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| some of the rubbish collected on the beach |
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| the part of the beach i have "adopted" |
Monday 28th March Capo D’Orlando
There are so many things I love about travelling, and who I am when I travel …
mostly it is about the experience and the feeling of freedom…
to inhabit as many, or as few of those aspects of myself as I want to…all in the one day…
Someone once said to me that travelling was all the same after a while. “You can go to the markets in India or China or South America and it all feels the same,” he said dismissively. Although I disagreed vehemently at the time, in a way he was right. Visit enough shopping centres, museums, castles, churches or other places of interest and it can all seem a bit like ground hog day…
And yet, for me travel is really about the total experience. It is not just the physical place, but its people and its energy, its smells, sights and tastes and its feel that distinguish one place from another. Each place I visit affects me in a different way. I love watching the way people greet each other, and strangers; the way they go about their daily lives. I love noticing the pace of their movement and the expression on their faces. It is when I feel a connection with the people or the environment of a place that travelling is pleasurable and rewarding for me.
And somehow when I meet people travelling they allow me to see who they really are…at their core.
Today I tutored a young woman in English. I enjoyed the “coaching” role and watching her develop in confidence.
Later I met with a medical doctor who also practices alternative medicine, a woman whose passion and commitment have come at a cost. She feels like an outsider in her town, judged by others because she has chosen a non conventional path. She is not the first person I have met in this community who is torn between their deep love for this place on the one hand, and revulsion on the other for what they perceive as the narrow-mindedness of its people. To protect themselves these non conforming citizens appear brusque and even unfriendly at times. To others they appear (and may even be) judgemental and opinionated and yet when we talk, and they feel safe and understood, the defences come down, there is a softening and shift in energy and suddenly I am meeting with someone else entirely.
I am not immune to these shifts myself!
Today I also manage to fill up my first large garbage plastic bag full of rubbish from the beach! It is therapeutic and engrossing work. Most of the time I am oblivious to the locals who walk by, as I have earphones on and am listening to Italian radio, but occasionally I notice someone staring curiously at what I am doing. I greet them warmly and continue working. One woman even stops to ask me what I am doing. When I reply that I am removing the rubbish, all the things that spoil and don’t belong on the beach, she looks slightly confused and asks me why!
When I leave the beach two hours later I am sore but feel pretty good- Which makes me think “how great a massage would be right now”… which leads me to “I must plan that spa experience that is on my mid life gap year “bucket list”…which leads me to…the cruise…
A Mediterranean cruise is the first thing (after immersing myself in Italian culture and language) that I can tick off my list!!! because today I decided to book a 12 day cruise starting 28th August from Barcelona and ending in Venice on 9th September. I am really excited as the ports of call include Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Messina, three Greek Islands and Dubrovnik and my dear Sydney friends Viv and Hugh will be on the same cruise. www.hollandamerica.com mediterannean tapestry.
I know that as I plan these wonderful excursions, nearby and in other parts of the world, life is uncertain and precarious and I am grateful for my many blessings.
A presto
Mon x
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