Helllllo Newfoundland!! Arrived!!

 We arrived!!! Helllllo Newfoundland!!! 

Although we are so very, very tired after an incredibly looooong travel day, these old ‘prairie chickens’ made it here, to Comfort Cove, safe and sound!

Yesterday, we departed Saskatoon at 7:00 PM, thinking that a red eye flight was a great idea because we would “sleep the night away” and arrive here at our scheduled time of 6:30 AM (local time….which was 3:00 AM at home and on the clock we had functioned within all day!!😳)! Unfortunately, our best thought out plan DID NOT work out that great!!!  All three of us DID NOT sleep which meant we arrived very bagged and muscle-cramped from our squishy seats on a FULL plane!!  I sat beside someone who struggled with the small seats and leg room for her larger body  and she spilled over, into my seat the whole trip! It was awful because this stranger was not someone I wanted to rub shoulders, elbows and thighs with for 5.5 hours!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️😩 BUT….the flight was a smooth one with no delays and for that, we were very grateful!! 

It was SOOOOOOOOO cold upon our arrival!!! And…..I truly mean SO COLD!! With the intense wind, cloudiness and rain…it was -4 degrees!!! OMG!!!! Anyway, we rallied these conditions, found our rental car in the FREEZING outdoor lot, set the heater on ultra high, beckoned Siri for help with directions and headed out on the Transcanada Highway to parts unknown for each of us!! I drove. We gabbed but then….small snores could be heard from the back seat where Sherry succumbed to her fatigue!  Not for long though because we woke her up, as we all needed to keep things alive in that vehicle or I would have nodded off in the drivers seat!! We were hungry because all we had on the looooong west jet flight was pretzels, celebration cookies and water, water, water!! We decided to stop for coffee and food in the coastal community of DILDO!!!!…..famous for its unique  name!! (Go figure!!) even though it was friggen freezing out there, we HAD TO get pictures at the ‘Welcome To Dildo’ sign and because there is no actual business in this quaint town that sells dildos (definitely a missed business opportunity!) I picked up a very thin ‘woodie’ to pretend was a dildo in my picture  with the sign!! I mean….come  on….its only right, don’t you think??!!?? 😋 Lol! 

We found a very nice coffee shop on a hill that overlooks the ocean and a good portion of this little town! The friendly, helpful server along with the heat in the building, the food and drinks we ordered  and the rainy view made for a very enjoyable experience!! It was hard to leave and hit those gale winds outdoors!! 

We motored along, stopping for groceries in another coastal town (where I stayed in the car to grab a much needed power nap), another quick stop at a cute and tasty bakery in Lewisporte and then, finally got to our comfy Air BnB home in the VERY small coastal village of Comfort Cove which is a truly authentic, traditional Newfoundland community! There is nothing ritzy about this town which boasts having an internationally acclaimed fish process plant called, ‘Notre Dame Seafoods’, which just happens to be right across the road from where we’re staying! (Google this business….its quite impressive!) They are currently processing fresh snow crab and we’re already connected to get some, right off the boat, tomorrow!! 🦀 🙌🏼

After checking out our ‘little-while home’  and getting unpacked/settled in, we had a quick and easy supper and then, Sherry and Lin hit the hay 😴 while I hit the beach to see if there was any Seaglass or other sea treasures right here in our tiny town!! Gotta say, it was so very cold with a biting wind BUT….I found a few pieces to kick off this trip!  I am super excited about my little haul!! 

As I write this, I have to admit I am ‘deep-bone chilled’ but will be crawling under and into my flannel dressed bed very soon!!!

Good night! I wonder what tomorrow will bring besides a much desired sense of having had a restful sleep!! 😴

PS….unfortunately, I can’t seem to post pictures! 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️😳😩

Seaglass Sisters Head East to NFLD

 “On Newfoundland’s eastern shore, the sea wears a thousand shades of steel and stormlight, and the coves breathe in salt mist. Colourful homes and buildings—painted in cheerful blues, reds, yellows, and greens—cling to the shoreline as though determined to brighten even the foggiest morning. Rock-strewn inlets cradle fishing boats like secrets, while spruce and weathered clapboard drift along the hillsides. Even the wind sounds like a story—tugged from iceberg bells, foghorn prayers, and sunlit bays that refuse to let go.” 

