Day 47, April 17.

A very low-key day around Nuno’s home town of Famalicao. I spent a lot of the morning trying to arrange logistics for my UK visit, which isn’t easy.

Luckily, Teal, whom I had met at Space for Connection, wanted a session with me, so I’m trading with her to figure out all my train connections from place to place and make reservations, where she can.

Much to my great chagrin my EuRail Pass is no good in the UK, so every trip is a new expense, and I am going to many different places. Teal has a company called “Wild Events” in the UK, so logistics is right up her alley.

The real Portugal

Then I experienced the real Portugal. I went for a walk from Nuno’s house, into the very peaceful Famalicao countryside and on my way back proceeded to get lost.

I was wise enough to have Nuno write down his address and phone number before I left, but I was determined to find my way back on my own.

When I realized I was lost I saw two women walking up the road who didn’t speak English, and I pointed to the street address, and they had no idea where the street was. I knew I was close but, uh oh, maybe I was further away than I thought. So they motioned to me to follow them and they brought me to a little country store where they apparently told the storekeeper, who looked the street up but couldn’t find it (probably because it is in a fairly new development). So then he grabbed my paper, took his phone and called Nuno, and told me (by gestures) to wait there.

While I was waiting in the store, those two women had joined up with a few more and a newborn baby that they were apparently there to celebrate, and I had a great time feeling their energy, watching their gestures and listening to their very foreign (to me) language.

Then Nuno drove up to bail me out. Turns out I wasn’t too far away at all; I just forgot to take one turn. I enjoyed every moment of it.

The workshop

Then it was on to do my workshop. Small group of seven. Half were musicians. This was apparently the first-ever 3P [Three Principles] session in Portugal. So good start.

Nuno felt bad that there weren’t more there, but I didn’t. Those who were there seemed to get a lot out of it.

Then a bunch of us went out to dinner together, Ana who owned the place we did it in and husband and daughter, another Ana (one of Nuno’s students), Phillipe an educator who is always smiling, and Nuno. Really good people.