#31 YEAR ONE Timelapse | Renovating an Old Stone House, Restoring the Land, Our Homestead Portugal

After months of searching all over Portugal, we discovered the Beira Baixa region, rugged mountains, deep history, and our farm perched on a south-facing slope overlooking the valley. This video looks back at YEAR ONE of our journey. 🌿 Support our work: https://buymeacoffee.com/backtobasics... For most of that year, this was a part-time dream. We were still working, with an 8-hour flight separating us from the land. Looking back now, it’s hard to believe the condition of the old granite stone house, it hadn’t been lived in for over 15 years. Year One was about access, survival, and laying foundations: Clearing dense land just to reach different parts of the farm Cutting back wild blackberry to revive forgotten heritage fruit trees Revealing ancient Roman-built stone terraces hidden beneath decades of neglect Beginning the slow process of restoring native forest and wildlife Our dream has always been regeneration, returning this land to a healthy, living ecosystem while carefully restoring what came before us. The year moved fast. In the final four months, we made the leap and moved here *full-time*. Incredible… and challenging. We faced: Getting a reliable water system in place Wildfires threatening the region Slowly insulating the house for mountain winters Building a bathroom from scratch Tearing down a dangerous old chimney, and the fire that was holding it up This is a long-term restoration, done in stages. One wall, one room, one terrace at a time. Farming in this area dates back over 6,000 years, and every step reveals more history, orchards, stonework, and signs of life waiting to return. This is Year One of a life-changing shift: restoring an old stone house, regenerating the land, and learning how to truly live Back To Basics in the mountains of Portugal. Thanks for being here 🤍 0:00 Intro 0:37 January 2025 0:45 Arriving at the stone house 1:27 Cleaning & painting the walls 2:30 Clearing overgrowth 3:04 Cutting track access 4:25 Painting doors & windows 6:03 Restoring an old bathtub 7:51 Trimming Kiwi fruit 9:49 Bathroom renovation 12:17 Orange juice break 12:47 Opening the road to the plateau 14:05 Clearing the plateau 15:33 creating a mini hot tub 18:19 First wood fire bath in the rain 19:09 finding our water source 20:33 Clearing overgrowth on an abandoned olive grove 21:21 New fire 22:41 The 2nd floor 23:05 Weeding around the house 23:35 Picking oranges & lemons 24:53 New ride at the farm 26:01 Clearing storm damage 27:16 Road trip to explore close to home 29:30 opening a new road on the farm 30:31 Spring 2025 30:56 Snow in April 31:50 Removing entrance wall in the stone house 33:48 Spring farm clean up 35:35 Last cut before summer 36:27 Summer 2025 36:55 splitting fire wood 38:03 Hanging an insect screen at the door 38:33 Monsanto Portugal 39:46 Life in Portugal in the summer 40:24 Wild fires near us 41:36 Leaving Portugal 41:46 Toledo Spain 42:47 In Barcelona to pick up the family 43:19 Burgos Spain 43:55 Salamanca Spain 44:17 Arriving at the farm 44:54 Picking plums 45:34 Picking pears 47:04 Picking apples 48:08 Building an insulating wall 49:39 Rendering & painting the wall 52:30 Sintra Portugal 53:25 Removing the old chimney 57:32 Picking grapes & making wine 59:37 No water 1:01:48 Repairing the water tank 1:03:06 Revealing stone wall 1:04:37 Drive way repair 1:05:39 Building courtyard wall 1:08:11 Painting doors & windows 1:08:21 Removing metal bars 1:09:23 Picking persimmons 1:09:56 Insulating the floor 1:13:05 Creating access ramp 1:13:49 Cutting 3m overgrown blackberry bush 1:14:52 Harvestig olives 1:17:11 Taking our olives to the press 1:18:08 Opening up an old shed 1:19:27 Raking & collecting cherry leaves 1:20:09 Adding autumn leaves to compost 1:20:31 Winter 2025 1:20:41 Serra da Estrela Portugal 1:21:27 Work on the entrance 1:22:29 Cutting firewood & clearing overgrowth 1:24:44 Removing Mimosa cuttings 1:25:06 Sunrise from home