In the nick of time

SO HOW DID IT ALL START? WE ASKED NICK ROBINSON TO TAKE US BACK TO THE VERY BEGINNING OF HIS LIFE HERE IN THE ALGARVE, AND HIS MOVE INTO A NEW CAREER

I befriended the chef at my cousin’s restaurant and he opened up his heart and his family to me and invited me over for lunch. It was a fantastic day, experiencing a true Portuguese family. They taught me the importance of fresh food and we headed over to the Lagoa market on our day off, picking up tons of fish. It felt like a proper family festival with granny, mommy and daughters all there as I helped my friend the chef to polish off beer after beer before rows of plump sardines came off the barbecue. The old granny must have had at least 15 sardines and I clearly recall being amazed at her capacity. Jugs of wines flowed.

Through the local website I started meeting expats and struck up a few friendships which we solidified by heading out to the local jazz club on Monday nights. I was starting to build a community of friends and it really made me feel at home. However, the end of this glorious summer was looming.

The nights were drawing in and my contract was only for six months. The last thing I wanted was to return to South Africa and corporate life, but the honeymoon was ending. I had a foothold in Europe and I was determined to make it work, so I canvassed my new network of expat friends. Cheryl was one who came through for me in a big way. She drove me out to the orange groves of Algoz. She had organized a meeting with the owner of Krazy World as he was looking for a person to build him a website. He had some staff apartments on the property and I jumped at the chance. It wasn’t a lot of money but it was an opportunity to perfect my new skills in web designing and development. I was now on my new path and I realised that true fulfillment lies in embracing change, immersing oneself in new environments, and forging connections with both people and nature.