Downshift Musings

One week ago I celebrated my 55th birthday and 30 years ago last Monday, on a chilly 50 degree day, Rich and I got married. We were still graduate students and just wanted to be married and start our life together. It was rather a shoestring affair. I only had a budget of $3,000, including my dress, but it came off almost exactly like we wanted. Years later, though, I still feel kind of sorry for the trouble many of our guests had trying to get home after our little wedding. The cold front that came in turned out to be the 1993 Superstorm or “Storm of the Century”, a cyclonic storm that stretched from Canada to Honduras! Rich and I had flown off to Jamaica for our honeymoon, rather unaware of the chaos happening on the east coast, but also finding out that even Jamaica was not terribly enjoyable when cold and wet.

So here we are 30 years later. I am so happy we have made it this far as successful partners in family and life. We have been very fortunate. From the early days with no money, Baby Vivi, the surprise baby Tristan, my career change, Rich becoming a professor, kids through school and college, and now the mid-life years – we have been blessed. Of course we have lost some loved ones too soon, particularly my Brazilian best friend Mônica Pombo and Rich’s mother Miriam (it would be her birthday today).

And, I wouldn’t be me if I weren’t planning another trip/adventure for us, so in recognition of 30 years together Rich and I will be walking another pilgrimage. During Rich’s sabbatical in 2017 we walked the entire Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago. This May we’ll be walking from Lisbon to Porto, half of the Camino Português…a mere 230 miles, as compared to 500. This is a more challenging route because the pilgrim infrastructure is not well developed and a number of the distances between towns are over 30kms. It may also be more solitary (fewer pilgrims) and have less undeveloped areas.

I have to admit that there are several reasons for Portugual this trip. We already explored Lisbon with the kids and Molly, Tristan’s girlfriend, during a trip over New Year’s, but now Rich and I will explore the interior.

I am very interested in what it is actually like to live in Portugal and the EU. I already speak the language (yay!) even if with a Brazilian accent. I didn’t have any issues in Lisbon and really look forward to speaking as much Portuguese as possible. The climate seems appealing, especially in the sunny Algarve region of the southern peninsula. I *think* that I would love to spend summers in the EU once I am no longer working. We shall see… In the mean time we will walk through incredible Roman, Moorish and Christian history as we head up the Tagus (Tejo) estuary and through Santarém, Tomar, Golegã (home of the Portuguese horse), Coimbra and on to Porto. The geologist in me is looking forward to a day trip to the Schist Villages near Coimbra.

In gratitude for the gifts of health, happiness and good fortune.