Walking to the Fort

 When we were here two years ago, I started to walk after supper.  The Fort is at one end of the harbour walkway and a convenient distance for an end of the day bit of exercise.  I googled it and it was 1.1 km away from our hotel.  It took about 24 minutes to walk there and back.

When we got back to Ontario, it seemed a good routine, so after supper, I would still 'walk to the fort'.  The corner of Upper Paradise and Rymal is conveniently 1.1 km from our house, so it was an easy transition.  

Then the pandemic hit and we were encouraged to avoid people, but I could still go for my walk as I rarely met anyone else along the way.  It was a slice of normalcy in an unprecedented time.  I walked that path hundreds of times in the last two years averaging about 5 nights out of 7.  Every time I did the walk, I reminded myself of the walk along the harbour with the lights and sounds of the boats and the city.  For those 24 minutes I was transported back to Ponta Delgada in my mind.  It was easier in the summer than in the winter when I needed to put ice grippers on my boots, but it was a breath of simpler time in all the stress of the pandemic.

So, of course, I walk to the fort every night now.  I feel blessed that I can experience the sea and the life of this city.  I also feel blessed that life has changed to the point where this is possible again.