“WINE! Because no great story started with someone eating a salad.” – Internet Meme
This post is a shorty but a goodie.
Today was a WONDERFUL and much-deserved rest day in Porto. The footsies and the blisters need a break.
I absolutely love this city.
In addition to staying an extra day to rest, I have another friend who is visiting Porto at the same time I’m walking through, so I got to hang out with her!
Heather and I met at a yoga retreat in Bali back in February. We also climbed Mount Batur (an active volcano!) and visited the Batur Hot Springs, rice terraces, and a Hindu Purification Temple together with some of the other students. You can read about those adventures in the Feb 2023 archives but here are a couple of photos.
Heather and I don’t know each other very well despite all these amazing adventures we’ve shared so this downtime in Porto gave us a chance to connect over wine and spaghetti nero with prawns.
The particular restaurant we chose was fairly busy so they sat us at a table with two other young women in their early 20s. Turns out Annie & Caitlin (A&C) from Toronto are sisters on a little holiday getaway to Portugal. While Heather and I were chatting about our lives, these two young ladies were listening…apparently with great interest. Both Heather and I have walked away from our careers (temporarily) to travel and A&C wanted to know how we did it so that someday they can do it too. They started drilling us with questions and we were happy to answer. It really is a fun topic to discuss. Plus, they wanted to know about the Camino so I pulled out my maps and pilgrim passport for show and tell.
Honestly, sharing my life stories is when I feel most alive. It’s like an athlete when they are in the zone. I’ve had some many wild adventures and BIG learning lessons, I love to share my experiences. One of the girls asked me what was my favorite aspect about my previous career. I can say wholeheartedly, hands down without a second thought, it was mentoring the interns. Most people would never guess that of a person who worked in professional sports and live entertainment but I had more fun helping the interns discover who they were and what they wanted in life over meeting the celebrities and athletes or working all the sporting events and concerts. Don’t get me wrong, that was fun (really fun) but connecting with someone who is just about to embark on their adult life and knowing you played a part in helping them see all they are capable of and what gifts they can share with the world…that is work that lights me up like a Christmas tree lightbulb.
We ended up talking with A&C for THREE HOURS. It was really fun! By the end of our conversation, they seemed excited to start looking inward at how they want to start shaping their lives and what steps they can start taking now to reach those goals in the future.
Just before they said goodbye, they thanked both Heather and me for sharing our stories and said, “It’s funny we met you guys because we had actually planned to leave Porto yesterday but randomly decided to stay one more day.”
And that my friends is how the Camino magic works. ❤️ It’s always giving us what we need.
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One last story before I sign off for the night. There is a young woman, 41, from Roma, Italy in my room tonight. She just finished the Camino from Porto to Santiago and is on her way back home. I asked her how her Camino was and she said, “Absolutely wonderful. It’s one of the best things to happen in my life for a long time.” Then she went on to tell me that she has been battling cancer for five years. She has a hereditary gene and all the women in her family have had this same rare type of cancer. She has had a full hysterectomy and two mastectomies…before 41. She lost all of her hair at one point (she has very short hair at the moment) and she is still on daily medication and is not yet declared in remission. She is married with two teenagers at home. And with all of this going on, she still found the strength to do a Camino – one of her big bucket list items. Sometimes I’m in awe of our fellow humans. I feel really lucky to cross paths with such incredible people.
….
Okay, here’s a final suggestion. I didn’t go to the famous Livraria Lellò bookstore this trip but I’ve been there before and if you like architecture and books, it’s a must-see! This photo is from my visit in 2021.
Goodnight and much love from Portugal! 🇵🇹
Scenes from Day 22
I was talking so much today that I didn’t take many photos…except of Peregrina, the house cat at the hostel. The first pilgrim down the stairs to the kitchen in the morning has to feed her or she cries like a baby and wakes up the whole place. Meow.
I didn’t take my usual traffic mirror selfie but luckily my friend, Bob, back home sent me one and so did my buddy Graham from England who is hiking the Primativo at the moment. Thanks guys for saving the day!
