Worlds Collide at the Westernmost Point of Europe

This is the Pena National Palace in Sintra. And this is the westernmost point of Europe:
(It was windy):













“My friend Marianna may come with us today,” Carolina tells me when she and Marco (no s) pick me up from the train station 40 minutes east of Lisbon, where they live. We are heading to Sintra today – a hill town that my guide book told me to go to on eight different pages.

“Great,” I say, and she begins to describe Marianna.

“She is on her way to India in two weeks for eye treatment,” she explains. “She is losing her eyesight.”

“What do you mean?” I am at full attention.

“Well, her eyesight is… how do you say? Degenerative. It’s getting worse and worse.”

“Is it Retinitis Pigmentosa?” I ask and she gives me a wide-eyed stare.

“Yes!”

“That’s what Ingrid has…”

And we both stare, taking in this more-than-strange coincidence.

When Marianna joins us (her father hired a driver so that she can get to places not accessible by public transportation, and Sintra is off the coast in the hills) I learn how many similarities she and Ingrid share. They both refuse to use the word that begins with “b-l-i” and neither would ever use a cane. They both go everywhere by themselves with very little help. (Marianna on the right.)

Which brings me to another world full of collides: she is going to Kerala, India, by herself, to get “karmic” eye treatment at an Ayurvedic spa for one month. She met a guy from the states whose vision improved while he was there, so she’s doing it. Kerala is in southern India, and at the moment, I have two friends who are competing to take me there (my favorite kind of competition). Kerala is Pam’s favorite place to lead her tours (other than Nepal) and Liza lived there while she implemented her “Beauty of Water” non-profit. Currently, I have a Kerala key chain and over winter break ate Kerala tamarind crab - both offered as part of the competition. 

Marianna has also gone to two “Circus Universities.” One that is about a five –minute walk from my current apartment and one in Madrid. (“You MUST go to the circus training place and have a glass of wine before you go,” Carolina says dreamily. “It’s a special place. And mention that you know Marianna and they will treat you really well. She is a star there.”)

Marianna specializes in trapeze and ribbons – it’s more of a Cirque de Soleil thing. Oh, and she’s also a massage therapist. But it’s the circus thing that will have my long-time friend Jaci pretty excited. She loves circus people, and was in a circus of types for years in the synchronized swimming world.

So we have decided that between Marianna and Ingrid, they will solve this eye-disease-with-"no-cure" issue. And that we all need to go to Kerala for a one-month Ayurvedic treatment. Who is in?

Confession: when we got to the palace pictured above, it was closed. It was my fault, really. Marco asked me, "Should we go to the palace first, or get the best sweet in Portugal first? ("better than the pastel de nata" - he added). I chose the pastry, and we got caught up walking around this charming town, which is like Leavenworth, only real. They were so apologetic that we missed the palace, but really, it's OK. I had to include the picture, though, for you (it was so high on the hill we couldn't even see the outside.)

Such a fun day, and all of our heads were spinning with connections. We talked politics of Portugal and the US ("Congress has been such a tragedy for Obama. He had really good intentions. Except he hasn't tried hard enough regarding global warming" - Marco). They talked about their country's financial crisis, which has led to a social crisis. But how the people have become entrepreneurs, and have learned how to "sell" Portugal - their wines, sardines, pastries. They have hope for a better future. They are proud of their country (it has the "best natural light" of all countries, they can understand everyone else's Portuguese and Spanish, but no one can understand them, etc...).

One thing I always worry about when I spend the day with people I don't know well is whether they are going to provide eating opportunities often enough for my blood sugar. I had some protein bars with me, but after six hours with nothing but sugar pastries, I asked (subtly) what time they usually ate dinner. "Oh, we eat at 8 or 9 usually," Carolina says. Ugh. So I told them about my caving blood sugar, so we ate "early" - at 7:30. They took me to get the most typical Portuguese meal: steak with garlic sauce, fries and a fried egg. Absolutely delicious.

Such a fun day. Fun, fun day.

Tomorrow, Carolina will pick me up and take me to the "conference" hotel and we will do a sound check, etc, for the presentation Thursday. The Norwegians get here tomorrow and are only staying for one day - pity. Carolina has three students coming to present their digital stories. How did I get here again...?

One more thing: Marco played soccer against Cristiano Ronaldo in high school. Said his team always lost to his, that they all knew he would be famous. Katherine, what do you think about that?