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It was mid-April, 2019. I had overslept only by a little that morning. Speeding from drawer to drawer I packed everything but underwear, funnily enough, and rushed out the door to join a party of 7. Destination - Paiva Walkways - an 8km route through Mother Nature's womb. We were to stay in Arouca, a small portuguse town in the countryside where from the age of 10 everyone knows the taste of fresh fruit directly picked from an orchard or how to milk a cow. After a 3 and a half hour drive, the higway was replaced by Arouca’s mountain valleys and stone houses. As we arrived, the car stopped. I hopped off. Climbing the steps to get inside I heard a metallic sound, a rattle...and with a tilt of the head there he was…looking right at me…Dragon, a majestic German Sheppard, chained, moving impatiently. As the others unpacked I stayed outside. Seeing him in shackles made my heart throb with a mix of rage and sorrow. That evening, after diner, I sat in the cold of the night tossing him leftover meat bits. After we were both finished he kept his gaze on me. I did the same. Before going to bed the group shared stories, troubles, daft jokes and other "what nots" by the fireplace. Dragon dragged those chains on the concrete all night... The following morning I went outside with a bowl of water and his breakfast. Meanwhile, the others started moving around as well and around 7h30am we headed the walkways in Arouca's geopark - home to a number of endangered species as well as unique rock formations. The tracks would take us through amazing archaeological sites - Paiva’s Throat, the suspended bridge and Espiunca’s Rift. The starting point was Areinho Fluvial Beach. I could hear Nature's voice.The calm waters whispering their song, the birds chirping high above me in the trees and the ground itself, calling for my feet. With Paiva’s River to our right and untouched woods to our left, the greens and blues seemed to have taken over the place growing wildly and streching everywhere we looked. The closer I got the the better. There's beauty in every detail and wherever I travel to there's always this moment...I stay a little behind everyone else. Not on purpose, I sort of find myself there. As the party walked the walkway I lost myself in the singularities - the tiny mushrooms on the ground, the one flower that stood out, a dark slug moving almost unnoticed, the courtship between two “fireflies... The lack of rush in Nature amuses me. Time seizes to be measured by hours or to do lists to exist in a different set of condinions - "sunlights", "moonlights", "morning dews" and "nightfalls". I get so immersed I could have left my body and wondered as if in one of theirs. Hearing a stream off the wooden track, I followed the thin clear pathway to that vigorous trickle of fresh water. Splashed the sweat away and got back to my group at Vau’s Fluvial Beach where I walked barefoot attempting to dunk my feet in the river almost slipping inside. A few more kilometers, some muddy patches and we reached the end. Got a taxi back to the car but not whitouht sun bathing by the river in Areinho Beach. The water was so cold it made my feet ache but in that good kind of way that freezing waters do! While exploring the river bank I noticed a frog on a rock jumping around from puddle to puddle. I couldn't help but imagine Dragon running on that beach, tail wagging insanely and paws branding the sand, free... That night, he came closer! Without thinking, I stretched my hand and patted him. God knows if he knew the feeling of a soft touch...Bad idea?! Maybe... Absolutely worth it! I left the follwoing morning knowing he would be let loose then, carrying that connection under my skin and believing that we do not need to speak the same language or live the same existence to experience an unfergettable “pleased to meet you”, to feel a truly irreplaceable “glad I came".