨ As for 2023, it's been good, exciting and tiring. Moved countries once again, settling into a new environment, searching for a home, learning a new language. More of that is to come in 2024, although we hope to finally be able to say the house purchase is finalised very soon....

🎇 Happy and healthy new year to you and yours!

🍂 Autumn in Portugal is still doing hikes in yo

🍂 Autumn in Portugal is still doing hikes in your T-shirt in December when the sun is out. There's a window of between 12 and 3 where the sun's power is strong enough to actually feel warm, so it was the perfect conditions and time for a lovely stroll around Vale de Cambra, just 40 minutes from home ❤️

🏡 Our current home in Espinho that is. We're still in the waiting process for our new home near de Serra da Estrela, but hopefully more on that soon.

#portugal🇵🇹 #hikingadventures #hikingportugal #portugaltrails #hiking #hikingtrails

Cat post. Just because. #cat

Cat post.

Just because.

#cat

🖊️ New blog post! 🚨 Go to www.itakesdutch

🖊️ New blog post! 🚨

Go to www.itakesdutchcourage.com for a new update, probably a sign of more to come 😏

#portugal #movinghouse #movingtoPortugal #househunting #housesearch

Back from an absolutely wonderful week at @tocadar

Back from an absolutely wonderful week at @tocadaraposacamping for lots of hiking, exploring, lovely beers, home cooked food, and lots of sleeping in ❤️

Such a wonderful part of Portugal that we hope to soon call home. So many trails to explore...!!

#portugal #portugalhiking #portugalcamping #hikingportugal #hikingholiday

We've been a bit quiet! And sometimes that's just

We've been a bit quiet! And sometimes that's just fine.

Very busy finding our way here in Portugal and in our new life and its rhythm. Language course and full-time work taking a lot of time, but things are settling a bit more soon.

Probably getting a new blog out this weekend, and hopefully some wonderful stories of travel adventures in the next few weeks, exploring more potential places to live.

Until then: cheers 🥂!

🚗 yesterday we went on our first house hunt roa

🚗 yesterday we went on our first house hunt road trip !

🍇 We drove around the lower areas of the Douro, closest to Porto, and for one potential candidate we moved a bit northward of that to the vicinity of Vila Real.

📌 We had managed to pinpoint the locations of 7 homes (many don't specific the exact address) and had a respectful peek around.

🪓 This trip helped us axe 6 out of 7 of the ones we visited from our list, and I think if we're being honest, even the one remaining isn't going to be the house we're going to put an offer in for... And that's a good sign! Because one of the axed ones seemed so lovely on digital paper...

📜 Our 'who knows' list on Idealista is still very long and varied in price, project size and location, and we need to narrow it down. We need to still make some important decisions for our wish list (and wish not list), and some good ones have come out of this short road trip. Such as the balance between quiet, isolated and too crowded, needing to know whether the sun will set too early behind a hill/mountain, and being very clear of the size and geography of any land that comes with it.

🚗 Next weekend we're doing a longer trip down south towards the Sertã area where we also have quite a few on our list!

#home #housemove #househunting #househunters #portugal #portugal🇵🇹

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