The Long Way to Together

Two people, a dream of doing things differently, and the journey to building a place of our own in Sri Lanka.

The Moment It Became Real

When the foundations of Together Boutique Villa finally started taking shape, something changed. Until then, the project had lived in our heads, in folders full of inspiration images, in architectural drawings and in countless conversations about what the place could become.

We had spent so much time imagining it that seeing the foundations go into the ground was the first moment we really felt it: this was happening. We were actually going to build our own place in Sri Lanka.

Getting there, however, was anything but a straight line.

Two Different Paths to the Same Place

Our story with Sri Lanka began at different times, but eventually led us in the same direction.

Carlos first visited the island alone on 1 Jan 2022, in the middle of the pandemic. Back in Portugal, restrictions were being announced, the weather was grey and rainy, and life felt increasingly confined. Meanwhile, a Portuguese friend working at a surf camp in Weligama had been telling him about Sri Lanka.

So he came to see it for himself.

He arrived with a massive hangover, but it didn't take long to fall for the place. There was something about the atmosphere, the movement around surf culture and the sight of tuk-tuks carrying surfboards through the streets. It felt different. There was an energy to it, and an incredible sense of possibility.

Raquel's dream had been taking shape for longer. Travelling through places like Bali and the Philippines had made her imagine what it might be like to run a place of our own. Not necessarily something big or complicated, but an independent business that could offer a different rhythm of life.

We both wanted more freedom over how we lived and worked. We wanted to be less dependent on the limited annual leave available to us, on getting holidays approved and on fitting everything we wanted to do into the time left after work.

We weren't necessarily looking for an escape. We were looking for a different way to organise our lives.

The Holiday That Became Something More

In February 2023, we travelled to Sri Lanka together for a holiday. Or at least, that was the original plan.

Before long, we were visiting houses and looking at plots of land. We even visited the plot where Together Boutique Villa stands today.

Looking back, that trip was a turning point. We returned to Portugal with the idea still very much alive, even though we knew there was a lot to figure out before it could become reality.

We tend to approach things differently. Raquel is more cautious; Carlos is often the one pushing an idea further. We joke that Raquel says mata and Carlos says esfola — one starts the idea, and the other takes it to the next level.

But enthusiasm alone wasn't going to make this work. We needed to understand the business, the country and what we were actually getting ourselves into.

In May 2023, Carlos returned to Sri Lanka. By coincidence, Raquel was changing jobs and was able to join him. We bought the plot that would eventually become Together Boutique Villa, using our own savings.

It felt good to take that first step. We had invested in something that was ours, but we also knew that buying land was only the beginning. We still needed experience, a clearer understanding of the hospitality business and the resources to build what we had in mind.

Learning the Hard Way

While the dream of building our own place remained in the background, an opportunity came up in Midigama. We found a property directly in front of Lazy Left, with direct access to the surf break, and decided it could be a way to get started in hospitality.

We rented the property, and in September 2023 Raquel moved to Sri Lanka to open Together Beach House.

It was an important chapter, but it came with plenty of challenges. Taking over an existing property and giving it a personality of its own was one thing. Doing it in another country, learning how things worked locally and navigating different cultural and operational realities was another.

We learned a great deal about hospitality by actually doing it: what it takes to run a property, the details that matter to guests and the amount of work that sits behind what might look like an effortless stay.

The experience also gave us a much clearer understanding of the opportunities in the area. More importantly, it helped us understand what we wanted to do differently.

Raquel's move was a big step in itself. Carlos couldn't leave his job in Portugal, so she went ahead without him, working on the property and getting it ready, accompanied by Carlos's mother, who travelled over to help. There was a lot happening at once, and it wasn't always easy to balance the project with the reality of living far from home.

In December 2023, Carlos came to Sri Lanka and stayed for a month. Then life changed again with the conception of their son, Bernardo.

Managing Together Beach House remotely while navigating life as new parents proved especially difficult. We eventually realised that this arrangement wasn't sustainable for us, and we decided to end the rental agreement.

It wasn't the end of the dream. It was a moment of clarity.

We had gained experience, learned how demanding hospitality could be and become more certain that what we really wanted was to create and control a space of our own, from the ground up.

Building It, Our Way

The time between buying the land, running Together Beach House and starting construction gave us something valuable: time to learn, prepare and work out how we could make the project happen.

We thought about it a lot. We ran the numbers again and again. We had savings invested in the land, and we eventually took out loans to finance the construction. It was a gradual decision, strengthened by the experience we had gained and the preparation we had done along the way.

We also continued working in Portugal. Building Together meant moving back and forth between two countries, trying to make the most of every trip while keeping our professional lives going.

During 2025, when construction was underway, we sometimes spent a month in Portugal and then two weeks in Sri Lanka, travelling together when possible and separately when necessary. Much of that time was spent checking progress, making decisions and trying to make sure the place we had imagined was becoming the place we were actually building.

At first, we thought we'd fill a shipping container with furniture and decoration from abroad. Instead, we found local partners in Sri Lanka who could help us source, create and build what we needed locally. It became a much more collaborative process than we had originally imagined.

We also learned that plans have a way of changing once you start building. When we first walked into the first block of rooms, we looked at each other and immediately agreed: it had to be bigger.

The pool went through around ten different shapes and fifteen different setting-outs before we settled on the final design.

Even finding the right contractor was part of the journey. During our Together Beach House days, we had asked around from one construction site to another, looking for people who could help us bring our plans to life. Those local connections eventually helped us find the team to build the villa.

Throughout it all, we naturally fell into our own roles. Carlos takes care of the numbers; Raquel takes care of making things beautiful. We challenge each other, balance each other out and bring different perspectives to the same decisions.

That balance has been part of Together from the beginning.