Wednesday April 27

Wednesday morning I opted for sleeping in, instead of attending yoga. I was awake around 7am and I think this was the first night I slept the entire night of about 9 hours. I chilled in my room until 8:30am. I finished reading my book, snacked, watched some YouTube. It was a nice morning that I needed.

Breakfast was French Toast and fruit. It was so good, I had 3 slices.

After breakfast, we were headed to Monchique to walk the gardens. It was about an hour drive. We walked around then had a journaling session.

Next we went to the center of town and ate lunch at Velochique, a cute café in town. Suzanne and I sat down and while we both thought of sandwiches, we then saw the burger come out and immediately both ordered the burger with sweet potato fries. OMG I still think about this amazing burger!! We found out after that the bun has curry in it. The bun tasted so good!

We followed that up with a vegan brownie. So good!!

After lunch, the group split up. I headed back with Jen, Terry and Christina to the lodge. We actually stopped at the large super market on the way back for Terry to get some items for dinner. I was able to get more snacks which was perfect.

Also have you ever thought of doing your laundry while at the supermarket? They had washers in the parking garage.

Then I had the afternoon to chill. The weather was beautiful. We laid in the sun outside. I was able to journal about the past few days and chat with Jen and Christina.

The rest of the group was off in Lagos but after some adventurous days, I enjoyed the down time in the afternoon. It was just what I needed. Terry made a nice simple chicken dinner for those who were at the lodge and then it was time for bed at 9pm for me again.

Thursday April 28

This was the last full day of the retreat. We started with some eggs for breakfast.

After breakfast we were off for a 6 mile hike. The hike was a nice sand path up the road from the lodge a bit.  My only regret in this was not packing my Camelbak for water. My water bottle was not really enough and I later got a dehydration headache, but the views were stunning. I took nearly 100 photos on this hike alone, probably the most of the trip. I just couldn’t take enough of the cliffs and the beautiful clear ocean water.

Although I was chatting with various people throughout the hike, towards the end I was wondering at what point were we going to be at ground level to reach a beach. Eventually the trail led to a road that we went down and we reached the café area and beach.

I was excited for some lunch and ordered an avocado and fig salad.

After a delicious salad, we headed over to the other café to check on the other ladies and I ended up ordering a delicious slice of chocolate cake. I pretty much inhaled that but not before taking that Instagram worthy photo of my cake and the beach in the background.

Jen came to pick us up from the beach area and take us back to the lodge around 2pm. I then needed to do a COVID test for my flight. Luckily Suzanne saved me with this and I was happy to have it done that afternoon.

Around 4pm, we headed to the yoga studio for class. Just a few of us went and I was happy I did. This was our last yoga practice for the retreat as Friday morning was for packing. Maggie taught the class at the studio and then at the end we had a long savasana. Jen came in to do Reiki at the end.

After yoga, we headed back to the lodge. We were headed out for dinner again. This time in the town but just up the road. A bunch of us walked up the road and enjoyed the beautiful views.

We arrived at dinner around 7:30pm. Late night again. It was mainly a seafood restaurant and I was the one who ordered the grilled chicken as I am not a seafood fan. By the time the food arrived, it was nearly 9pm. I really wasn’t all that hungry. I was happy I had that salad and cake earlier. The chicken was good, but I was just tired I think.

After dinner I looked forward to crawling into bed and getting some sleep before the travel day Friday.

Travel Day and Lisbon: Friday April 29

We had breakfast earlier, at 8am I think it was. As everyone was packing and stripping their beds.

I paid for the private car with Karen B, Karen S, Ann, Suzanne and Linda. Hugo was our driver and came around 9:30am. We had our bags outside and did a closing circle at 9am. I took some last photos with people and then we got in our car.

A 3.5 hour drive to Lisbon. It was nice driving in the daylight and no rain this time. I feel like I noticed more.

Although the drive was long, we all had a good time chatting. We did request one stop to pee and Hugo said we were 45 minutes from the city at that point. Well 45 minutes turned into 1.5 hours so I’m glad we stopped then. The traffic was like any other city traffic once we arrived in town. We dropped off Karen S and Ann first at their hotel. I got off next with Suzanne at her hotel.

