At Barrosinha nr, Alcácer do Sal

A flat metal statue of a black cat standing on concrete against a red door

Everyone has gone for a walk. I am staying at home to rest tired bones and a tired nervous system. We had a lovely couple of days in Lisbon with my sister in law and her husband. However, I did not sleep well the night in the city, and spent a lot of time on the move yesterday. By the time that we got home, I chose to spend some time to myself while the others watched a movie.

Today we are heading east towards the Spanish border. Just a day away, but a lot of driving, walking and socializing. After a while my body and mind just needs the down time, I can feel it. The HSP in me can only be on for so long, and then I need to bathe in some silence and alone time. Right now I am taking such time as it becomes available. Maybe next week they’ll be more time to recharge?

👨‍🌾 We spent some time this morning at the Farmers Market in Príncipe Real neighbourhood of Lisbon. I enjoy the community atmosphere of these markets. I also just enjoy stepping back from the market, sitting down and people watching. Families, individuals, couples even the pet dogs. Interacting, buying, chatting, playing. We are all so varied in looks and personalities (as well as one can know a personality from a face in the crowd). I find people fascinating.

🌥️ Well today ended up better than I feared weather wise. No rain, some sun, though cool…especially this evening.

A hotel lobby greeting.

A full size statue of a chimpanzee

🏙️ In the big city, Lisbon. Rain is threatening and it feels unseasonably cold.

The Story Behind The Photograph: Two Boys Playing Cricket

Two boys playing cricket on a remote highway in the mountains of Pakistan
Two boys playing cricket just off the Karakoram Highway

While traveling the Karakoram Highway through Pakistan I stopped in Passu for three nights. My memory of Passu in July of 1989 was it just being made up of a small collection of houses. Nothing else. One of those was the guest house that I stayed in. This was run by a lovely man who use to be in the Pakistan army. Because of his military career, and despite what the isolation of his guest house might suggest, he had a good knowledge of the world outside of the mountains where he now lived. I remember his son playing with a pen knife that I was carrying and asking how much it cost? I mentally converted the UK Sterling price to Pakistan Rupees, and told the young boy. The price would have seemed ridiculous in that small isolated world, and he could not believe what I just shared. His father gave me a knowing nod.

Passu was near to the tongue of the both the Passu and Batura Glaciers. Surrounded by the peaks of the Karakoram mountains, I found it a spectacular place to immerse myself in the wildness of nature. The scale of all that surround me gave one a sense of insignificance. Traffic on the highway was next to nothing, allowing the safe space for these two boys to play a game of cricket just a cricket ball’s throw from the road.

Grey, rugged, sharp mountain peaks with a little snow on them, surrounded by cloud
Mountain peaks over looking Passu

I write this remembering overcast days. Fresh clean, clear air allowing a clarity of thought. And the high mountain peaks, alongside the air quality and ruggedness of the terrain, all reminding me that I was near the roof of the world.

Looking north from Arrábida Natural Park.

Low cloud hangs over a landscape of hills and stone

Man with goat in the Hunza Valley, Pakistan in 1989

Pakistan man with a goat on a leash. They are sitting in a large flower bed of yellow flowers on a terraced hillside with a large house above. Cloud covered mountains are in the distance.

🛩️ I just took a look at a live flight map of aircraft over Europe right now. In Central Europe it was barely possible to see the map underneath all of the airplane symbols. I don't know how the Air Traffic Controllers keep their sanity with that level of responsibility?

😋 Marmite peanut butter for breakfast. I haven't eaten that for a while, Amazon deliveries in the US turned out a mess. So I bought a couple of jars while in Britain and opened one this morning. Delicious.

🧓 I had a senior moment just then. I was staring at the computer unable to remember the web address that I wanted to go to. I could 'see' the site in my mind, but could not for the life of me remember its URL.

My wife’s family arrive today for a week. I am looking forward to seeing them. I’m sure that we will have a good time, we always do…And my quiet, HSP nervous system will probably have to find some way to pace myself, to find some quiet, recharge time, and right now I don’t know how or what that will look like? I’ll probably be the main chauffeur for the week. Along with coping with my hayfever, from here it looks as though it will be a challenging week.

🌧️ An unexpected brief shower of rain just happened. Last night it looked as though the heavens were going to open up upon us, but nothing happened. This morning it was overcast, but nothing threatening, and it rained. I’ll never make a good weather forecaster.

Thank you to @xxxx (Jacoby) for linking to this article about a 1,200-foot ti leaf lei draped across Pololū Valley to symbolize protection from overdevelopment. What a beautiful gesture.

Passing the car ferry heading to Setúbal as we are on the other ferry heading to Comporta. A very small boat with a couple of people fishing from it, sits between us.

A green car ferry and very small fishing boat in the ocean between Setúbal and Comporta on a very bright sunny afternoon

In Odeceixe

We visited the town of Odeceixe just over a week ago. I was tasked with finding the destination for the day, somewhere where we had not visited and not far or on the coast. So I picked Odeceixe at random.

At first glance there appeared nothing special or unique about the town. When we arrived it seemed very quiet. Situated about 3km from the coast there were few people around. We skirted the edge of town, and after two hours of driving I parked by what looked like some fields on one side which stretched to the coast, although out of view. To the other side was a small town square with statues of people walking and bicycling. At that moment these metallic statues seemed a little incongruous. I could see some similar statues in the distance. The air was quiet and peaceful. I appreciated being there.

Metal statues of a person walking and cycling in a small square on the edge of a town.

Feeling hungry and not really wanting to drive too much further we decided to head to the coast on the hope of finding a bite to eat. A narrow road, also designated as a cycle path, took us there. As we started off, we noticed walkers hiking across the fields. We passed more on the road.

Looking across a large grassy field. Tree covered hills converge to the distance. Blue sky and wispy cloud above.

The road twisted and wound round the low hills that bounded a grassy field. I imagine that this was either a carved river valley, a small river could be seen, or this was an ancient glacial ravine? We finally arrived at a small collection of houses situated at the top of cliffs above the Atlantic ocean. Happily some of those buildings served food. We found a place to park the car and got out to walk round to one of the cafés. There was bright sun light and a bracing wind. The road and path cut round the top of the cliffs back to the small habitation, giving a clear view to the beach below with the Atlantic waves breaking on it.

Looking down at the Atlantic ocean from cliffs as waves break onto a beach.

We found a place to eat, outside but out of the wind. While we ate hikers continued to show up. These were not just casual walkers. They had proper hiking boots on, backpacks and hiking poles. They were here for a good walk, not a casual amble.

Warm and replenished, we walked back to the car and drove slowly back the way we came to Odeceixe. Again on the way we passed more people hiking. Odeceixe appears to be known as a place for serious walkers to come to…them and I guess cyclists as well going by the metal statues.

I enjoyed our short time in Odeceixe and could have stayed longer. It is one of those places that doesn’t appear to get any mention in books about the area, but for that day it felt like I had stumbled across a hidden gem. Nothing special necessarily. Nothing that cannot be seen elsewhere. But for that day Odeceixe left an impression on me. It reminds me of other slightly out of the way places, at least out of the way to those who don’t know of them, that I have come across while traveling. I don’t know if I will, but I’d like to return.

🐍 I saw my first snake here in Portugal a couple of days ago. It was making a quick dash, or quick sliver across the road.