Conversations that inspire

My blinking became blurry and I could feel wetness in my eyes. It was about then that I raised my hand to hide the wobble that had started on my chin. I was grateful that it was just the two of us sitting on the couch together. Filipa, the hostel owner, continued speaking words I would never forget.

‘I had always done what people had expected of me’ she began, ‘always be unique’.

I had no problem being unique when I scoured the Lagos flea markets for unusual finds, or when I introduced myself with my nearly impossible-to-pronounce name. Being a New Zealander traveling in Portugal was a little unique, I reassured myself. It was just the big idea that had never quite come to me. I hadn’t cracked the code of what it was I destined to do, the reason I was tearing up at Filipa’s inspiring story from the past few years.

Originally from Lisbon, I learned that Filipa and her husband Antonio had escaped their well-paying lives in the advertising industry to move to the west coast of Portugal’s Algarve region.

It was then that Antonio began thinking about an idea that no one had done before. The pair decided to buy a village. Not just a few houses, but an entire village called Aldeia da Pedralva.

The original 100 inhabitants had long deserted the rundown community of Pedralva to leave an approximate total of 7. Life had become difficult in the Portuguese ghost town.

After a 2 year search for past owners, the pair bought the abandoned and crumbling village properties from roughly 220 owners, scattered throughout Europe.

A DIY project, which included renovating a total of 31 houses in typical Portuguese whitewashed fashion, turned into a very successful eco-tourism village, within walking distance to the beach, set in a pristine natural park.

Uniqueness was always at the forefront of these two marketing minds. This is also what attracts journalists to stay at the village every year, and in turn, promote the project.

Almost in slow motion, the tears came rolling reluctantly down my cheeks.

Filipa and her family feel very lucky. She thanks God everyday. They have a busy rental house close by, a successful hostel, and their village has received so much publicity, there is no struggle for visitors.

Early the next morning before my departure, in the quietness of the sleeping hostel, I find a business card resting in an empty bowl that Filipa has left out for me.

The words Be unique – Filipa x are scrawled on the back.