Day Nineteen: A Portuguese Bacchanalia

Daily Word Count: 0
Cumulative Words Written: 42,317
Total Words Discarded: 5,500
Total Chapters Drafted: 17
Time Spent Writing Today: 0 hours

The local sports club hosts a daily lunch for 5 Euro. Authentic Portuguese cuisine in a communal bacchanalia. Today, we checked it out.

What would a bacchanalia be without games of chance?

Before we were seated, we hung out in the bar and fed euro coins into machines for nuts, knives, and other goodies. I got a pool ball key ring!

We sat at a long communal table bedecked with pitchers of red and white wine, plates piled with bread, and bottles of lemon lime soda. The Portuguese LOVE to put lemon lime soda in their wine. Red or white doesn’t matter. I haven’t been game to try it.

The food was simple and astonishing.

AND EVERYONE CAN LAUGH AT ME BECAUSE I ATE THREE BOWLS OF CILANTRO SOUP. They brought out plates laden with fried cod fritters, grilled cod pieces, boiled potatoes and shrimp, and boiled eggs. The soup was broth seasoned with garlic and cilantro. Once Sebastao added stale bread, we each spooned soup over the cod, potatoes, eggs and shrimp and noshed until we were stuffed.

After shots of espresso and grappa, we gambled our euro coins for a few more rounds and took a walk around Messejana.

We walked up the hill to the abandoned church, telling ourselves the short walk would exorcise calories. I continue to marvel at how many layers this landscape contains. Every time I take a walk, I see something new or strange or powerful.

With my ankle holding up, I decided to tag along to the community pool. We lay in the sun. I read a bit. I didn’t write anything today, and that’s okay.

Some days, residencies are for communing.

Postscript: Today, even my ankle looks like a work of art! Ha.

To follow my residency at Buinho Creative Hub from the beginning, CLICK HERE and read forward.