Yesterday afternoon, my twin sister and I were sitting outdoor at the garden table. A red car passed by, slowed down, honked twice, drove backwards and entered my twin sister's drive way ( here in Portugal ). I thought by myself:
Who are these people that are disturbing our peace?
I didn't recognize the car and didn't feel like walking up to them to ask them what they wanted. My sister didn't make an attempt to stand up either, even though her Portuguese is better than mine and it's her house.
Then, the door at the driver's side opened and my brother stepped out. I hadn't seen him in 3 months. I thought he was in Holland - he recently found himself a new place there - and we are in Portugal. Anyhow, both of us started smiling. My brother's girlfriend stepped out of the car at the passenger's side and the three of us hugged.
Apparently my sister had known about the two of them being in Portugal. They arrived two days ago. She had kept it a secret for me.
Let's Rewind to the Day Before
Two days ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, with lower back - and stomach pain. Nevertheless, I decided to go out and meet up with a Dutch woman to talk about possible housing. During the conversation, I wasn't really able to focus, my stomach kept bothering me. When I walked back to my sister's place, the pain intensified. I decided to lie down in my tent, but I started getting nauseous too.
I will spare you all the details. Suffice to say that - a couple of hours later - my twin sister and her boyfriend walked me into a centro do saude, the place you go to in Portugal before you go to a hospital ( merely to save money ). A pink blanket ( not my choice ) was draped around my shoulders and I was holding a bucket ( just in case). I was looking so pathetic, that they probably decided to help me out pretty soon. A little later, I was lying in a bed, with a needle in my left arm. An infuse attached to it, was dripping a potion of (re)vitalizing content into my veins.
I had what appeared to be a stomach infection. Possible because of dirty drinking water or clean water that I drunk from a dirty bottle. I will never know for sure.
Whatever they put in the infuse seemed to do its work. An hour or two later, I was able to leave that place. I felt hungry again - always a good sign - and ate a banana and some bread. My sister took the doctor's recipe to a pharmacist and came back with 4 different pills that I had to take for three days. If they won't make me feel better, in these three days, I need to be examined more thoroughly. I hope and expect that won't be necessary.
Back to ( yesterday ) The Day My Brother Showed Up
The morning after, I woke up refreshed. In fact, I was the first one awake. I honestly don't remember the last time I slept that well. I left my tent, walked through my sister's huge garden, sat down to enjoy the sun and meditate on the sounds of nature. After everybody had woken up and it was clear that I was feeling much better, I went on a little outing with my sister and her two little ones, to visit a little castle ( up here in the village of Avô ).
After arriving at my sister's place, we had a nice lunch ( as per usual ). Afterwards, I spent some time online but couldn't really focus or write a post. Not long afterwards, my brother and his girlfriend arrived ( as described at the start of this post.
My brother's girlfriend took the picture of me looking out over the river ( at the top of this post ). I told them that was one of my favorite places in my sister's garden. I'm sure I don't need to explain why.
Later, while on a little walk with my sister, her two kids, my brother and his girlfriend, they took this picture of me:
As you can see, by then I felt pretty good. I only wear my Jurassic Park Shirt when I feel strong.
This Morning
after waking up, I walked over to that meditative place - pictured at the start of this post - and sat down. I took some pictures, for you to enjoy, of the view seen from several angles:
The surprising visit of my brother and his girlfriend - yesterday afternoon - made me feel even better than I had felt waking up the day after my stomach infection. If they would have arrived a day prior, they would have seen me bent down over a bucket, feeling miserable or they would have hardly seen me at all. Today I was able to smile, go on a walk with them and really enjoy their company. In fact, I was able to enjoy my sister and her family's company too. Let me share one picture of them walking on the castle wall yesterday morning:
How can you not like that view? This tiny castle can be found at a 20 minute walk from their house.
In half an hour or so, my brother and his girlfriend will come over again. Today they will take me ( and possibly my nephew ) on a day trip with them to the Serra da Estrela. I'm really looking forward to that.
Let me end this post with one of my favorite and one of the truest cliches ever:
Carpe Diem! ( Seize the Day! )
Cause you never know what tomorrow will bring.