Our last day here before moving towards the airport, so it was time to say goodbye. For Kier, it was saying goodbye to Homeless Henry who he befriended midway through our stay. We’ve watched him every day walking up and down the strip in front of our hotel…slowly.
We, and I should say Kier, made the mistake of striking up a conversation with him one day. Big mistake… Henry may not OWN a watch, but if you talk to him he’ll tell you how to build one!
He lives on the street here but was familiar with Vancouver and Vancouver Island in Canada. He has been waiting for 2 years now for his ‘papers’ to come through…not sure what type of papers or where he expects to get them delivered when he has no home. His plans are to go to Southampton. Good spot for him…he could catch a boat from there, no doubt.
We see him talking to almost everyone. And now we recognize their body language when they’ve spoken to him and can’t get free. He goes on…and on…and on. Some give him food, many give him money.
When we go too long without seeing him, I tell Kier he’s likely at his waterfront condo with his feet up enjoying a drink. But then later on we’ll see him shuffling along. He maintains a fairly regular schedule. And he dresses in layers. Lots of layers. Even on the hot days.
When we went into Portimao the other day we encountered a homeless man in there looking for money. Sorry bud…we’ve got our own homeless guy…he’s our ‘local’…gotta support him. I guess there are worse places to be homeless.
Tomorrow we’re heading to Faro on the train.
2025-02-10