This is not my quote but it excitedly resonates within me as I prepare to go on a two week adventure with my sister, Linda, and cousin Sherry!! We flight out later today, arriving in St Johns tomorrow morning! From there, we drive approximately 4 hours to our Air BnB in a tiny fishing village called Comfort Cove! (Doesn’t that sound soooo welcoming and cozy?!) 

Our primary goal for this trip…..beachcombing for Seaglass and other sea treasures!! Of course we are looking forward to savouring great seafood, experiencing the flow of icebergs floating along the Eastern shoreline, and we hope we meet MANY warm and welcoming people who represent this great province!! 

So many adventures are waiting for us to experience and we are looking forward to them all!! Hope you’ll join us as I capture them in writing, for future years when our memory might begin to fail us!! Lol! 

PS…..it’s gonna be COLD, wet and windy so we’ve packed A LOT of warm clothing and footwear! Brrrr! 

Arrived: Beijing

Arrived, Beijing China,  at approximate 4:30 PM Friday (October 4th)....which was 2:30 AM on Friday in Saskatchewan! (We left on Thursday morning at 6:00 AM. ) Beijing is 14 hrs ahead of us, in SK!  It was a gruelling day of travel with a 6 hr layover in Vancouver!  Travel days are always hard! 

We were met at the airport by the Mennonite Partners in China team and enjoyed a comfortable van ride to our really lovely hotel! Although exhausted, a few of us went down to the hotel restaurant for a supper meal  (4:00 AM at home) and are back in our respective rooms, preparing to crash!  The meal was a disappointing buffet and was incredibly expensive! Lesson learned....We won’t be going there again!

Tomorrow is a ‘free day’. Other members of our group will be arriving. We are close Tiananmen Square so I will be checking that out! I am sure others will want to see it too! It will be interesting to see this huge city, of 20 million, in the light of the day!

Good night! 😴

 

New Reality: Solo Travelling

Lawrence and I were AMAZING travel mates! We were completely compatible!! We loved and hated the same things, had a rhythm that we both were comfortable with and.....we absolutely LOVED being in each other’s company the most, so no matter what we did...we enjoyed it! Our trips, whether local, domestic or international were always so fun as we embraced the adventure fully and together!!

After Lawrence died I could not imagine doing anything without him, especially travelling internationally. In fact, any thought of travelling triggered extreme nausea, making me feel like my stomach had been punched and  like I would throw up, if I let myself carry those thoughts, farther than a few moments! It made me so sad I could hardly breath or stay in my skin.

About 4 months after his tragic death, I was told about a learning tour, to China, being offered by a church friend, who although she lives in Rosthern, she works for Mennonite Partners In China and travels back to China a few times/year. She and her family lived and worked in China, for close to 20 years and all of her family speak fluent Mandarin. Jeanette, Todd (Hanson) and their two beautiful daughters moved back to Rosthern the year Lawrence and I moved there. There is no doubt that Jeanette is the perfect person to guide us through China and teach us about the culture and history! The mention of this trip being organized, lit a tiny spark of interest in me. If I sat with ‘the thought’ too long, I was filled with sadness and had to leave it alone! Although neither Lawrence or I were ‘tour-type travellers’, I was acutely aware that my previously loved travelling styles and days had taken a 180 degree turn from the days of yore. If I ever wanted to travel again, I knew it would HAVE to be done differently! The pain of this truth was searingly painful!

When dear friends, Brian and Delilah Roth, along with Lawrence’s cousin, Ralph & Bev Epp said they were interested in going on this trip, I decided to attend a gathering to listen and learn more about it.

