Green hills and blue sea

What the host has to say (the man himself together with his dog Sexta, as quoted in Bussmanns travel guide for the Azores, Michael Mueller Publishing, p. 331):
 
"A Quinta is a largish agricultural property and as such, my Quinta is obviously not a real farm. I wasn't able to take on all the original land and I did not have the use for it. I took over the deserted property in 2003 from a family that had emigrated to Canada. The gregorian family had a long tradition dating back to the early settlement of the island in 1450."

"I am the fifth German to settle on Graciosa and three others have bought summer residences: Old farm houses, a windmill.
 
I come from Suhl in the South of Thueringen where I worked as a journalist. Now I am retired, however that only means working a different type of job rather than relaxing. Now my journalist hands build sandstone walls, press wine, destill highly potent delicacies and every now and then slaughter a goose.
 
The buildings forming my Quinta were built in 1870/80, but don't worry, I have carefully restored and modernised them since. The flair of the old is now combined with modern comfort and technical advances. Behind the main residence, where pigs used to crowd the sty, there now is a huge and beautifully lit terrasse for outdoor living.
 
As people spend most of their time outdoors, there are of course tables for meals and morning or afternoon teas. A vegetated deck with flowers, Yuccan, a hammoc and a built in BBQ adjoin the terrasse. There is even an outdoor shower. Next to it there is a wine cottage housing barrels, tools and marmelades.
 
The Quinta can be found on the South of the Island, 90-100m away from the ocean and 20-30m above it, at the outskirts of the main village Carapacho. It is one of the most favoured villages on the island and very few of the houses are owned by locals and therefore occupied all year round. Portuguese people from other islands or from the mainland have holiday residences here and many Americans plus one Brazilian."

As a 'local' permanent resident I grow some wine, figs, bananas and I also have a couple of orange trees, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, capsicum, potatoes and whatever else you need to be self sufficient. If the season is right you are welcome to pick whatever veggies, herbs and fruit you like.
 
There is a tame goose family walking around plus the two kid friendly and very loving dogs, one of which already has ten years of experience in keeping kids company during therapy. Sometimes our neighbour turns up on a donkey back or a cow has a 'sticky beak' through the window."

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