Travelling and Thank-You

Pretty sure this is my 5th Blip anniversary - got up before dawn to photograph this chimney, which is the view from our living room. It has featured greatly in 2017, watching the storks build their nest, raise their two chicks, and all fly off for the winter... emblematic of this year, when we moved to Mourão.

So much I love about Blip, but as most do, have asked myself occasionally, "Is it worth it?" So far, the answer has always been yes, and one of the many reasons is the way I can travel, not as a tourist, but with the insider view of folk who live there - it's quite a privilege, and doesn't cost a penny! I live in a small town in the Alentejo region of Portugal, but daily I travel the world...

To name but a few... I've never been to Ibiza, but my Blip mother and real life goddaughter, Hamp5on, lives there, and I get to visit daily, and see the beauty of an island in the Med. Or closer to me, in Granada, where I spent a term in Uni, Acula lets me marvel at the snow on the Sierra Nevada again. And then I can swoop over to Brazil (where I grew up and where we brought our kids up) every day, through Markus's stunning journal. Or go see the snow falling in SecondSeason's backyard in Canada. Or south to the USA, and understand more about justice issues in Kendall's superbly insightful journal. And then there's Barrioboy, who could be almost anywhere! But if it's Egypt or Barcelona, gives you such an education about the place. Or I'll visit Larchlea near Glasgow, especially if I need to check the identification of a bird or a plant. Or I might pop over and visit my Blip (and now, real life as well) friend in Sweden, Jan, and her husband, Keith. And so many others... some I don't follow daily, but will look through a journal when I have a minute, to understand better the fires in America, for instance, in Wildwood's journal, or so many other events or places or lives...

Not to mention visiting family. My daughter in Sutton Coldfield blips daily, and I often get to see my two grandkids that way. So does my brother over on the east coast of the UK, and my sister in Texas. And others when they feel like it.

I am grateful for all of you, and the generous sharing of your lives - and your photography, which inspires and teaches me so much - and your understanding when comments are few. And I love sharing the beauty of the Alentejo with you - and whatever other places I travel in real life!