I left my bag in her room briefly while we grabbed lunch across the street. Last meal, I had a peach tea and pork with fries and rice.

I was really on a pork kick there. It was nice to chat with Suzanne over lunch and then her hotel called a taxi for me. The taxi showed up in like 2 minutes and it was a short drive and 11 euros or so to the airport. Quick and easy. I then had to navigate the airport, found the place to self check my bag and grab my boarding pass. I then headed through security, bought some water so I could hydrate a bit before the plane. I had a good 3 hours but it passed by quickly. They didn’t check my COVID test until the gate which I thought was a little late, but so happy the one I took worked. At the Lisbon airport, we had to take a bus to the plane for boarding.

My flight was 6:30pm Lisbon time and scheduled to land at 9:30pm Eastern time. I put on Harry Potter movies to just dose off to since I have seen them so many times I can know what is going on by just listening. Food was served again a little bit into the flight. I was actually asked if I wanted pasta or meatballs. I asked for pasta, but then it was ravioli and a cheese sauce that I knew I shouldn’t eat. I’m glad I ate a full meal before the flight so again I wasn’t too hungry and focused on taking short naps. We landed an hour early again. I was excited to take my phone off airplane mode and text Brian normally.

Brian was at the hotel waiting for my flight to land. He told me to text when I got through customs. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a gate since we were early. I was able to skip over the passport lines and just do Global Entry (so worth it!). Then I waited for my bag. I was a bit nervous as it didn’t come out for a bit but finally I saw it and I was excited it made it on the same flight as me this time. I basically made it through customs and picking up my bag by the time my plane was supposed to land, so 9:30pm.

Brian booked a hotel which I was grateful for. I think it was best to go right to sleep as I tried to adjust to the time zone. I was wide awake around 5am on Saturday, but slept well otherwise. We got back to Binghamton before noon on Saturday and I immediately unpacked and started laundry. It was amazing trip that I’m grateful I was able to go on.

What an amazing group!

Monday April 25

We started Monday morning with meditation and yoga. We practiced yoga on the roof deck with all the layers on, but it was so beautiful looking at the clouds when we laid down.

For breakfast, we had a frittata (another item I would not typically eat, do we see a pattern?!). It was delicious and also made by @laraBrunch.

After breakfast, we split into 2 cars, the van and Maggie’s car for the SUP river cruise. I actually had to sit in Maggie’s trunk for a short ride to her house.

I then switched to ride in the truck with Maggie and the paddleboards after we got to her house. Once we checked out the spot to launch the paddleboards from, we had to carry them down.

We had 5 paddleboards and the plan was to paddle for an hour and then switch off with the second group. Me, Suzanne, Karen B and Lauren were the first group with Terry leading us. Most of us changed into our wet suits and then off we went.

It was a rough start because of the sand bars so we had to keep hopping off our paddleboards and lifting the fin and pushing until we got to deeper spots. It was a beautiful sunny day so we probably didn’t need the wetsuits but it was nice for less sunscreen needed.

I was the only one wearing a watch and eventually Terry asked me what time it was. We figured an hour had gone by and we were supposed to reach a beach to meet the others. We thought maybe we were paddling slow so we kept going and then it was 1.5 hours. We could see a road and thought we were close. Then nothing. Next we were sitting and paddling through bushes one by one. We thought this didn’t seem right.

By then we reached the 2 hour mark and we decided we needed to turn around. However, none of us had the energy to paddle 2 hours back. We were tired and getting hot.

Terry was amazing and found a spot we could pull out the paddleboards near the road. We walked through the bushes and up to the street as we figured that was the best chance of getting back to town and if they were looking for us, being found.

Take note we were all barefoot and most of us in wetsuits walking down the road. I had my Go Pro for photos but none of us had a phone or even knew the phone number if we stopped a car. While my upper body was sore, my legs and feet felt fine for walking. I was happy the road wasn’t black asphalt so it wasn’t too hot. I figured my feet would toughen up from the barefoot walking.

