Day No. 46 and 47 - Óbidos and Peniche

Yesterday was a very relaxed day. As it was raining most of the time anyway, we just spent some time in and around the van. I'm sure the blog always makes it sound as if traveling means taking it easy or lazing around. - This is less the case than we would like. - Because we have to save energy, we adapt more and more to the sun and daylight. - The sun doesn't rise here until shortly before 8:00 am. In order to be able to wash the dishes from dinner in daylight, we try to have found a place for the night by around 6 pm. The sun has already set by 7:30 pm. Although we are slowly finding our system, packing and unpacking still takes a long time. This is by no means a complaint, but merely an observation. Because we are enjoying our little home more and more.

Today I had time to write yesterday's blog and just read it. Over the last few days, I've realized that it's more important for me to improve my English than to learn Spanish. That's why I deliberately picked up the book "Schieb das Schaf" by Oliver Geiselhart again.

Apart from that, we occasionally ask ourselves what we miss from home. The fact is, it's not the designer furniture, nor the fine suits, ties and shoes. I even only miss our old Italian coffee machine to some extent. If I had to choose between a coffee from our Bialetti, here on the beach, or from the Rocket, in the usual stress of work at home, I would know the answer.

When we were thinking about this tour, Torgit was worried that I was only going on this trip for her sake. And yes, I have to admit that I was worried that after three weeks at the latest, I would start longing for work. Anyone who, like me, has spent or spends 60 or 70 hours a week at work knows how much their entire environment is determined by this. Most coaches agree on one statement: "You are the sum of the five people who surround you the most." - In my case, these were mainly business people who were just as driven as I was. People who are passionate about what they do. Just like I was passionate about my job for years, because it was never just a job, it was my calling. But today I am glad that I made a change at the right time. If you're wondering whether Häusgen is suffering from burnout, thank God I can tell you that he's not. He just burns more for campfires at the moment. Do I regret anything because of that? No, I don't. Everything has its time.

At the moment I often get feedback along the lines of, if I could afford it financially, I would go on tour. Financial independence certainly helps. But the question is, what do I really need? - We are still looking for an answer.

But we already know today that it is much less than we think.

It finally stopped raining during the night. Instead, there was a thunderstorm with hail. That's what I call a change.

Today we set off in the direction of Peniche. On the way, we discovered an old city wall. Shortly afterwards we arrive in Óbidos. This fortified town, which dates back to Roman times, is definitely worth a visit. On a Sunday like this, there may be a lot of tourists around, but if you stray from the main street of the town, you will quickly find quiet places. The alleyways here are deserted. - We were particularly taken with a bookshop. In a barn-like building, boxes are placed on all the outside walls as bookshelves. In addition to books from Portugal, there are also books from all over the world. In the middle of it all is a kind of organic vegetable store, just lovely. - A few meters further on, we come across a kind of gallery. The works of art on display here are musical instruments. They include music boxes of a special kind. Converted into a kind of gramophone, the sounds of the miniature devices are wondrously amplified. Certainly not just something for children, but for everyone who is young at heart, so something for me.

We let ourselves drift through the small alleyways for a while. We found a small restaurant right next to a gate through the city wall to be particularly beautiful. There is a huge lime tree in the restaurant's "beer" garden. We had to pull ourselves together not to pick it right away. The fortress itself and the city wall are also fascinating to look at. After our exploration tour, we take the opportunity to have a hearty breakfast and then move on.

The Surf World Championship is currently taking place in Peniche. The town is accordingly crowded. There is no way of getting through to the surf hotspot. So we drive to a cliff just outside and enjoy the last hours of sunshine. After several days of rain, the sun is infinitely good for us.