Porches

Porches

04/02/10
In the evening at Portimão, Eric said that it was my turn to manifest a miracle. So, I got the old 2006 list of the SERVAS Portugal book and started calling anyone East or West of Faro. I had strikeouts four times before I called Tina. After explaining the difficulty getting hostels over the Easter weekend, and a little bit about ourselves, she said “You come and stay at my place!” Just like that. Cool!

Tina lives in Porches, a town West of Faro and East of Portimao. We caught a bus to Lagoa the nearest town to Porches with a bus running. There were no buses running to Porches on the holiday. Tina kindly came in her little yellow car to the bus station to pick us up. She took us to her beautiful house with, guess what?; an attached quest suite complete with bathroom, kitchen, hot water, cats, wind chimes and church bells that mark the hour and half hour. We collapsed in a heap and poured out our gratitude to her.

Not only has Tina fixed us some sumptuous food, she has invited us to stay as long as we like and come back and stay three months sometime. She has introduced us to her friends Luis and Julio, with whom we have eaten, gone to see the unbelievably amazing cliffs and caves on the beach were the teal water has eroded a labyrinth of holes and arches washing up on tiny private beaches and conspired to surprise Tina with a stepping stone Eric and I are making way down in the back of her garden in the sand.

She has taken us to see antique towns such as Sra. Da Rocha, Albufeira and Silvas, the capital of Algarve, which is the province or county that Porches is in. Her cats are cautious and don’t associate with us no mater how much we try to entice them. I think they don’t understand English. I said “kitty, kitty, kitty”. But they respond nicely to Tina’s loving voice in Portuguese. She has been loving and giving and we are amazed at our good fortune to find her.

Eric has counted the ways we could have missed meeting her. She is not a member of SERVAS anymore. She was only a member for one year in 2004. We had our old list from 2006 when we were in Europe before, and the list that was given us at that time was expired. So here in 2010 we call her and she is here for us. Double cool!

My confidence in life seems to be there under all the layers that have peeled away. I want to get home and enjoy my family, my farm and my dog. It’s been a journey for my soul. I want to burst into song. I know I’ll have to work to keep this feeling once I’m back in my own habitat. However, it just fell over me like a clean white sheet. I did it! I set my goal to walk farther than I’ve ever walked and I did it! I’ve meet the most wonderful friends and they seem to actually like me. I’m better than I thought I was in so many ways. I am strong and able and between Eric and I we did something really hard together. We had a lot of fun! We made lemonade out of lemons!


04/03/10

Today Tina took us to another beach where the Atlantic runs the gambit from deep teal to delicate light green. The waves lap gently without any big waves. The sun sparkled on the water and children played safely in the shallows. We walked in the sand and got our feet wet. It’s a pleasure I haven’t had for a while. So nice, so childish. Actually it does remind me of my small self who delighted in running in the waves at Zuma Beach, CA with my mother.

This is a special day for me. Two of my fantastic children came to me into this world on this day; Nic and Poe. I take a good part of this day to remember their births and there childhoods. I remember Poe’s chubby cheeks and Nic’s wispy, almost white hair. Poe always crawled over to eat the mud off our boots and Nic always wanted to be picked up. Oh what I would give to be back there again, snuggling with them, watching them at play. Each of them is so precious to me. Thank you Nic and Poe for choosing me to be your mother and giving me the most beautiful memories of two little boys.

04/04/10

Today is Easter Sunday. Tina made a grand lunch of grilled Salmon. It was crispy and so good. We ate at a mosaic table overlooking her sculpted garden that Julio designed for her. It was lovely and better than going to the procession that Tina says is beautiful but crowded. We talked of spiritual things. We walked in the extensive garden admiring the clever landscaping. It was a quiet day.

04/05/10

Today we must resolve a pressing problem, we have run out of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) about a week ago. It keeps my digestive system working uphill against the side effects of my blood pressure medications which tend to bring everything to a halt. We have looked for anything like Epsom salts in pharmacies and stores but with no success. So now I must take action. Tina took us to the local pharmacy. I told the Dr. there that I need “the atomic bomb of laxatives”. He prescribes and sells us the necessary formulations and explains the program. Eric and I dutifully go home and carry out the dastardly deed. I discover it’s really not so bad, and Voila! I am cured. I am ready for a wonderful afternoon with Tina in the Town of Silves.

Silves is the capital of Algrave. It is a charming place of ancient structures and winding narrow roads, my favourite. I love to get lost walking the twisting roads of an ancient town. We see white and black Storks on their huge nest atop a chimney. They put on a dance, clacking their beaks and stretching their wing spans for us. There is an ancient bridge with fish of all sizes swimming in the clear water. There is a statue of the King of Portugal who took Silves back from the Moores in the 1100’s. The architecture has a Moorish influence with turrets and domes. It is enchanting.

I found a shop of old things and bought medals for my bracelet. I’m in heaven.

We saw a long low wall done by an artist all in mosaic. I sat on it, it was delightful to look at and a huge project.

We visit the cemetery where Tina’s parents are buried. There is a beautiful mosaic pot on one of the graves and I take a closer look. I got the idea to make a mosaic stepping stone for Tina and start to look for the elements I will need.
Coming back the air is full of the sweet scent of the orange groves in bloom as well as the smell of orange peels roasting in the sun. So intoxicating! We have chosen the best time to visit the Algrave, Spring with all the flowers just beginning to bloom. Later Tina says it will all be brown. I’m glad I won’t see it.

Eric and I spend the evening texting all the friends we have made, telling them where we are and not to worry. It’s fun, some of them text back. It’s like a virtual party.