As we sat looking at a giant table map and listened to the places we would see, along with  the experiences we would have, I was drawn into the potential adventure and for the FIRST TIME since Lawrence’s death, I felt myself feeling some traces of ‘travel excitement’. This felt good but also, bad.....because I was feeling this, genuine excitement at the thought of an adventure WITHOUT Lawrence, which was weird and unsettling! As we came to the end of the tour description, which ends in Shanghai, I saw ‘Thailand’, on the map and asked Jeanette ‘how expensive and how hard would it be to travel to Thailand, from Shanghai. She enthusiastically said, “Soooo easy and soooo cheap”. In that moment of spontaneity and being governed by some compelling, clear,  inner guidance I said, “ I think I’m going to go on this trip and then I am going to Thailand!  I’ll rent a bamboo bungalow on an island beach  and contemplate my life!” Everyone was shocked (including myself!!) but it was just so clear to me, that this was what I was ‘supposed’ to do! Interestingly, if Lawrence had not died, that horrible July day, we had been  talking about the ‘big’ trip we would take, that year.....the choices were Italy, Greece or Thailand! I truly felt like Lawrence was guiding me to go! I still feel that!

After that surprising proclamation, I experienced SIGNIFICANT (and I do mean SIGNIFICANT) doubts!! Yet....this ‘calm clarity’, from within, kept propelling me toward this Asian adventure! At first my daughter, Michelle, excitedly said she would join me in Thailand, which was super cool and reassuring! We began thinking that it would be fun if Laura could also join us, for a ‘girl’s trip’!! Unfortunately, it was not in the cards for Laura, but Michelle remained clear that she could join me in Thailand! As booking for the trip became closer to reality, Michelle’s work life changed and she was not able to take the time off! I was left to decide whether I would go or stay!! I began to think of the group trip, to China,  as way for me to ‘bridge’ my past (travelling life) to my present one....with the company and support of friends! Although the sadness remained stifling and profound, I somehow felt strongly that I NEEDED to do this. I was also compelled, from within, to go to Thailand even though it meant going solo. What a weird feeling to feel terrified at the thought of this,  yet simultaneously feeling like I ‘have to do this’!

So.....I booked flights to China for the group tour and from China to Bangkok, for my first major (over the ocean) international solo trip! Then.....I put this whole thing on a back burner, with only brief moments of connecting to what I had done, because.....I could not think about it!

Well....the time came, on the heels of returning from Salt Lake City on Sunday night, and this morning (at 6:00 AM) a group of 11 Rosthern/Hague/Saskatoon people boarded a plane to Vancouver (where I am currently typing this post)! We have a 6 hr layover and will be flying out to Beijing, later this afternoon!!

We have three weeks of sharing ‘off the regular tourist track’ experiences, throughout China, with a total group of 27 people! Then, on October 27, after our Saskatoon crew heads back  home, I will fly to Bangkok, on my own! 😬

I am terrified.....if I think about it, I feel like I can’t breathe! So, I can’t really think about it.....I have to just keep putting one foot in front of the other to move toward this solo adventure, until I get there! Then, I have to continue taking the experiences I will encounter, one step at a time.....

Moving toward the source of one’s fear is VERY hard....very overwhelming. Yet, realize I have lived each day, since Lawrence died, with engulfing terror and sadness.  This trip definitely takes it up a notch or two, because it means having  to face my gripping fear (aloneness and sorrow) in a strange land with no one I know to offer grounding or comfort!

My goal for Thailand is to spend a few days in Bangkok and then find a ‘bamboo bungalow’ on a Thai island beach, where I will look at the ocean...read...look at the ocean...journal...look at the ocean...go for daily massages....look at the ocean...eat delicious Thai food....look at the ocean....quietly contemplate my new reality of living life, without-my-most-favourite-person-physically-beside-me and celebrate my 60th Birthday, alone, reflectively gazing  at the vast ocean, which symbiotically represents my life.....wide open, overwhelming and needing to be faced and redesigned.

As I type this, my chest feels tight with the stress of this terrifying adventure I have thrown myself into! I must remember to breathe deeply.....use my oils for emotional balancing....and trust that.....

 ‘All is well. All is as it needs to be. All is well.’

Winding Down in Croatia...

