27 June: Getting into the rhythm of Lisbon

Yesterday was unbearably hot.  I understand siesta now, it is too hot during mid-day to move, so sleeping for two hours in the middle of the day seems like a perfectly reasonable course of action.  Or, inaction.  This results in a very new rhythm of the day and night.  The Portuguese are night owls.  The streets are empty of locals in the middle of the afternoon, but you’ll see lots of tourists during the afternoon…sightseeing and wilted.  But, but once the sun gets low in the sky it cools off and local life is revived in the parks, in the stores, and even in the playgrounds.  It is mindblowing to see little kids are out playing at 10 or 11 at night.  Not just one or two…all of them.  They might be out later than that, but I haven’t stayed awake long enough to know.  I just hear them playing at the park as I go to bed 2 hours later than I do at home.

For two days now, I have paired up with Aethan and Code has paired with Graeme.  I am not sure who thinks they have the sweeter deal.  Code has focused his attention on nesting, for which I am grateful.  He has sought out hardware stores, chandleries, and ‘Depot de la Casas’ from North Lisbon to Gibraltar.  He has even identified ports with good places to pick up extra chain, propane adaptors, and other odds and ends that will keep us fed, firmly anchored, and connected via the internet.  Graeme has traipsed along with Code.  Sometimes hot, sometimes tired, but always the silly little clown that he is.  As quick to make you laugh as he is quick to want to get away from him before you do something you’ll regret.

Aethan and I have been having a great time.  I want to assure him that he is safe while also trying to instill a sense of grand adventure.  He is learning how to play with kids who don’t share the same language but share the common experience of being a 9 year old boy.  I would love if he learned a language, but I am far more satisfied if he learns that he is a part of a much bigger world.   We kayaked in the searing heat yesterday.  Afterwards, he retreated to the boat to play on the iPad.  Then, I discovered two kids swimming off the dock.  The iPad didn’t stand a chance.  When I told him there were kids four boats away, it was as if he heard an ice cream truck go by.  He went flying up the dock to meet the kids, Gustavo and Margeurite.  At first, he was nearly overcome with self-conciousness and I could see he wanted to melt when they didn’t speak any English whatsoever.  Once he found out Gustavo was 10 and was interested in jumping off the dock, my job of introductions were over.  They swam off the dock for the next two hours and he came home exhausted…and no more conversant in Portuguese than before.  But much more exuberant and a sense that things really might be fun here.

I worry so much for him.  He is entering that awkward age where stability and friends are becoming so important.  I feel guilty picking him up out of his sweet and safe world of 4^th grade to bring him into a world that has to seem so, well…,foreign.  Did I mention that girls his age do not wear ‘tops’ at the beach, which I figured would shock Aethan to the core.  I gave Aethan a heads up before introducing him to Margeuite (‘girls don’t wear tops here to go swimming until they start looking different than boys’) and he didn’t seem to flinch, at least from what I could tell.  That really surprised me, especially since he is normally so modest.  I kept thinking about if he would have reacted differently if he were to see a girl from home without a top.  The only way I can describe his reaction is that girls here are simply a different species than the girls at home.  Interesting.

Code and his dad are up on deck now, going through photos of their crossing.  The consensus is that no photos could even touch the enormity of the ocean or the range of the weather.  It sounds like it had its moments.  Bill brought less to the table than expected, kind of a dud, but at least not abrasive or hostile (even passively).  Apparently he doesn’t make very good salmon cakes.  Steve was well respected and well liked, and brought with him experience that dovetailed beautifully with Codes.  I hear them reminiscing about a good dinner, trying to figure out how to best describe how uniquely blue the ocean is, laughing hysterically about ‘gay Tuesday’, and which set of photos captures the best colors of the clouds.   They have an amazing bond.  I understand it wasnt always this way, but now it runs deep.  Ted is so proud of Code, not just for crossing the Atlantic, but for the person he has come to be.