We started walking towards town. We did stop one car and ask how far town was. This old lady was so sweet and somehow estimated 30 minutes, I think by walking, although I feel like it would have been longer. About 15 minutes into walking though, Maggie came around the corner. We were rescued! I have to say, at no point was I too worried because we were all together and we could see the town. The river was one way so we were not really lost, but just had paddled too long. There was a miscommunication in that we were supposed to paddle for 30 minutes and then turn around and the beach area was like 10 minutes from the launch spot. All of us as we walked just thought about how this would make a great story so we were in good spirits through this.

Unfortunately, the second group never got to go because of the mishap. We were tired and hungry so Maggie suggested a restaurant. However, none of us brought money because we didn’t think we would be going out. Jen trusted me with her card and we headed to the restaurant for a late lunch. By this point it was 2pm.

I ordered the pork style dish and a giant 1.5 L bottle of water. I sat with Karen S, Kim and Ann. When the food arrived, I was highly confused as there were clams on top of my food. I told the server I had ordered the pork and they said yes pork. It turned out the pork was underneath. I didn’t have my phone with me so no photos, but once Karen and Ann kindly took the clams off and enjoyed them, I enjoyed the pork and sweet potatoes.

By the time we paid for the food and left, it was 4pm when we returned to the lodge. Given that we left before 10am, it was quite a long day in the sun for everyone.

I showered and hung out in my room for a bit, enjoying the coolness of my room after the sunshine. We were going out to dinner that night so we had a couple hours to chill out and then everyone got dressed up. I was glad I packed one dress and was able to wear it out one night.

For dinner, I had the Portuguese specialty, black pork. Even though I had just had pork for lunch, I had more pork and it was delicious.

For dessert, we had chocolate mousse and a sweet potato bon bon chocolate. I definitely loved the mousse.

Since dinner was at 7:30, we didn’t get back until after 10pm. It was a long day. I texted Brian when we got back but then went right to sleep.

Tuesday April 26

Tuesday morning was the first morning I needed my 6:15am alarm. Surfing was moved to 7am Tuesday after the mishap Monday with paddleboarding. I got my swimsuit on, did wordle and snacked in my room.

 I walked outside, waiting for the other girls around 7am and I saw a beautiful rainbow over the ocean. As we waited, the single rainbow turned to a double rainbow. It was so beautiful and made getting up early after the late night so worth it. The rainbow got brighter and the second one got brighter.

Once we were all in our wetsuits, we headed down to the beach around 7:30am. The waves were small. We carried the surf boards down, did a short warm up and went off to the water. It was drizzling a bit but we were in the water anyway. It was hard to time the waves and paddling. I was able to get to my knees a couple times but that was all.

Still, I’m glad I got up early despite how tired I was. It was really raining by the time we finished. We got back just after 9am. I needed food! We stripped down from our wet suits, using the outdoor shower. I ate breakfast in my bikini because I couldn’t wait and I was warm from surfing anyway. We had granola for breakfast with fruit. I probably had like 4 bowls because surfing at 7am makes you hungry.

At 11am, we headed to the yoga studio to do a class.

Then we had a short discussion on some journal questions. Afterward, we went into a local café. I had the most delicious bean salad and a kombucha drink.

We headed back to the lodge from there and had about an hour before we headed out again. This time we went into Aljezur and walked around Aljezur castle.

Then we walked in some shops. We stopped at a gelato place and I had a brownie.

Once we got back to the lodge, it was nearly 7pm. The days felt long and short at the same time. I think I was really good at being in the present moment on this trip. Terry made pasta, salad and veggies for dinner.

It was delicious. I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to crawl into bed at 9pm.

In April I headed on a yoga retreat in Portugal. A much-needed time away and I had been looking forward to this retreat for a good 8 months. I will say some things were not smooth in the travels there but in the end, the trip was amazing!

