Tembó – Sintra, Portugal

Our next adventure led us to Tembó in the picturesque country of Portugal. While I had visited Portugal a few times before, these pet sits provide an entirely different way to explore and travel. But let’s start from the beginning. 

We landed in Porto, where we stayed for a few days before making our way to Tembó in Sintra. Porto is truly a beautiful city with an incredible atmosphere and friendly people. However, this post is not about Porto; it’s about the journey to meet Tembó, who awaited us faster than we expected. From Porto, it took just three hours, and suddenly, we found ourselves in an entirely different part of the country.

Tembó resides in a golf resort, and reaching him wasn’t straightforward. We had to pass through security, but once we explained our destination and plans, we treated it as a “mandatory detour.”
We encountered Tembó as he strutted down the street with his owner, and we knew it was him. We started waving, and he genuinely seemed delighted, perhaps sensing that we were the two who would be keeping him company for the next two weeks. Even our furry friends need a vacation, not just their humans!

The family welcomed us warmly, prepared dinner, and gave us the chance to meet Lisane, Tom, and their children. Lisane showed us the house, our room, the garden, and the surroundings, providing insights into Tembó’s habits and offering excellent tips for the area. After this warm welcome, the family bid us farewell, and the next day, it was just us and Tembó, ready to embark on our adventure.

Tembó – The Great Explorer

Tembó was quite the explorer, having lived with his family in Asia, although he also had a soft spot for Portugal. He appreciated his peace and the coolness of the TV room. Tembó enjoyed strolls and conducted his morning “business” on the golf course grass – a golfer’s delight! Tembó has a heart of gold; he’s a travel companion, a cuddle buddy, a sleep buddy, an eating companion – always with us and willing to stay back home to relax.

He even enjoyed rides in our Fiat 500, provided by the rental agency. Although he sometimes felt queasy in the back, he always eagerly joined us. Tembó loves beaches and sand, a regular treat for him. He also relished early walks around the neighborhood and evenings watching movies in the TV room. He enjoyed cooking with us and relished anything that fell on the floor.

We fell in love with him from day one.

The surroundings were stunning, and the house had everything we needed to spend our two weeks more than comfortably. We had a pool where we spent our “lunch breaks,” a TV room where we could watch movies, eat popcorn, and experience a cinema-like atmosphere. There was a ping pong table and various card games for our evening entertainment.

We had the opportunity to see incredibly beautiful beaches (which we revisited later), witness the most breathtaking sunsets, enjoy the fantastic atmosphere of relatively uncrowded beaches (as we were there in early June, it was still relatively quiet), explore Sintra, discover beautiful gardens, and, of course, savor the best Pastel de Nata.

Lisanne has an amazing family, and she’s fortunate to share her beautiful life with an incredible dog. She also shared some great tips that we discovered along the way, and here they are one of them.