Foz do Arelho Winter Gardens
All I Have Are Roses
This year, winter on the coast of Portugal has been foggy in the morning and cool, sometimes cold, during the day. This morning, I wore three layers of sweaters to join a guided group walk through Foz do Arelho, a coastal village in Portugal, and learn a bit about the village’s history.
During the walk, I thought about those things that survive over time: art work, nature - cultivated and wild, language, recipes, architecture, archival records, and stories.
Our group of walkers, both Portuguese citizens and immigrants, spent time at the former house of Dr. Jaime Umbelino, a writer, teacher, and perhaps just as important, someone without children. Since he had no heirs, he left his home to the parish. The parish converted the house and its gardens into a museum.
His house, which is enclosed by a wall and gates, was built on a hillside. The museum and its grounds include several small buildings, outdoor spaces fulfilling a variety of functions, and the stone paths which connect them.
The museum includes artifacts that were used by fisherman in the surrounding area, including on the Óbidos Lagoon. There are photographs of the village before tourism was part of the area’s economy.
When our group walked through the village center, I saw an old quinta with a large hardwood tree that had lost all its leaves and was surrounded by calla lillies in bloom. On a warmer day, I would likely have seen the quinta’s goats and their kids outside also.
Even though it is January, orange trees are filled with ripe oranges and several rose bushes with brilliantly colored petals are visible from the street as well.
We visited the Foz do Arelho church which has services in both Portuguese and English. Unlike many ancient Portuguese churches, this church has a modern interior. On the stairway landing between the nave and the balcony, we saw a painting of Queen Isabel of Portugal. This queen is often painted holding roses, as she is shown in this portrait.
One of our group’s leaders shared the traditional story about the queen with us. Queen Isabel was very empathetic towards the poor people who lived outside the castle walls. She often brought food from the castle to those in town who needed it. She carried loaves of bread in the folds of her dress.
The king felt she was not focused on her duties as queen. One day, the king saw her leaving the castle and asked: “What are you carrying?” “I only have roses,” she told the king. She opened the folds of her dress and remarkably there were only roses. Based on this traditional story, Queen Isabel of Portugal is often shown with roses.
I’ve lived in Portugal for ten months now. During this time, I’ve obtained my temporary resident card, exchanged my driver’s license, worked to understand the health care system, studied the Portuguese language, and started creating community. I haven’t been working on this newsletter. Embracing my new life in Portugal has required a sustained focus on a series of tasks, but it’s been a pleasant experience.
Leaving the United States, in contrast, has been more challenging for me. I miss the hardwood forests and the wildlife that lives there. I didn’t understand the extent to which similar forests simply aren’t present in this part of the world.
I feel pain when I see the extent to which fellow citizens of the United States no longer embrace the same values which united us for years, including belief in the value of a public square and the public good, as well as open, educated, well-informed dialogue and civil debate on issues of concern.
Today, our country inauguarates a new president, a convicted felon whose love of cruelty is well-documented.
In a time of an illiberal democracy, rising authoritarianism and oligarchy, an individual’s best response may be to focus on local intiatives and strengthening one’s own creativity through participation in the arts, whether that is writing, photography, or other art forms. So, this newsletter is my way of publishing my photographs and connecting with others who may be on a similar or parallel journey.
Listening
God is in the Roses, Rosanne Cash, Black Cadillac
What I’m Reading
“The Equal Rights Amendment at Long Last” by Laurence Tribe and Kathleen M. Sullivan, published in The Contrarian
Senator Elizabeth Warren’s letter to Pete Hegseth requesting answers to questions about his organizational mismanagement; reports of excessive drinking; allegations of sexual harassment and assault; opposition to women in the military; threats to politicize and undermine the military; support for war crimes and torture; threats to diversity in the military; advocating for war against political enemies; opposition to working with allies; undermining veterans benefits; and threats to quality of Department of Defense Education Activity agency.
Actions I Have Taken
Called my US senators and requested they vote NO on Pete Hegseth. If you are a US citizen, even if you are living abroad, you can do the same. Find the phone numbers for your US senators here.
Vegetarian Recipe Worth Trying
Smashed Roasted Carrots - I love this recipe. It has so many flavor combinations I had never tried before. I made the homemade chili crisp and drizzled that on top of the carrots and roasted peanuts. I have included a gift link for both the smashed carrots and the chili crisp. I hope you will give it a try.
Sunrise in Portugal this morning
Are you living in Portugal? In the US? Elsewhere? Which creative practices are you pursuing? I am always interested in hearing from readers. Feel free to leave a comment below.
Thank you for your beautiful, philosophical travelogue of your new home! I will spend today marching in our local Gainesville MLK Parade, then joining a counter-demonstration, our version of the March for America.
“With fear for our democracy, I dissent!”
You asked, in a different post, what we were going to do today instead of watching the inauguration. I was going to say that I was planning to look up addresses and phone numbers of members of Congress in order to express my opinions in real time instead of just writing letters in my mind. You did this for me……thank you. Now, to copy that recipe.