Well, we are preparing for our departure from beautiful Croatia!! Yesterday, we went back into Dubrovnik and explored parts of the regular city, that we had not seen on previous visits! We found the most beautiful walking path along the coast line, stopped for a Mexican lunch (where we warmly reminisced about our Holiday in Mexico) and checked out a couple of shops, where I found an awesome sweater!!

As we were leaving this remarkable, historical city, we walked along the Port of Gruz, which is the main Harbor for all sea vessels. It was a perfect evening....and, as the sun was setting, it seemed appropriate that we said, "Goodbye Dubrovnik.....it has been soooo nice getting to know you!"

We woke during the night to fierce winds and in the morning, to a significant drop in temperature!!! Today is the first time, we have dressed in long pants!! (It is 12 degrees with a strong sea wind, so it feels colder.) We will begin packing, go for hikes around our beautiful Zaton Bay,  and prepare to leave on Saturday morning, heading back to the warmth of Barcelona, where we will spend 4 days before going to Lisboa, where we fly home from!!  Depending on weather, we may take a drive to a different area of Montenegro, tomorrow.We'll  see which way these strong Mediterranean, winter winds might blow us!! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Island Of Korcula

Today we decided to make our way to The island of Korcula (Pronounced Korchula), which is about 100 km northwest of where we are staying. In order to get to this island, by car, you have to drive almost to the tip of a peninsula, to a community called, Orebic, and from there, take a ferry. 

The road to Orebic is very serpentine.....INCREDIBLY narrow, winding and much of it is on an incredibly high coastal ledge....with rock walls on one side and steep, deadly, rugged drops to the ocean, on the other side. Keep in mind, NO SHOULDERS, a FLIMSY metal guard rail on the ocean side, a speed limit of 30 km/hr and locals who drive very aggressively and FAST!!! It was a scenic but intense drive.....putting our winding road trips, in Portugal, to shame!! (It took about 2 hrs to drive 100km!!) 

We stopped for gas, and while there, I saw a young man sitting on a cement ledge, cracking something with a stone, then eating what he had gotten into! I went over and saw it was fresh walnuts! (OMG!!!)He was sitting under a walnut tree! I was so excited to gather some walnuts, which we, then, enjoyed while resting there, for awhile. We were able to take a small bowl full home, as well! Did you know that walnuts (and almonds) have a soft 'skin' around the hard shell of the nut, which breaks down and is shed when the nut is mature??  Fresh walnuts are soooooo good.....there is nothing like them, for flavour!! Here is the tree and the delicious fruit from it!!....

The drive we took, also had us in SERIOUS wine country!! Each town, we drove through, had a wine (and olive oil) tasting/ selling venue every second building!! We stopped at a lone wine shop along the highway at a VERY elevated point, where the view was amazing!  We bought a bottle of their best wine and enjoyed some conversation with the owner. There were 2 stray puppies there, foraging in the garbage and just hanging around, hoping to get a ride to their forever home!! They wanted to come back to Canada with us, sooooo bad!!! I felt so sad leaving them behind!!

We stopped in Orebic, for a very tasty pizza lunch, before taking the ferry over to Korcula....

Orebic is a very pretty and vibrant coastal/port town. We did not spend too much time exploring it, but enjoyed what we saw....

The ferry ride to Korcula took about 20 minutes.....

One of Korcula's claims to fame is that it is the birthplace of Marco Polo!! We toured the 'Old Town' and enjoyed a walk , along the coast line, from one ferry port to another! Korcula's is clearly a very beautiful island with quite a pulse. We did not have time to fully explore it but, it was clear to both of us that it would be a nice place to vacation! There were lots of quaint, artistic shops, which we enjoyed browsing through and of course, the scenery was amazing and beautiful! I know I have said it before, but I am going to say it again.....the water in Adriatic Sea is sooooooo crystal clear and inviting!!! So beautiful!! 

We had a good time in Korcula. Our drive, home, in the dark, on the harrowing, serpentine road was not that fun, but once we got safely tucked in, at home,  we enjoyed our special bottle of wine and felt grateful for another day of adventure!!