From Madeira to Mars goes to FNAC! FNAC and I, an old love. I first met FNAC when I lived in Paris. I was part of the ERASMUS program, on an internship at École Veterinaire de Maisons Alfort.One of the advantages of being ERASMUS is to have lots of free time, and get to know other professional and cultural realities. Learning to be alone in a strange country and to discover the stranger in us is perhaps the greatest advantage of all. With free time and a roommate from Paris, Muriel, I discovered that Parisians have a delightful sense of humour which lead us to unusual places. It was Muriel who first told me about Cirque du Soleil, who taught me how to eat macaroni with grated cheese and nutella and banana crepes. It was she, who took me to the movies to discover one of my favourite films of all time – “The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain” – yes, I was there in 2001. Walking on the streets of Paris with Muriel was like …

About MIUT This year I set out to accompany the MIUT, Madeira Island Ultra Trail. What seemed to be an adventurous trail has turned out to be a learning goal, of exceptional beauty. I followed the trail with 115km, which started at 0h Porto Moniz. The event Madeira Island Ultra Trail – MIUT Trail running ultra race at Madeira Island The atmosphere in the departure was sometimes of celebration, anxiety and preparations, sometimes of silence, rest and meditation. Some athletes rested on the walls by the sea; others lay on the grass to enjoy the last minutes in a horizontal position. The departure, like the arrival, had moments of high emotion, but the supreme feeling was lived between rails, far from the sight of the others; that only those who participate, can tell, not me. Vídeo :  MIUT 2017 I can only speak of what I saw and felt during the 17 hours that accompanied the trail. I saw athletes arriving at the stations, wholly demoralised and disillusioned with their performance. Athletes on fast mode, …

  Madeira by a French photographer, Xavier Schneider In my opinion, one of the great advantages of having a rental accommodation (Airbnb) is the opportunity to meet interesting people, from different parts of the world. This April, I met the talented photographer Xavier Schneider, who came to spend a week’s holiday in Madeira, with his lovely partner Emilie. Lucky me, they chose to stay in my apartment and so I had the privilege of meeting both in person. We exchanged contacts, and upon their return to France, Xavier sent me some of his photographs, taken in Madeira. It fascinates me to see our island, through the eyes of those who visit us. There is always a new perspective, a new awareness, something that has escaped my sight and which I can now see, assimilate and understand better. I grow with this new vision and value, even more, what we have here on the island. I now have the privilege of introducing you to the photos of Xavier, through this article. His goal as a photographer …

Virtue lies in the middle ground? I never knew how to be a woman of middle ground. I never knew how to ask for bread with little butter, cakes with little sugar or light spouts. I don’t understand indefinite sex, poorly finished relationships, sun covered with a sieve and many other concepts of underutilization. If it’s meant to be then so be it, “with nothing or a lot” is my motto when it comes to feelings or matters of taste. I can’t like it “more or less”, although I really want to achieve the virtuous balance. I will then be a self-professed unbalanced person, by nature or conviction. This brings me so many disappointments, to me and to those around me and only I know what it costs me. It’s just that as soon as I’m reaching the balance supposedly necessary to live in harmony, I don’t hesitate to pull the rug out and fall on all fours. I sit there for a while, wondering why I have this self-inflicted mania. Soon (or not), slowly …

About the simplicity of happiness … We live in a world that talks a lot about happiness. Coaching, mindfulness and self-help books grow before our eyes, in the windows of bookstores of most cities. Along with that, grows the pursuit to be happy the whole time, as if that was a card in the game of life. If there is one thing, my trip to India has showed me is that happiness can be simple, clear and uncomplicated, but our Western civilizations (so called evolved) are maybe turning into something complex. To be happy is to have a roof to sleep under, food to survive, health and peace. The opposite is to be unhappy. This is not learned in schools or at university, we see on the streets, in the eyes of people and we feel it in our skin. To be able to take a nap, in peace, the joy of not being cold, of drinking water without catching diseases, to be able to take a shower, to have electricity power, to brush our …

Based on a story (about divorce), I saw a few days ago on TV; Portugal has an average of 70 divorces per day. I decided to share a text I wrote a few years ago. “One of the hardest decisions in a parent’s life is getting divorced. With children life has another meaning, another flavour. It is as if living makes a lot more sense … When I became a mother for the first time, I felt life was better, “Ahhh yes, now, I get this “higher existence” in the world …” But with that same feeling others arise. The sense of not being allowed to fail, to provide, survive and give good examples. Now I cannot go away if I feel like it, I can no longer quit my job and become a volunteer in Africa, I can no longer go “crazy”, live on a daydream state etc. Now it’s time to grow up, you have kids okay? And so begins, a new life; we are all grown up, we are all responsible and …

About depression Depression, that’s what I got; a depression. I felt the need to write about this topic, because I think there are a lot of taboos around depression. It is the disease that most affects society today and antidepressants are the most sold drugs in Portuguese Pharmacies. I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t know someone, or even has a family member, who suffers from depression, so why not write about it? It seems that there is no exact way to define the causes of depression, however there are many ways to manifest it, and yes, it is an illness. The part of the body that gets sick isn’t the leg, the intestines or the liver, it’s the brain, as simple as that. I have met many people who are in contact with depression, a disease that has led me to make some changes in my life. Like all choices in life, changes always have two sides, some things are lost, others are gained. From my personal experience, I learned that: Depression is …