Taking this quote from Jen who co-lead the retreat:

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts; it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind” – Anthony Bourdain

Travel Days: Thursday April 21-Friday April 22

I headed to the airport around 10am. The airport I was flying out of was a 3 hour drive or so. Brian’s aunt kindly took me down. After arriving at the airport, I actually received a call for a job offer. I will likely make this a separate post because it needs it to explain how everything aligned.

I was so early to the airport that I could not even check in for my flight yet. Since it was just after lunch time, I got a Mexican bowl at the airport as I passed the time. Shortly after that, people were lining up to check in for the Portugal airlines. I got in line to check my bag. Being that I was headed out of the country, I had to get a COVID test to fly. Although then they asked, “vaccine or COVID negative?” When I presented my vaccine card, they didn’t care about my COVID test, but still better to be prepared.

Next, I headed through security. While I had 3 hours to kill at this point, it somehow went by quickly. I read for a bit. I did Wordle for the day. Brian and I usually do it together but I tried to remember to do it each day myself (I only missed 1 day). I then had a Caesar salad. I spent like $30 at the airport for 2 meals, but I wanted to make sure I had some real food because it was going to be a long time of traveling.

Soon enough, it was time to board. Although masks were not enforced in the airport, they were on the international flights. Given that the flight left around 6pm eastern time, I had planned to get some sleep as I would land at 6am Lisbon time.

The flight ended up being 6 hours instead of 7 hours and I probably slept 2-3 hours. They served dinner and a snack so I felt like my sleep time was interrupted by those. I was glad I ate beforehand because I wasn’t starving and the food was ehh, but I ate the sandwich before we landed.

We landed at 5am local time instead of 6am. Knowing that my ride wasn’t going to arrive until 9:30 Lisbon time, I had a lot of time to kill. I took my time in security. I was very dehydrated as I tried not to drink a lot because I didn’t want to get up to pee a lot, so I immediately bought 2 bottles of water since I could not find a water fountain anywhere.

By the time I got to baggage claim, the bags from my flight were gone. I had to go to lost and found. Then I was told I needed a ticket, which I had to find around the corner. There were no clear signs to explain this. Once I got a ticket and was explained there was a computer screen to show the numbers called (although it wasn’t working which me and another couple waiting had to point out), but finally they called me in. The guy typed in my bag info and tells me, my bag is still in Newark, NJ. So apparently my bag was going to take a separate plane to Lisbon and the next one was scheduled to get in at 10:40am. Since I was staying 3.5 hours from Lisbon, they had to fly my bag to Faro (another airport) that was an hour drive from the Lodge and schedule the delivery. After all of that, I just figured, guess I won’t have my bag until tomorrow (Saturday).

It was 6:30am at this point so it would still be a while. I still had 3 hours to kill after dealing with that. I snacked on some cereal I brought with me and wandered around the airport. I tried to read but I was tired. Honestly that was a longer 3 hours. Luckily I did have free airport wifi because I did not have an international phone plan.

By 10am, my ride showed up. I met Jen and Terry in the airport as well as some of the other ladies on the retreat. With the long drive, I tried to take a short nap on the ride. We made one stop for gas and to use the bathroom and I was awake from that stop till the lodge. It was about an hour from there.

Once we arrived, I was tired and felt gross in my clothes. I just wanted to shower. My room was ready and I had a bathroom and shower in my room. Jen kindly lent me clothes and shower stuff. I felt so much better after changing and taking a hot shower, even if I was wearing XL sweatpants.

Shortly after, we headed to the market down the street for some snacks for the week. I honestly didn’t know what to buy but I lived on the granola, rice cakes, peanut butter and trail mix for snacks for the week. They worked well.

After that, the second car arrived with everyone else and I was so excited to see Christina, the yoga leader that I knew and the reason for my joining this retreat. I told her about my job opportunity that I had to make a decision about and she could tell I wanted the job.

The first night we had pizza for dinner from a local place which was delicious. Sometime around dinner, I got an email that my bag had made it to Faro. I had Maggie (the third yoga teacher leader) call the Faro airport and schedule the delivery. They said the driver had left for the day but would deliver tomorrow. At least I knew my bag had made it closer.

