Vancouver

Dear Family and Friends,
I am back in Vancouver writing this in the wee small hours of the morning because I am still on European time. It feels very good to be home.  Jim met me at the airport with a beautiful huge red rose, and I was so happy to see him.  When Jim comes to the airport to pick me up, he usually has brought Kobie, so I was very aware of his absence, and our home felt very empty without his wagging tail and quiet loving presence.
There were all the usual airport hassles leaving Santiago - discovering that if I did not have a printed boarding pass at the airport they charged me an extra 40 euros! No seats were assigned, so it was first come first served, and an hour late, which meant I missed the hotel shuttle.  I felt bad for the taxi driver when I told him where I was going- I know from Vancouver that after waiting in line for some time, they want a passenger going a long way, so he was not too happy at going to an airport hotel.  Once at the hotel, which I had chosen because it had wifi - found it was not working.  But the person at the desk allowed me to use the office computer to check into my airline and print out my boarding passes for Vancouver.  All worked well and I left Madrid for London, then London to Vancouver.  Once again, the plane was an hour late, and I was afraid I might not make my connection in London; however, I was delighted to learn that there was an hour's difference between London and the European countries I was visiting, so there was plenty of time.

So now I am home, and many say this is when the real Camino begins.  I long to walk, and I must say, that although I am VERY sick of wearing the same thing every day for 7 weeks, I LOVED the simplicity.  Perhaps it is time to reread Ann Morrow Lindberg's "Gift From the Sea."  I look forward to seeing the rest of my family, Nina, Nicole and their families.  Avery turns 3 today, and I know all the grandchildren have been following my journey on the map.  They have all started school and I can't imagine how big the babies are now.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have been following this journey with me. Although there all all these amazing experiences and people along the way, being a long way from home -  knowing that you have been following my journey has been a great sense of support for me.
I also thank those who sent me emails and comments, they were an important touchstone for me. along the way.

I also would like to say thank you for being so generous in your receiving of my posts - such as they were.  Many times I wrote them after a long day, so they may have been pretty raw.  Also, many were written on my Iphone which I found challenging.  Many times I could not scroll freely up and down the entire post, so many times there were "trailers" of comments that got lost and I did not see them, nor seemingly have access to them and they became part of the post. 

And so, we are all onto a new chapter - there is always the space after the big event, the Olympics, the Tour de France,  each of our journeys - now there is an opportunity to meet with what comes next on the path.  It will take me a while to let all this settle.  I get flashes of different places and various people I have met along the way.  There are a few people I  would have liked to have connected with at the end, but everyone follows their own timing, so it does not always fall according to our own plan.    Our lives are often changed by those we meet, and a journey such as the Camino seems to bring together people who are open and searching, so that connections are real and honest.  As often comes with journeys away, there is a re-evaluating of how one lives one's life on a daily basis.  New experiences present us with different ways of being from which we make our choices. I feel privileged to have walked this path.
For such a profound a journey, it is difficult to find the words to do it justice.  But now it is time to gather my experiences, collect my pictures - learn how to properly organize them..... and also to catch up on much of the history I passed through.  I found it impossible many times to "know" or follow up on much of what was under my nose because I was just trying to survive or was just simply too tired.  Also, many of the churches were closed much of the time.  It is such a rich part of the country with a very long history, so it may well take a very long time to integrate, but I do know that what I experienced was very rich and very special.  
And of course, my family, particularly Jim picked up many many pieces while I was away, and my BodySoul Conference Committee group has accomplished much in my absence.  I am grateful to each one of you.
 
So for all of us, let us now move onto the next chapter.  In thanksgiving and blessings from my Camino journey.  Heather