More Adventures in Portugal

Sharing joy through dance and music.

VOL. 3 ... No. 103. May 14, 2025.

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Olá, Humpers!

Only two weeks into our visit to Portugal, and I’m already famous!

A couple of days ago on a sunny cool afternoon, Stu and I walked to a restaurant down the street from where we’re staying in Tavira to have a beer and listen to some live music on the patio. The husband and wife duo, Tillerman Live, were solid performers, skillfully playing classic rock and soul, and we sat outside for about an hour feeling the cool ocean breeze and letting the music take hold of us in the way only music can.

I left our table to go inside for a moment, and as I was returning, I heard the musicians singing, “Happy.” I couldn’t resist dancing out the door and onto the patio. This video gives you an idea of how I was feeling. Stu was enjoying my dance so much, he didn’t think to video until I was near the end — but you get the idea.

Notice the people on the right sitting in front of me. They figure into my “fame.”

I got a great reaction from the other diners and the musicians. The frontman said — and, I quote — “Let’s give a big hand to the terrific dancer. She puts all you younger people to shame.”

The next day as Stu and I were walking down the street a few miles away from the restaurant, three of the people who were sitting to my right saw me and exclaimed, “The dance lady!”

I love how music and dance unite people. Don’t you? We should demand that politicians sing their political platforms and boogie down the aisles of Congress.

The people from the restaurant were actually excited to see me. They were visiting from Sweden and Germany for a week’s holiday and asked where they might catch me next. They sized us both up and said, “Are you two artists?”

“Musicians,” we said. “Look for us on your next vacation. We’ll be busking on the Roman bridge.”

I guess I should savor my current relative anonymity. It’s only a matter of time before the paparazzi find me.

I should go by one name — you know — Cher, Oprah, Beyonce, Dolly — Janna. What do you think?

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Sweet sounds from a handpan musician on the Roman Bridge.

As an outsider here in Portugal, I have become acutely aware of just how much energy it takes simply to “do daily life.” Chores we all take for granted in our home countries — like deciphering the symbols on the stove or washing machine, figuring out how much something costs, reading the ingredients in a grocery store item, reading street signs, maps, interacting with officials in government offices or banks — all take an enormous amount of energy and can be stressful, even when people are kind.

As an outsider, you need a lot of help. You ask a lot of questions. You hope you’re not being annoying.

It’s like being a little kid in an old body.

If you’re lucky, the locals will think you’re cute and give you a hand.

Until next time, my friends . . . Obrigada por lerem a Gazeta do Dia da Hump! (Thank you for reading The Hump Day Gazette!)

Janna

Quote Of The Week:

Inside us there is something that has no name. That something is what we are. ― Portuguese Author, José Saramago, Nobel Prize in Literature, 1998