Then we had a group meeting and burned sage for cleansing the space. As we discussed the upcoming week, I felt emotional but also had the weighting decision of a new job. I was also tired from very little sleep so there were some tears in the first night from the combination of everything but also feeling so welcomed to the space.

Saturday April 23

The first full day. I attempted to sleep in but was not super successful. I skipped the meditation at 7am, but joined the 7:30am yoga, sporting Maggie’s clothing.

After yoga was breakfast time. It was rainy in the morning as we had delicious pancakes for breakfast which I didn’t get a picture of.

After breakfast, we had a bit of time to chill before heading out for a hike around 11:30. Right before we left for the hike, my bag finally arrived! They had said Saturday morning and Jen assured me Portugal time morning meant anywhere from 8am to noon. She was totally right.

I was already dressed in Lisa’s pants for the hike and just put my bag in my room and headed out. I was glad I had worn my rain coat on the flight as it was needed for the chilly weather. During the hike, I was chatting with Suzanne most of the time. I didn’t take too many photos as I was busy chatting, but we did stop for some nice views of the cliffs and Arrifana rock. We got rained on a bit off and on, but then the sun would peak out. It actually wasn’t too bad.

In the afternoon, I had a massage. It lasted for about an hour and a half and was much needed after all the travel. When I finished, the rest of the group was at the yoga studio doing a practice. I decided to skip and relax after my massage.

Then we had dinner which was chicken and veggies. I was honestly craving meat and veggies by this night after the snacks, pizza and pancakes. All were delicious but I needed some more balance.

After dinner Saturday night I ended up calling Brian on Facetime audio. The wifi wasn’t great so our conversation was in and out, but I needed to make a decision on the job. Brian was really unsure and I was in tears on the call. Brian suggested I email my dad for his opinion as well. It took me a while to get to sleep this night thinking about the job offer.

Sunday April 24

I was up around 6:15am. That seemed to be the time I would get up, regardless of my alarm. I liked having a bit of time in my room to chill before meditation and yoga. I am used to having breakfast almost first thing, so I often had a handful or so of cheerios or granola that I had in my room. Then I would do Wordle in the morning and send to Brian even though he would be sleeping.

At 7am, I joined the meditation followed by yoga. We practiced indoors as it was windy and chilly that morning.

Next we had breakfast. We were presented with overnight oats for breakfast with edible flowers and nuts on top. Overnight oats is not something I typically eat. I’m not a fan of the cold oats or consistency. I took the tiniest taste and Ann stared at me saying take a bigger bite. I then did and they were really good. There was a smoother texture than I expected and I was surprised that they kept me quite full. I think the nuts and fruit added a nice flavor to them. I do wish I knew how they were made because then I might try them, but I’ll stick to my hot oatmeal for now. [Breakfast made by @LaraBrunch on Instagram]

Since the first two days were rainy, Sunday was a chill day at the lodge. It was probably one of my favorite days as we got to hang around the property. I walked to the beach with Karen and then hung out for a bit.

Then I walked back with Suzanne. I had cupping done in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, Brian and I discussed the job offer. My dad had also emailed back and Brian presented the idea of a studio apartment and I was on board. I accepted the job offer and with that decision made, I could enjoy the rest of the week and celebrate with everyone.

In the afternoon, we had yoga by the pool. Then we had pumpkin soup and vegetables for dinner (made by Terry). Again, pumpkin soup is not something I would typically eat, but I tried it and it was so good, I actually had seconds.

On these first few days, we just snacked through lunch a bit, but I was surprised how much the meals kept me full and I tried my best to drink tons of water. After my cupping, my marks were so dark, it showed I was dehydrated and so I tried to drink 2 of my 1.5 L water bottle to rehydrate.

After dinner we did a dessert tasting, the carob fig cake piece was my favorite of these 3 but I can’t remember the Portuguese name of each of them.

Monday is where the adventure really begins…