Good-bye Cement, Hello Pavement

Day 9
Porto, Portugal
Reading: Catcher in the Rye
Songs on Repeat: Chris Pierce "Change Yourself"

I got all the cement out of my hair and ears. I donated a pair of jeans that could walk themselves to the site after a week of building. Got a disc of over 500 pics from everyone. Said good-bye (tearfully) to the group and our local friends. Getting ready to board a plane to Barcelona.

Our last day in Porto was pure tourism. It was a shift from the quiet we had been used to. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and the birthplace of port wine. We walked for hours, had a long lunch, visited Croft to sample some ports, picked up Portugal souvenirs. I'm not the greatest shopper, I've discovered. I got a few things but anybody expecting souvenirs might be disappointed. (I hope not.) After dinner, Melissa, Carolyn, Steve and I sat at a cafe by the river, shared pitchers of sangria and watched it get dark. We played Bullshit and danced by the water. By the time we got back through Porto's crumbling winding streets up to our hotel, we only had a few hours until we had to leave for the airport. But at that point, no one cared.

I am ready to set my own pace for a while. But I didn't anticipate how sad it would be to leave here. This week surpassed my expectations in all ways. To quote Melissa, "It's a powerful feeling to laugh with strangers." There was a lot of laughing this week. I love this country. I love how much pride its people have in it. I'll miss Amarante. But I know I'll be back. I feel like I just got the first course of Portugal and soon I'll be back for the main course. I want to tour Braga and Porto more and take a wine trip through the Douro Valley. Who's coming next trip?

Excited to see Barcelona. The only way I can really enjoy what I'm doing is to focus on one place at a time. I got tips from our group on the best spots to go and I'll see what happens when I get there. Trading buckets and cement for sidewalks and new sights.

Not sure when I'll find an internet cafe so I'm updating from my phone. Crossed fingers this works.
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