Relative Something

Before we went to sleep on that first night in Portugal, I tried to write just enough in my journal to capture details of the previous day’s travel. I feared that if I didn’t, memory of it would be lost to subsequent events. It wasn’t easy. I opened my eyes a few times to find my finger still resting on a key and one letter scrolled across the screen. Ultimately, I captured what I was after and we laid down to sleep around 10:00 p.m., local time. I was savoring the last thing Ian had said, that there was nothing planned immediately in the morning and we could sleep as long as we wished.

I remember waking once in the night, and finding complete darkness of an unfamiliar space. I successfully navigated to the bathroom by way of my finger-tips. It took a little while to fall back to sleep, but when I did, it was like getting a second night’s sleep, right in a row. With shutters closed over the windows of the Writer’s Cottage, there was little-to-no light in the room when I finally awoke. I sensed it was late, and opened the shutter to find the sun high. It was about 10:30 on Sunday morning. A good night’s sleep, indeed. The Writer’s Cottage is a very comfortable place to sleep.

This day was the actual day of our 29th wedding anniversary. The trip, itself, was our gift to each other. This day was also our son’s 22nd birthday. I hoped he was getting the greeting I posted in advance to him, here in this blog. We were sure getting what we wanted.

Fresh Figs!

I roused Cyndie with some of that daylight and in short order we were wandering over to the main house. We found Patricia and Stephanie there, and they set out a little breakfast of bread, cheese and fresh figs for us. Figs appeared to be abundant. It was a special treat for me. I had never even seen fresh figs before, and now I could pluck them from the tree to eat. We had arrived at an ideal time for the fruit, and the productivity of their particular tree ultimately proved to be the very depiction of the adjective, “fruitful.” But that was not the only ripe fruit available. For me, the highlight on the table at that moment was the fresh-squeezed peach juice. I am not historically a big fan of peaches. I now know for sure that I am a BIG fan of fresh peach juice! It tasted divine.

All of our senses were being tantalized with the distinct impression that we had arrived in a paradise. I particularly enjoyed discovering my intuition about the compatibility of our two families had been accurate. I sensed we would be a good fit, but it was already feeling dramatically more extraordinary than just a good fit. Both Cyndie and I shared the sensation of feeling as if we had already known Patricia and Stephanie for a long time. Their pure and precious energy drew us in and their maturity and depth of self awareness give them a radiant beauty that is a wonderful reflection of them, as well as of their parents.

Any blessings the Rowcliffe’s expressed feeling for having us as guests were being equally felt by us for being allowed to be their guests. This mutual appreciation served as the foundation for all that we were yet to experience of the place, the animals, and the friends we would come to meet. We were truly feeling this adventure was off to a superbly good start.

When Ian and Victoria returned from a trip to the supermarket, we settled in for a special lunch of curry chicken over rice with a lettuce and tomato salad and fresh bread. That was finished off with a special dessert of cake that Stephanie made in honor of our anniversary. We were not allowed to lift a finger toward helping clean up after the meal.

Patricia took this shot of Stephanie, Victoria, & Cyndie in Amarante

Victoria was hoping to provide a visit to the town of Amarante. We were able to assure her that it would be completely appropriate and desirable for us to do different things that day. So, the girls went to town and I helped Ian cut underbrush. I did my first mulching of ferns and undergrowth beneath the pine trees, and he cut growth that feeds the horses. Afterward, he and I walked up to the peak of the property for my highlight of the afternoon’s activity. It provided a beautiful view and wonderful breeze. The weather thus far had been entirely pleasant, with a hot sun, but comfortable temperatures, and a refreshing breeze. There had been some clouds in the sky, but it was mostly sunny. We drove back down the hill with fresh-cut underbrush and fed it to the horses.

After the girls returned, Patricia accepted Cyndie’s invitation for a massage. As dinner was being prepared, the whole Rowcliffe family generously pitched in to solve the technicalities of allowing me to make use of one of their internet connections. We enjoyed a meal of soup for a late dinner, and for dessert we had special treats they had bought in Amarante. Even though it was cooling significantly since the sun went down, Cyndie carried through with another massage session, this time for Stephanie, under the light of the moon (and some extra blankets).