My 2024 solo travel adventure brought me to Portugal! I rented a house in the historic section of Albufeira, southern coast in the Algarve region. Beautiful sunshine greeted me almost everyday, along with an americano with extra hot water that I ordered at a beach cafe. These travels are all about routine, usually involving meditation, yoga and songwriting, but this trip was a bit different. Though I did sit in meditation most days, yoga gave way to daily walks – or rather climbs, as Albufeira is quite hilly. I did buy a guitar when I arrived and played regularly, but only wrote one song that will likely never be played again. My attention was focused learning to read and understand the Tarot, filling a sketch book with abstract art, and writing a memoir. All three of these continue to be challenging endeavours that I hope are fulfilling a greater purpose of which I’m not yet aware. 

My brother Rick came to visit for a few days before heading on a tour of Spain, and my brother Bill and his wife, Eileen, were also in Portugal on holiday. We spent a day together visiting a cork factory and sightseeing. I was really happy to have the company because I didn’t have great luck forging a community in the village, so when I learned that my high school friend, Karen, would be twenty minutes down the road, we made plans to visit a winery! 

Perhaps the most exciting part of the adventure came towards the end of the month. My partner, Chris, met me in Lisbon where we rented a car and headed out for a few days of travel together. 

I offer lots of detail about daily happenings while on these annual trips, but you need access to my private page of Facebook to follow along. All you have to do is ask, and I’ll add you to the group.