Skip to main content

A different day. | Saturday craft market and fish by the beach.

Driving towards town I was looking forward to a different day. Having seen the less good sides of the city and learnt about some of the deep challenges, it was exciting to also get to see some of the beauty and the positive parts of this place. After a few stops to take photos of the beach and sea, we arrived at the crafts market. A market in an organised area designed to meet any and all needs for souvenirs a tourist might have.

There was so much stuff and very persistent vendors who kept calling me "amiga Brasileira" because of my accent. I found many lovely things, and left wishing I had brought more cash, while at the same time thankful that I didn't. I'd rather spend money sowing into people then stuff. But it was great to see the beautiful crafts in wood and fabric that these skilled people had made. A beautiful expression of their culture.

It was a real treat to sit down at a table with a white table cloth for lunch. I had a seafood kebab with prawns and squid and fish, and it was delicious. Finishing it off with my favourite dessert pudim (like a flan or caramel pudding) made it the perfect meal. We sat overlooking the beach, and not having walked in real beach sand (the base is sandy; sandy roads, but a different kind of sand), I put my feet in just to feel it. I love the sea and it was so refreshing to look out at the vast horizon. In some way the sea connects the world, and standing there it was an expression of nations connected.

A lovely day with lovely people, and a heart full from seeing beauty.

Popular posts from this blog

My heart is full

I sat waiting for the train while drinking chocolate milk and eating what we call solbolle for lunch (which is a large cinnamon roll with custard in the middle). My heart was overflowing with gratitude and love, and such a deep sense of fellowship and “family”. I’d spent the morning drinking coffee at my old job at Crux , catching up with all the amazing people that make that fellowship and sense of togetherness what it is. Since many are fully vaccinated I got to give and receive quite a few good hugs. Hugs that communicate so much more than one can put into words. It was strange being back after 4.5 months, and yet it felt so very normal. Conversations on deeper levels, sharing victories and joys, and putting into words the good we see in each other, filled my heart until there was simply no more room. Waiting for the train it felt like my heart was overflowing. My new job is great. I love the team I work with, enjoy the challenges, and feel humbled by the privilege of being invited...
Read more

Finding pockets of life (and a bubble-tea metaphor).

“Where can I find life?” has been a question I have asked myself a lot recently (but really for years). And really the deeper question is: “What is life, and what does it look like?” I guess the simple answer is whatever makes you feel alive on the inside; that brings a smile to your face; and that gives you energy and increases your capacity. There are so many side-effects of burn-out; or maybe they are rather causes of burn-out, which when combined become a huge mountain that can topple even the strongest of people. But once you have been depleted of your capacity to stand in the face of the challenges around you, one of the things that can help increase your energy and capacity is finding pockets of life. (And of course a lot of other things like rest, exercise, patience when the process is slow, setting boundaries etc. but that’s for another blogpost). The past months I’ve been watching and searching and paying attention. Searching for choices that will bring life, and paying att...
Read more

There was a before and there will be an after.

“Do you really think it will go over?” A question posed as I was chatting to someone over coffee this week (with distance of course). My immediate response was that yes, I really do think it will go over, but I don’t know when or what it will look like. I don’t know when we’ll be back to “normal.” But to be honest, I am not sure I really want things to go back to being as they were before ... The past seven weeks have been so very different. Social distancing, staying one meter away from others, having permanently dry hands from antibac and washing hands a lot, and having to limit most interaction with others to a screen, have become part of everyday life. And of course the distance and isolating part of this “normal” I have no desire of seeing become part of the after . But at the same time I see good growing in this time of crisis; good that I do want to bring into the after , and what will become my normal when this crisis comes to an end. Time. Whether we like it or not, o...
Read more