6th June, Beach day: Praia da Princesa

Best beach

Best people

Refreshing water

Long stretching sands

Warm sun

Fun

Laughter

Building bonds

Supporting acceptance

Warm feelings

In the moment

Stop

Relax

Unwind

My happy day

Lunch at Praia da Princesa

I was keen to try the local cuisine while we were in Portugal and wanted to try sardines done the Portuguese way. The sardine season is from May to October and are popular to tourists in the summer months as well as eaten by the locals during the feasts and festivals of saint Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, a friar of the Franciscan order, 13th June.

Eating meals together as a group is a happy memory of inclusion for me. I feel honored to be part of the Monte da Largo school class reunion group. It was unfortunately on this beach day that I had a reaction to some food (most probably the sardines). In the evening I was coughing incessantly and by the next morning I needed additional medication for my asthma.

I want to just give you an idea about getting medical assistance in a foreign country where only a rudimentary amount of English is spoken by many of the locals and you yourself have less than rudimentary skills in local language, in this case: Portuguese.  When we got to the medical clinic we were told in broken English that “NO doctor today… we do teeth today… come back on Saturday”… This was a Wednesday so needless to say I needed medical help sooner than that and we found another way. I am not going to get into it but I am so grateful for the support and understanding I experienced from the group. It is not easy having a sick person on holiday with you and it is also not easy being the sick person. I spent the next day at home base while everyone else went sightseeing but the following day we drove to Sintra, just outside Lisbon and to Cascai, two places I would love to go back to. It was not a day for exploring as it was raining off and on (which suited me with my asthma). This was frustrating for the rest who were not be able to explore very much on foot.   

So now you might have your answer to my question in my initial post about Portugal which was: “how do you think I fared on this trip?” My answer is: my social anxiety was surprisingly low but my physical health suffered for the rest of the stay. As I recovered from the food reaction which impacted my lungs my energy levels remained low. I was disappointed that my health slowed me down so much but overall I still had a very good time and have happy memories of the group.  We are all keen to get together in the future again.   

Take care
A warm smile coming your way.