A brief recap: Since arriving at Ocean Villas Luz in August 2020, writer David Lugg has been experiencing all aspects of Luz Life. This is his review of November 2024:
Wow! This is my fiftieth ‘Luz Life’ blog. Doesn’t time fly! Or does it? Actually, now that I think about it, time appears to have gone quite slowly since I published my first Luz Life review on November 3rd 2020. I wonder why. Let’s investigate:
I recently read an article stating that time appears to be slower when you are a child. According to this particular neuroscientist, “Children’s working memory, attention, and executive function are all undergoing development at the neural circuit level. This in turn affects how they perceive the passage of time”. All very interesting and probably true, yet why do I feel that the last five years of my life have been at the same speed as my childhood?
Five years ago, I was living a fast-paced life in central London. I worked in events and had, shall we say, a very ‘social’ lifestyle. But moving to Luz seems to have slowed my perception of the length of a day. I can confirm that, despite Portugal being a little more laid back than, well, pretty much anywhere, there are definitely 24 hours in a Portuguese day. Or at least my watch says so.
There is a theory that our perception of time is linked to our heartbeat and subsequently our brain rhythms. When we are stressed or anxious, our hearts beat faster. But apparently, the result of this is that we tend to perceive time more slowly. Therefore, living a fast-paced lifestyle is unlikely to make any difference to how we view the speed of time.
My best guess is that in Praia da Luz, I have more time to enjoy the quality things in life. There’s no great rush to catch the next train to Waterloo or desire to sprint to the next Underground train (rather than the one that leaves one minute later). Life in Luz is definitely not a race against time.
Perhaps, it is not the time that slows down. It’s the person. Granted, I can’t hurtle about in my forties with quite the same vigour as I did in my twenties, but I don’t think that this is the point. People don’t come to Luz to rush about. How many of you reading this blog have left feeling more stressed than when you arrived? Not many.
Whether you holiday here or live here, part of the reason we choose Luz is because of its perception of time. When the weather is calm, I like to take leisurely swims in the azure waters of the Atlantic. When it’s windy, I love to sit and watch the waves crashing against the rocks. These are activities where time has little importance. It is about enjoying the simple pleasures.
This morning, one of our lovely Ocean Villas guests told me to have a great Monday. Which would have been fine had it not been Tuesday. He apologised for his lack of attention to detail, but as I reminded him, it doesn’t really matter. We only invented days of the week as a construct to give us order. The world doesn’t mind if you think it’s Monday, Tuesday or Friday. As long as you remember your partner’s birthday – make sure you don’t forget that.
So, when you next visit Luz, don’t concentrate too much on time. Your tummy will tell you when you are hungry and the setting sun will remind you that it’s gin o’clock. As long as you remember that at the end of your stay you have a flight home to catch. Otherwise, you’ll be sitting here finishing off your fiftieth blog.
More news next month.
David Lugg
@davidluggwriter
All photo images owned by David Lugg