As I write, on a mild August day in 2023, I’m on vacation, looking out at a beloved Wimbledon garden full of doves and magpies. I want to take a moment here to thank each and every one of you who wrote in response to my last blog. I remain touched by the outpouring of love and kindness and sharing.
As I said to many of you, now, more than a year later, the pain and suffering are long gone, and only the lessons remain. My shoulder is 95% healed, and I’m regaining that last 5% as I continue my life long movement towards alignment, strength and suppleness. Thank you for your condolences and support and all that you shared about your own lives in response.
So, now, let’s return to our story, shall we?
Where were we?
Ah… here we are, driving to the beautiful seaside town of Porto Covo.
On the way to Porto Covo, I stopped about 20k south, in Vila Nova de Milfontes and had an ice-cream. After so much pain and heat, this was a luxurious treat. I enjoyed it so much, every time I returned I had an ice-cream. The raspberry with salted caramel was dreamy. I stayed in this area for a while, so this ended up being quite a few treats. I love summer. :)
Vila Nova de Milfontes and Porto Covo are both tourist destination for locals in the summer.
Before we continue, I’d like to take one more detour to say hello to Benoit. He didn’t visit during this period, and I’m not even sure when this photo was taken, except that it was vaguely around this time. I’ve taken so many photos of him eating since we’ve become nomads… He’s used to it now. I love this one. We had a challenging time finding a restaurant that we wanted to eat at, this was not the best meal, and he still manages to be handsome. Go, Benoit. Ok, back to our story (again)…
And here, is where I stayed, about 6k inland from the village.
Way out in the distance, is the ocean… It’s hard to see in this photo, so you’ll have to imagine the blue swell of the sea in the distance, just beyond the trees. Welcome to my ocean view. Here I took care of 2 horses, 5 chickens, a dog and 3 cats. I was thru the worst of my shoulder pain, and I took time to walk, run, meditate and do Feldenkrais exercises to gently continue what would be a long march towards regaining full range of motion (ROM). At this point I was about 70%.
Here’s the little flat’s terrace. At this home lived an older woman, a nurse and avid gardener, who was dying of throat cancer. Obviously, this was a special situation. This was still covid time, so her (adult) children wanted her isolated from strangers. The daughter, Ana, lived about 20k away and came to visit often, but wanted someone there for the daily tasks of watering the garden and feeding the the animals. The arrangement was that I would live and eat separately in the little flat next to the house, allowing the mother rest and recuperation. This suited me perfectly as it meant we both had lots of time to ourselves to heal. It was a lovely little flat, perfect for one, and a welcome upgrade in creature comforts.
Sleeping was comfortable, except for the mosquitoes and the heat up here. Thank goodness for mosquito nets! And the tiny metal fan I found in Milfontes. I’ve used both quite a few times since then. Milfontes offered a lot of comforts, not the least of which was the ice-cream, which at this point I had not had a lot of, so I was really appreciative. I enjoyed it every time I went – for groceries, laundry, a meal, etc.. And of course, the ice-cream. :)
Portugal is known for it’s shoes, leatherwork, cork, horses… and sardines. In Milfontes I also bought my first raw sardines to cook. They were delicious!
Juliette, from the previous farm, had lent me the Feldenkrais book, Awareness Thru Movement, and I worked my way thru it lying on my yoga mat on the handwoven carpet there. I spent a fair amount of time looking up at the ceiling, resting between bouts of effort. The big wooden rafters two stories up were lovely. I remember the day when my arm was finally flexible enough that I couldn’t see my hand above my head… This was a wonderful moment. The body was moving in the right direction.
It was pretty hot outside still, so indoors with a the door open and the ocean breeze wafting thru was a perfect setting.
Ana, the host’s daughter, is who I interacted with the most. She kept her horses here, at her mother’s home, where she grew up. I often sat watching them from the terrace.
The little brown pony, Max, was 35 years old when I was there. Ana is a horsewoman, and Max was her very first horse. He was calm, wise and playful. A perfect child’s pony.
When I arrived I noticed he was favoring his back leg, rarely standing on it, which I thought might just be his age, except that he kept getting worse – to the point that he was almost falling over… which is pretty extreme for a four legged animal. The vet came, ruled out a few things and did some tests for neurological problems. All negative.
That’s when we realized that he had pulled a groin muscle. At 35, a grand age even for a pony, he was doing his best to mount this much larger mare when she was in heat! :)) She was having none of it, and kept walking away mid mount. He did his best to keep trying, though.
We laughed a lot over this one. Got to give the man credit for trying.
A few days of rest and pain killers and he was walking fine again. We had indeed found the problem.
One of the host’s best friends, Leonor, came over often to see her. We chatted one day and she invited me to come and visit her in Porto Covo. She has a jewelry stand there every summer and she knows simply everyone. I went often on the weekends to listen to live music, chat with her and banter with the constant stream of locals, friends and customers. It was a fabulous lively balance to quietude of healing at home.
One day, early in the season, Leonor decided to rearrange the things under the table. She was so funny about al of the well organized “mess” under there, that I laughed, and laughed and couldn’t resist taking a picture of her completely engulfed. Above is her beautiful jewlery stand.
Apologies for not having a nice photo of her beautiful face for you to gaze upon. Next time.
And so, I really enjoyed my stay here. It was quiet when I needed it to be, allowing for regeneration of body and soul, and fun and lively when that was in order. I rested, realigned, watered, fed, cleaned, healed, laughed, laundered, grocery-ed, cooked, drove, danced, ran and generally enjoyed life.
This was an easy one.
About two weeks after I left, Ana, the daughter called to let me know that her mother had died. While it was expected, it was also sad. She left a legacy of lively moments and beautiful gardens. May she rest in peace.
Max, the pony, also died many months later. He died a gentle death of old age in the fields he grew up in. He did not manage to sire any new foals, but I am sure he had fun trying. He is remembered for his wise soul and kindness to little girls for whom we was the living pony of their dreams. We love you Max. Thank you for all that you shared.