Day No. 65 - The lion list - Zambujeira do Mar

We are still in Zambujeira do Mar - tomorrow we want to head further south, towards the Algarve. - We are debating whether we should cross over to the Canary Islands in December, or alternatively Morocco, or whether we should stick to our original plans and explore the Iberian Mediterranean coast. We know that many roads lead to Compostella, but we've already been there. -

Who has any tips on this and the rest of our tour?

Who happens to be traveling in one of these areas during this time?

How or where do you celebrate Christmas in a van? - We are grateful for all tips!

Surely most of you know the movie "The best comes at the end" - If you don't know it, it's about two terminally ill men who decide to work off their spoon list. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson play this role brilliantly. - In other words, they do all the crucial things that they previously had "no time" for. At the end, before they kick the bucket.

Young people in particular, who have dreams and want to change the world, think they have all the time in the world. Later on, you have goals instead of dreams and still have time. But it is only when we are old and gray or death knocks at the door that all these things come back into focus. Now time is running out and even if you have the time, your bones are often tired.  

It always reminds me of the Knef song, "Für mich solls rote Rosen regnen". - Min Bap liked to listen to this song often. Funnily enough, it was something I shared with him. - Although as a young teenager I preferred the version by Extrabreit. This text describes wonderfully how "I want, I want" turns into "I should submit, be content" at the end.

When I look around on our tour, we usually meet two categories of travelers (I'm deliberately leaving out holidaymakers). - They are either extremely young people or pensioners. Again and again we hear, "You're doing just right. - "You're still healthy, you're still okay, we're already finding traveling difficult." - But if we are doing it right, the question arises as to why so few people are doing it right. - This doesn't seem to be an issue of money. - Every now and then we come across the exceptions. People who deliberately put their careers on hold and reduce their standard of living in order to live in the here and now.

Yesterday I spoke to my brother Dirk on the phone. When he was young, he had a clearly defined goal. - "I want to have finished working by the time I'm 40. - Because then I'll still be young and I'll be able to sail, maybe even glide. Realize hobbies that I might not be able to realize later." - From today's perspective, it has to be said that my brother was an absolute pioneer of his time. - Because today there is a whole movement that deals with precisely this topic. Finishing at 40 and then leaving or joining at a young age. The movement even has a name: Frugalists.

Frugal means "simple, modest, moderate" - does that sound like fun and happiness? More like boredom, right? - Everyone should make their own personal decision on this. I don't presume to know what is right or wrong in this respect. I personally don't know any people who consciously made this decision at a young age and ended up following through with it. - My brother is now in his 60s - he works as much as ever. I wasn't and still am not sure whether he would be happy without a job. - He has always enjoyed working and I hope it continues to make him happy. - He certainly could have left at 40, but he didn't.

I am equally unsure whether a long-term exit would be the right thing for us, for me. What I can answer, however, is that the decision to take some time out was and is the best decision of my life. - That's why I think it's wonderful that Generation Y and Z are teaching us that there is also a working life, with working from home, sabbaticals, parental leave and work-life balance. 

If you think today's Häusgen is philosophical, it could be because I spent most of my day in the hammock. As my friend Uwe always says? Creativity comes from boredom! - While I lie in the hammock, Torgit finds peace and quiet doing yoga in the sun.

Then it was a creative day. - In the evening we cook together. - As I write these lines, we listen to BAP, or Nideggen. - Do jeht ming Frau, Verdamp lang her and Do kannst zaubre. - All and well. Somehow it went by very, very quickly. 

Addendum: As I'm brushing my teeth in the bathroom, the 80s station is playing Kayleigh by Marillion from 1985, one of my favorite songs at the time, because they still had a lot of them. 

"Do you remember the cherry blossom on the market square?

Remember, I thought it was confetti in our hair!"

"Do you remember the cherry blossom in the market square

Do you remember I thought it was confetti in our hair" 

Back in the van, we want to listen to the new-old "Mit Pfefferminz bin ich dein Prinz" by Marius. 

But more on that tomorrow. 

Insight of the day: Sometimes the slow days fly by just as quickly as the fast ones.

At 16, I said quietly: I want, wants to be great, wants to win, wants to be happy, never lie.

At 16, I said quietly: iI want, wants everything or nothing.

It should rain red roses for me, I should encounter all kinds of miracles,

the world should reshape itself and keep their worries to themselves.

And later, I said: I want to understand, see a lot, experience, preserve.

And later, I said: I would like to not being alone and yet being free.

It should rain red roses for me, I should encounter all kinds of miracles,

Luck should behave gently, it shall manage my destiny with love.

And today, I say quietly: I should submit, be content,

I cannot comply, cannot be satisfied:

still wants to win. wants everything, or nothing. It should rain red roses for me,

I was to encounter completely new wonders, to unfold anew far from the old,

keep most of what is expected.

I want, I want” – Knef