04/06/10

Today we dug the sand and got the cement from the garage where Julio said it would be. We are going to make Tina’s surprise when she goes to pick her sister up at the airport. I went looking for some pieces of tile and found some but mostly terracotta.

Tina invited us to lunch with Luis and Julio. It was fun. Eric had Mackerel and I had short ribs. We helped Tina by Eric sanding and later will varnish her hot tub and I weeded between the stones of her patio. Then she asked us over to her porch for tea.

When Luis was here he brought some pictures he had taken. We got to choose more than one if we liked. We took three of bright flowers of course. It was a calm day, yet I’m feeling antsy. I know that our time here is running out. Eric and I are beginning to make plans to return to Lisbon where our flight will take us home to our loved ones. We have definitely had a deep culture experience.

Fermin texted us and wants to come down and bring his girlfriend Allison. We would love to meet the girl we have heard so much about. He writes back that he doesn’t know when she will be ready, she is trying to take her driving test.

Conny replied to our text message that she feels that meeting us was the reason she came on the Camino. Wow!

Anna got back to us and said that Anton if proud to have an American Grandma. So sweet!

04/07/10

Today was sunny as have been all the days we have been in Porches. Eric finished varnishing the hot tub and I will never be able to finish the weeding. I just got pretty far on the edge that curves around. Tina took us to town and Eric bought another memory chip for his camera. I got a three charm set that I had seen before and thought about it a long time. No impulse buying for me.
Then when Tina went to pick up her sister, we flew into action. We hauled all the stuff down the garden way to the back where hopefully Tina rarely goes. We cut a simi-oval shape in the earth and flattened it to be our mold. I arranged the pieces of tile in a swirl with a rock shaped like a heart in the middle and then following the spiral the little tile path leads to a green chunk of glass. The theme is “From our house to yours”. The sun is hot and we cast it in a sunny place. I hope it will dry by the time we have to leave. We will have to dig it out of the hardened earth to fetch it up. Then, depending on the services, I may have to smooth it out with grout. I hope I have time. If not, Julio may have to finish our surprise.

Then we put everything away and acted like we’d been lounging around our room when she got back. Hope she didn’t notice how sweaty and out of breath we were. She did notice, however that the garage door had been closed. She says that she never quite closes it. But she thought that Julio had been in the garage. Neat!

We passed the evening looking at Eric’s pictures recalling every step of the way of our pilgrimage. We even know exactly how far we were from Santiago because it is written on the markers.

Then we watched English TV. Every night at 9:30 there is a National Geographic special with Portuguese subtitles. We have gotten in the habit of tuning in. The church bells tell us when by ringing on the house and the half hour. It’s a little bit of home.

04/08/10

Today is another special day, the day Sloan was born. I love you so much, sweet daughter of mine. You are a joy to me and I remember how when you came into this world you were the most beautiful baby that I could imagine. I just held you and looked at your glowing face for hours. What a special person you have been in my life. You have taught me so much. How can I ever thank you enough for coming to me.

I went out and tested the stepping stone. It’s hardening, but I can still press down on the cement. So I will check at the end of the day.

Also today Luis and Julio invited us to a big lunch at a house that Julio restored from ruin into a fantastic, gorgeous house and garden. It is the last day here for a couple from Germany who have been renting it. They made Chiopino, two different kinds. Both with clams, shrimp and potatoes, then one had pork pieces and the other had salmon. Tina is a vegetarian and eats fish, but not meat. The sweet potatoes were a special taste surprise for me and they were quite good. There were a couple of other friends at lunch, a Portuguese man named Ludgero and another man, Marcel from Switzerland. So there was lively conversation in three languages around the table. It was all a delight in sounds, tastes, and new people. The frogs in the pond near the patio croaked in loud objection to the disturbance of their usually quiet surroundings.

Julio and Luis had a surprise for me. Yesterday they collected tile pieces while on an expedition to find whole tiles for his garden projects. They gave me a bag of broken tiles to die for. I’m so excited. Now I have to buy a suit case and carry my treasures on the plane. But what the heck. I’m going to make the most beautiful garden in my yard this summer!

We contacted our new friend in Lisbon, Fatima and she said that we can come Sunday afternoon. She also said that she got together with Delphina and got our bag we left there, so we don’t have to spend time doing that. That’s good.

So Eric and I are thinking of visiting some fellow pilgrims we met at Santiago on our way back to Lisbon. We have to email them and give them our phone number. So, tomorrow we will buy tickets and we’ll say good bye to our new friends. But we’ll keep in touch!

04/09/10

Today we are preparing to leave. We are unpacking and repacking our back packs to get rid of anything ounces we don’t need. Eric suggested a new way to pack so we could to take home the tile Julio and Luis gave me without having to buy a small carry-on bag with wheels. That’s OK with me, it is a treasure I can’t leave. Eric and I are both dizzy and light headed today. We don’t know why. My blood pressure is great, maybe even a little on the low side, maybe that’s it. We both took an Echinacea just in case. We have had little illness on the trip to worry about. It’s been a “healthy experience”.

Luis and Julio stopped buy and gave me a goodbye present. It’s a cute little pot made in ’89 with traditional painting on it. It will be a challenge to get it home in one piece, but I will do my best.

When Eric got back from walking to the hotel to get the bus schedule, we unearthed the stepping stone. We wish we hadn’t put so much sand and wish we’d put more cement, but it turned out OK. We brushed it off and left on the porch to surprise Tina in the morning. We feel done here.

Eric talked to Rafael, our fellow pilgrim he met in Santiago and we are going to try to get together with him and his girlfriend tomorrow. They live on the other side of the water from Lisbon. So maybe we will see some place we didn’t get to see last time we were there.

Off to Lisbon, finally!