Adeus Portugal

Tudo Bom

It came to me this morning, while walking around my local town, Ferrel, that it was the last time id be here for a while. Like realising you’ve forgotten your keys, I reflected for a moment. The breeze tickled my neck as I walked the cliff tops of the silver coast.

It’s ostensibly decadent to write about leaving a place most people visit for a holiday, in which you lived for six months. But here I am, writing about the place I lived, and will now go on to miss.

A BBQ stacked with hand-length fish sizzled away out of the beating midday heat. A small body with legs bolted on revealed itself from a darkened doorway. The dog only looking after his owner's well-earned lunch. The road leading up and away to the higher part of Ferrel. One where you can see out west, to Peniche, the Atlantic and all of the new world which rests awaiting daybreak beyond the horizon. You get an eery feeling standing atop a lookout knowing the old world ends there and a new one sleeps thousands of miles to the west, For me, this was a magical idea somehow.

Deep cracks in the dehydrated earth shatter under my alternating footsteps. Im not sure if I am in the outback or in a small western European town. It rarely rains here and If I think back over a total of 6 months of living here I would add up to maybe a whole month of wetness and rejuvenation.

Age and maturity are what this place oozes. With only the sound of a lone barking dog and a dust cart collecting undesirables, Ferrel remains silent. I always did wonder why and where everyone was and why, even during daytime it would be so quiet.

There are questions I will always have about Portugal. After six months of living here, it’s quite obvious that I won’t be able to answer many. The more I travel the more I realise that differences are as superficial as the borders that hem us in.

Super Bock bottles

and glass out to sea

Endless

Abundance in the sand

a flat cap resting on top of a barrel-shaped man

High mileage

Sun drenched

Make shift and pure

Ocean power

Take care. See you soon Portugal. Cheers