Living the dream… 6 months on

Half a year in, I’ve gone from hopping about to keep warm, to melting slowly.  32C at the end of May.  Definitely warmer than average!  But not every day, and even on the hot ones it’s possible to catch a breeze at the beach.  The season hasn’t yet started, and I’m still able to claim a wide expanse of sand, all to myself.   But not for much longer.  The other day I watched in fascination as the beach umbrellas were assembled.  Heavy, circular woven mats, hefted up onto poles, creating small pools of shade.  And beyond it, endlessly blue sea, swaying to its own rhythm, mesmerising.  Like the wild flowers in the fields.

This isn’t as easy a post to write as I’d thought.  I keep wandering back to the comments on Living the dream… 3 months on.  You were all so very kind, and I obviously touched a chord with a lot of people.  So, where are we now?  A landmark for us.  A first visit from a couple of old friends from the UK, who had never been to Portugal before.  We waited anxiously to see how it would be received.  Would they shake their heads and wonder why we’d left good old England?  Perhaps if I tell you that they both love cake you’ll know that this place brought enormous smiles to their faces.  And it wasn’t just the cake!

Coffee too?
With a nice view, from Vila Real d. S. Antonio
Life!
Not always a bed of roses
Chilling out in Cabanas
Raw nature in the salt pans
East/west- Tavira’s best!

And in the meantime?  As you wisely forecast, good days and minor hiccups.  Small triumphs in language. (very small- I’m thinking recognised words here, not flowing sentences)  A succession of goodbyes.  Many people come to the Algarve in the winter months and leave again as the temperatures begin to rise.  This is another adjustment I will need to make.  But I know that many of the friends I have made will return.  We share a love for this place and, once the bond is made, threads of our lives mingle, across the globe.  Still, I’m quick to feel alienation.  I court a warm response, but always hold something of myself back.  Some lessons are harder to learn than language.  Maybe that’s why I’m a wanderer, dipping safely in and out, without commitment.

I’m on the verge of a long awaited adventure in the Azores, though some might wonder why I need a holiday.  By the time you read this the packing and angst should be done.  If I don’t publish now I know this will be swamped by my impressions of an archipelago of islands.  I’m off to catch a breeze!

 

147 comments

  2. Jo, it is lovely to get an honest update on how you are feeling 6 months on. You live a beautiful part of the world and with easy access to so many gorgeous places. Having good weather all year round can only add to the enjoyment. The hardest no doubt it is being far from friends and family. When travelling we only make brief conections, but they can be very fulfilling in their own way. I am sad not have been able to share a coffee and a chat with you when we passed by, but glad we keep conecte via the blog and social media. I hope you have a great time in the açores : )

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    1. Thanks a lot, Gilda. 🙂 🙂 Packing is done and I’m watching Rafa’s first match at the French Open. We may still meet one day. You never know with life, do you?

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  5. It takes a while to truly settle in at a new place Jo – years actually – so don’t be hard on yourself. You are living an adventure and even though it may be difficult at times, Portugal is the right place for you at this moment.
    Enjoy your vacation.

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  6. You’re having a year of so many firsts. I hadn’t considered the emotions that come from watching all the ‘snowbirds’ (as we call them in Canada) leave to return home for the summer.

    Happy exploring in the Azores. I’m sure you are going to find plenty of treasures 🙂

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  7. We moved from city to country just half an hour away from coast but not left our home country. How brave! I kind of envy you as it’s not so warm where we are even although we have beautiful coast and country. Portuguese isn’t the easiest language to learn, we dabbled a little before taking a 2 week vacation in Madeira a couple of years ago. Wishing you happy travels and enjoyment of life in warmer climes!

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  9. The picture look stunning as per and snoopy sells it even more than cake (did I really just write that?) Hopefully as you embed even more then the routine will just be blissful and you’ll be translating for the locals soon enough. Enjoy and hopefully you won’t melt..

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  10. Glad the settling in is progressing! And you’ll adore the Azores – another bit of Portugal. I remember sun, wind, waves, rain, dolphins, whales, sun, wine, rain, mountains, lakes, sun, colour, rain, and huge portions of fish on my plate. 🙂 Enjoy!!

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  12. Well done for getting this far! Learning a language isn’t easy so any steps forward should be celebrated. I hope that you continue to settle and enjoy your holiday to the Azores! I am very interested to see what it looks like 🙂

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  15. This is strange. I’m recognising my pleasure at Potato Point in yours in Portugal, as I did with Christine’s just up the coast before her tenure on Earth ended. Sea and plants and temperatures. Dipping in and dipping out has many advantages, but I’m beginning to put down deeper roots here – new commitments and new people, as I become more political and even occasionally stop to chat to new neighbours. Says she, who’ll be in Warsaw in three weeks! They’re buying an apartment, so any chance of “living for a year in Australia” has evaporated I reckon.

    You’ve settled in a come-and-go community by the sound of things. But friends come and go too – and there’s always the incentive of cake. Which is nothing compared to the incentive of Jo.

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    1. I almost included a couple of beach plants for you. Another time! 😊 I’m never going to be political. The rest of the family does it so well! Bless you hon. My world would be much poorer without you 😍🌊🐚🐠🐳🍰💕

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  17. You are clearly making good progress with the language, Well done, Jo! It’s not difficult to see why you left the UK, for all the difficulties of going from the known to the unknown.

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  18. Living the dream. How amazing, Jo, despite the minor hiccups. It looks a beautiful place and I can see from your posts how you fell in love with it.
    Have a wonderful ‘extra’ holiday in the Azores. Will look forward to the photos. Sending blessings from North Wales. Safe journeying. 💙

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