These two donkeys lived in the hotel grounds that we stayed in while down in the Algarve over the weekend. They were not always in their corral, but sometimes were wandering the grounds. On our return one afternoon, the older one greeted us with some loud braying as we got out of the car and walked towards him.
I finished reading: In Love with the World by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. This book felt like a gift that I am very grateful for. I took my time with it. An account of a young Buddhist monk setting off on a wandering retreat who then becomes severely ill and almost dies. What made this book special for me was the intimacy of his story. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a Tibetan Master, shares his Buddhist approach to the struggles that setting off on the retreat brings to him. Then as illness strikes he offers rare insight, from my perspective, into the Tibetan view on mind, consciousness and dying. 📚
Fresh fruit. Young grapes on the vine growing above us, and providing shade from the sun.
🛣️ Portugal, the home of straight roads. Seriously, I have never seen so many straight roads, even out in the countryside. They are a joy to drive, because you just point the car in one direction and go. Maybe a few ups and downs, but few turns. At least that has been my experience so far, and my kilometers are building up.
🛣️ Portugal, the home of straight roads. Seriously, I have never seen so many straight roads, even out in the countryside. They are a joy to drive, because you just point the car in one direction and go. Maybe a few ups and downs, but few turns. At least that has been my experience so far, and my kilometers are building up.
Shadows in the night.
The ground was moving with these little crabs everywhere. By the Canal de Travia, Luz.
Ciao!
This way.
Monday June 3, 2024 Dear Friends, Welcome to the first newsletter of June 2024. Today’s letter will probably be brief (I say probably because I am still writing it!) as we are on the road for a couple of days. This time exploring the eastern Algarve - quieter (in terms of the tourism impact) and more nature. We arrived here yesterday and have been greeted with vast expanses of beach, mud flats, small boats (mainly fishing, a few pleasure), oyster farms, and grasslands.
An Algarve morning.
This is one way to protect your car from the heat of the day.
😧 That moment when I think that I have lost my credit card and driving license, or they have been stolen. That’s when I see how I can loose all sense of sanity very quickly.
….
That moment, too many moments later, when I find that they dropped onto the floor of the car. 😮💨
😧 That moment when I think that I have lost my credit card and driving license, or they have been stolen. That’s when I see how I can loose all sense of sanity very quickly.
….
That moment, too many moments later, when I find that they dropped onto the floor of the car. 😮💨
Shapes and shadows by a pool of water.
We returned home from Lisbon late last night. Keyed up from the drive home and hot because if the weather, I went for a walk. In the nearby park the fountain was running, offering cool air within its domain. I sat there and rested, watching it cycle through its colours.
I’ve returned there again today to cool off.
Yesterday’s exhibition. Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira at the Gulbenkian Museum. He is so prolific, even into his 90s, that I found the exhibition exhausting. Fascinating, inspiring, but exhausting.
🫠 Melting this evening (today). Today hit 34°C. The house is warm, at least upstairs (living area)…downstairs (sleeping) is cool. Windows open everywhere to catch any breeze that might want to blow through.
🫠 Melting this evening (today). Today hit 34°C. The house is warm, at least upstairs (living area)…downstairs (sleeping) is cool. Windows open everywhere to catch any breeze that might want to blow through.
Church, Vila Ruiva, southern Alentejo.
