24 Aug 1985, Posted by Scott An Chora in Travelogue, No Comments.
08/24 Algarve, Portugal
We woke the next morning to a welcome change in rooms. Perhaps a good night’s sleep awaited us. Our little dog was adopted as kinda of mascot. He had been eating and actually gained some weight. By the affection he was receiving his future looked bright. Every day was a beach day and today was no different. Luck did find us. I spent the first few hours at the bar down on the edge of the sand, hair of the dog like the day before and the day before that. About every thirty minutes or so, it was back into the water to wash off the sun. I laid my towel just south of the three guys and young lady who caught my attention during the previous night’s dinner. On one of those water dips she and I were the only ones left behind to watch the abandoned towels. I took advantage of the two of us being left alone and took the liberty of lying down on the towel next to her. I struck up a conversation that lasted for hours and I found myself playing with the sand between the two of us, searching through for the smallest pieces of polished coral. With my fingernail, I would pick up each piece of coral, not much bigger than the head of a pin and carefully place each on the wrinkle on the first knuckle of her finger. We continued our conversation until I had stranded enough to complete the top portion of a fictional ring of about forty grains.
The clouds have come, both rain and dew, the sun has left us wet,
my soul cries out, yet never knew and though I know, we meet
We were extremely comfortable with one another and were having a pleasurable time. We decided to attempt a swim out to one of the rocks that jetted out of the sea. It was then I discovered three things. One, she used to be an Olympic swimmer. Two, the gentlemen who had dined with her the previous night and the one who happened to be following us on this swim were not her boyfriends. And third, she was interested in me. She was quite a fish and it took most of what I had just to keep up. The two us of reached the rock minutes before our third wheel. She explained that this puppy had been following her around and she had been unable to shake him loose. The three of us climbed to the top of the rock for a picturesque dive but our third wheel thought it in his best interest to climb back down. The two of us swam toward the opportunity to be alone. We had scratched our names into the sand and promised to return. Beauty with the line of a swan, she carried me on. “A little love, a little trust, a soft impulse, a sudden dream and life as dry as desert dust, was now fresher that a mountain stream”. When we reached the shore we were literally the only ones on the beach. Everybody else had vanished. Only our towels laid out on the sand confirmed we were back at the right beach. I assumed Jim had taken possession of my gear, but still my mind entertained the thoughts of what if he didn’t. I didn’t like the fact that everybody had left and forced myself to wrestle away those negative thoughts. It had been less than an hour or so and they could have waited. When we finally made it back to the hostel, we each headed straight for a shower and then reunited for dinner.
Once I started hanging out with Ann I began receiving more and more questions about the Swedish girls. The girls were apparently telling everybody that they were both dating me in order to fend off advances. They did spend an awful lot of time together and were avoiding some pretty good-looking guys, so I started thinking perhaps they were partners. Ann thought so. The farther into the night we got, the closer the two of us became. She showed me her tent and we eventually ended up on the landing outside my room. We began trading kisses and stories from our pasts, contour and shading. Then through some unexpected chain of events we landed onto the subject of her parents and she began to cry. While I was kissing the tears from her cheeks, a thought raced across my mind. She had reached inside and grabbed hold of something in me. From a place I had kept secret. I don’t know how to explain it. It was like she had key without my knowledge or permission. We were getting too close, too fast and I decided to back away slowly, we would reunite the next day under better light. I walked her to her tent and reluctantly headed back to my own bed. I lay there in bed thinking about her tears and their cause, entertaining more than just the passionate thoughts I started with.
Before the morning sun, the minute I awoke and realized were I was, I went straight to her tent to wake her with a kiss. I knew I had placed myself between a rock and a hard place. Jim wasn’t having as much fun as I apparently was and he wanted to leave a day or so ago. I had persuaded him to stay a bit longer on the promise we’d head west. Today was the day that I had promised to leave. I rewrote a poem from a previous attempt and traded it for her address. I kissed her again and told her that I would find her. Tomorrow will be ours.
This is love, young lady, have I seen you here before
haven’t our eyes meet, a secret kept, of hearts that need much more
together, life can be a dream, don’t worry about the past
just let go and hold on to me, these memories will last
… I bring you flowers, this summer day, you won’t be sad, I came to say …
I love you, I love you, true
Is this love, young lady, I can think of only you
like the flowers of spring, have we meet again, would you say, that this is true
together, love is strong enough, the song they sing, is true and I hope
as I get closer, I’ll hear you, sing it too
… I brought you warmth, a kiss today, holding you close, I heard you say …
I love you, I love you, true
With every additional westward minute, I felt like I was falling farther and farther downstream. Like I had forgotten something and my mind wouldn’t let it go. I could have had sex!. Between buses we had enough extra time to place a call home. It was just blind luck that it happened to be my Dad’s birthday. I was a lucky child to have grown up surrounded by love. To be embraced and nurtured by a pair of parents that attempted to create an environment of learning and safety. I must have done something right in a previous life. I believe this soil developed the roots of my pride, a pride no matter what the circumstances, “I always believe that I am capable”. Happy Birthday, I love you.
It’s you … my love, I’m thinkin of, a song that’s pure and true.
and when I awake, I always smile, cause in this world, I know … there’s you
We jumped another bus to Sagres. The wind was strong coming off the sea and brushed the peninsula clean of almost anything that wasn’t nailed down. Towering sheer height, beaten by the strength of the Atlantic, locals perched with their lines dangling in hope of snagging the next big one. The castle walls were lined with street vendors pedaling wares. Among the shells, gold jewelry and many beautiful laced items, laid a pink coral necklace. This was a beautiful token and symbol of the first day I had spent with Ann. In my negotiation I had the merchant include a pair of gold dipped earrings. We took a walk along the eastern shore line. When we reached the hostel a small screw from my sun glasses loosened itself and dove into the sand at my feet. Though I attempted numerous times to find it, it managed to escape. Jim had his mind set on walking into town with some others for a beer, maybe two. I on the other hand was still disappointed in myself for leaving Ann behind and decided to stay there alone. I wandered about within the castle walls, talking to myself, which I often do. Even though it was dark outside, I still made another attempt to locate my lost screw. It was an incredible night. The wind commanded my attention but still took a backseat to the moon. I don’t recall ever seeing the moon that large. It was at least twice its normal size. I sat out among the shadows staring up at that which was not only beckoning for me to appreciate its beauty but asked me to question. “Why am I standing here, where did yesterday’s steps lead me to and where do I go from here?” I jotted down pieces of the puzzle that made up this looking glass.
1. There is nothing to prevent a man, who cannot grasp a proof from accepting as a matter of faith,
the immovable point is that “I think” and as long as “I think”, I exist
yet this existence lies exposed, floating on a body of water that appears to have no edges
like a leaf that has fallen into the river, I wander lost in the turbulence of my own thoughts
because the way in which “I think”, isolates me, for I am unable to recognize true reality
except for the reality that I am confined to a road, a road that extends beyond my time and before my past
for I know not where it extends or begins
and the questions remain.
A work in progress:
