Day 146 - Back to reality...

Back to reality it is this week. Funny thing about travelling - by the end of the second week away one starts feeling a little homesick and then, once you're home, you wish you were back right where you came from! This was a pretty busy trip, as the main object was to find a little property that we could call home for part of the year, either in Portugal or Madeira.

As there are SO many properties on the market in Portugal, the task was daunting, to say the least. In Lagos, situated in the south of the country in the sunny Algarve, there are 2000 new apartments on the market alone! So for us in the end it boiled down to establishing where it was that we wanted to be and after visiting the centre of Portugal and comparing the life we would have there with what the Algarve has to offer, we have settled on the latter.

We've now made an offer on a little apartment, so here's hoping that if it's meant to be, so be it. If not, well, then we'll continue looking.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to overcome in life (in my humble opinion anyway) is to actually make a decision about whatever needs to be decided upon!  In our case the decision to have a little place in Portugal has been hovering in the background for years now. We've looked and discussed, looked and discussed  and now we're finally at the place where it is a done deal. No more wondering about what if, should we, shouldn't we - just get on with it now! So there you have it.

Decision made.

Our main base will remain here for many years but once we have a place to call our own on that side, we'll spend a month or two there every year and eventually the plan is to follow the sun for half of every year.

Feels good to say goodbye to procrastination!

This morning in church the minister said something that really struck home. He said: 'All of us are going to die. It's a given. What many of us forget to do, is to live.'

Having made this decision makes me feel that we've decided to live! Nothing is impossible if you really want to make it happen bad enough. So here's hoping that all falls in place as it should, however long it takes!

The other highlight in my week happened yesterday. And as this blog has a lot to do with the Camino, I'm happy to say that this bit of news is as camino related as it gets! The Confraternity of St James of South Africa held a Camino presentation at a church just around the corner from me.

What an amazing morning!

Other than all the amazing information I received, I was in awe of how many people who have already walked several times themselves, attended what essentially was an informative session for people who have never walked! It just brought home to me that the affect that the Camino has on people is undeniable.

More about the presentation in my next post. In the meantime, here are some of the photos I took on our trip. Enjoy!

And finally...

Driving in Madeira is not for the fainthearted! We were in a little Renault Clio here and we decided that we know when we're defeated - a hasty retreat into the nearest little hole we could find, a friendly wave from the busdriver and all was well again!