I never made it to Portugal in my travels. But both of my parents did go, so my experience is entirely vicarious.
Back in 2007, my father and I had planned on ending our European trip in Lisbon and then returning to the United States from there.
However, by the time we got to Barcelona, Spain, I was feeling particularly overwhelmed with the trip and homesickness got to me. I backed out of the plan and we ended up changing our itinerary partway through. We returned to France and rented a car. Papa then drove me around to several different French castles, which I have adored since childhood.
After a brief return to England, I and my father parted ways and I flew to North Carolina, while Papa went back to the trip and eventually reached Lisbon where he got a crew position as ships cook on a sailing yacht returning to the States, crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Later in 2024, my mother went on a trip to Lisbon for a gathering with her guru Mooji (https://mooji.org/).
Mooji baba is a Jamaican spiritual teacher known for his teachings on Advaita Vedanta. Residing primarily in Portugal, he leads “satsang” gatherings and retreats, guiding people through self-inquiry
Mama rarely travels due to her Closter phobia, but this was likely a once in a lifetime opportunity. We spent a lot of time trying to figure which travel service the trip needed to be booked on and even applied for a new travel credit card for the trip after getting a good offer in the mail.
Mama got the US Bank Altitude Connect card, but it didn’t have a large enough credit limit to handle all of the charges, so I helped out and we got a bit creative with cashback platforms including MyPoints and Kudos. I think US Bank has changed the rewards program since we got her signed up for it. Perhaps a better choice now would be the Delta Blue Skymiles card by American Express.
She had received her back payments from disability that had long been owed and unpaid. The way that works though, she couldn’t keep the excess funds due to limits the administration had set on personal wealth. Basically she was forced to immediately spend the back payments. The trip to Lisbon was kismet.
Mama doesn’t do much with social media if I don’t suggest it, which is fine, but there isn’t a lot I can refer to for her trip. She does have a little used blog with some posts I typed up for her and a YouTube page with some videos from the hotel she stayed at.
