Building the dream of an eco-luxe lodge

British ex-BBC foreign correspondent Alastair Leithead and his Swedish/Portuguese wife Ana Leithead Spross gave up their international globetrotting careers in journalism and diplomacy during the pandemic and settled in Portugal. After learning to live off the grid they have created an eco-luxe lodge powered only by the sun that’s open for visitors.

Regular blogs

Alastair writes regular updates about their new life in Vale das Estrelas - the Valley of the Stars - as the couple has adapted to living off the grid, battling the bureaucracy of building, project managing a complicated construction and now learning to run an eco-luxe lodge based around quiet countryside retreats, wine and stories.

Following their journey? Now come and visit…

Heading off the grid and into rural Portugal’s wild Atlantic coast seems a wonderful and romantic idea during the pandemic, but Ana & Al have been on a steep learning curve. Alastair started writing the blog in November 2020 and the ups and downs are archived for all to see - and there have been some big obstacles along the way - but the couple have finally realised their dream of creating a beautiful lodge powered only by the sun. Now they have to learn how to run it…and pay back their loans! What could possibly go wrong…?

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Despatches from a former BBC foreign correspondent now running an off-grid eco-luxe lodge on the Alentejo coast

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Portugal trainee. Learning how to live off the grid in rural Alentejo after nearly 20 years as a BBC foreign correspondent. Collecting stories along the way.