This is a couple who likes to collect, to pick up pieces that make a physical memory album of the places they’ve seen and the experiences they’ve been through

in honour of some of their best-loved exotic destinations: Sitrana in Timor, Zamur in Tunisia, Mangalor in India, Xauen in Morocco.

Outside, nature rules. In keeping with the simple, laid-back spirit of the place, the garden runs wild. It’s a meadow, perfect for an al fresco lunch, followed by a nap in the hammock in the fresh afternoon breeze.

Surprisingly, perhaps, life is never lonely at Muxima. The remote house in the country is often filled with old friends from the harried Lisbon days, who come for a few days to unwind. Those friends bring their friends. The home that Jorge and Sofia built with love and sweat has earned a name for itself among their circle as the place to go for a peaceful break.

Then there are the full-time residents. The couple’s son, Vincent, who started this whole adventure rolling, is now five. Kaiser, a “retired” dog they inherited, who thinks he owns the place. Manga, the Boxer who came with them from Lisbon. And the black pig, Eight, who made their lives hell at first, Sofia remembers, laughing. Half wild boar, inherited from the previous owners (perhaps as a potential smoked ham), Eight is now a beloved family pet. Finally, there’s the baby donkey, Riscas, which means “stripes” in Portuguese, who at one-year-old already helps Jorge in the farm.

These refugees from the urban jungle rebuilt an old house and their lives in their own image, and it brought them to the heart of things, home, and family.