Bournemouth

I am now in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England staying with my mom's eldest sister Jennifer. It is a very beautiful place - isn't it always beautiful by the sea? I decided that I needed a long walk yesterday so took the bus down into the town square and walked down to the pier. It was windy, but not too cold and the sea was rough and alive. I walked for a couple of hours, over to the other pier. I walked up the windy zig zag path that goes up to the road and didn't even feel out of breath, so I did it again! The sea front is lined with tiny little beach huts in matching colours. For instance, there will be a block of about 10 in all the hues of blue, and then another one in yellows. They are great and I want to paint them someday.  I had a cup of tea in a cafe on the seafront and made my way back to the town square to wander around the shops.
Speaking of painting....I went to my aunt's art class with her today and did a watercolour painting. It was absolutely awful, but it was fun and I learned how to use frisket. The teacher was great and inspired me to do a class....someday. Maybe. I come from a long line of true artists and I must say they are all rather intimidating.
Tomorrow Jen and and I are going to meet Mary, the daughter of my late grandfather's brother George for lunch. She lives in Poole and Jen sees her regularly.
On Saturday I go back to London and will fly out to Marrakech early Sunday morning. Stay tuned for adventures in Morocco!

Bristol

I am now in Bristol with my Camino bessie mate Arlene. She is kindly putting me up at her place for a few days before I go off to Bournemouth to visit my Aunt Jennifer. The train journey from Liverpool started off with a cancelled train but I was able to get on one that went through Birmingham and then on to Bristol making me only a half hour behind schedule. Arlene picked me up and we went out for an Indian meal before going back to her place to drink wine and catch up. Today was a beautiful sunny day and we went down to the docks and had a very british, very naughty brunch of bacon butty's and chips. Hell, you only live once right? It was delicious and well worth queuing up for. There is a beautiful bridge that goes across the Avon river and we walked across it and then up to the little fortress at the top of the hill. We have had a great time catching up and philosophysing about the effect the Camino has had on us and trying to work it all out and make sense of it all. We looked at photos and reminisced about our friends and all the good times we had together. We called Gerry from Ireland and it was good to hear his voice. We had the idea of meeting up doing a walk in the lake district or even Scotland - maybe the Coast to Coast....
Tomorrow we are driving to London to see a screening of a film Arlene's cousin has edited. Not sure if I can get a ticket, but if not, I'm sure I can find something to do in London...! Back to Bristol and then on to Bournemouth Tuesday morning where I will stay until I leave for Marakech next Sunday.
It is so good to re-live the Camino with Arlene. It is something that doesn't easily fit into "real" life and it has been a challenge to not talk about it with others for fear of boring them to death! We never seem to tire of talking about it and it's so good to talk about it with someone who has experienced it with me.
Well, off to cook dinner now and possibly drink a glass of wine : )
Hasta Luego!
Jena

Musings

It's amazing how time slips by without you even noticing it. I've been in Liverpool nearly two weeks now. This past week was half term and everyone was off school. As it often is, at the beginning of a week off, it seems like you have time to do all the things you want to do and at the end of the week you realise the list was rather longer than you thought. I feel the same way with my time in Liverpool. 've had a good week though and have been doing the things I've  wanted to do. I love walking on the beach-it seems to go on forever, sort of like Tofino and Vancouver island. Sort of. One of my favourite things is the "Iron Man" exhibition by Antony Gormley entitled "Another Place". 100 life sized iron men spread across 3kms of Crosby beach facing out to the sea. Here is the link: http://www.sefton.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=6216, you must check it out...though you can't get the power of it unless you see it for real. I was walking there one evening at dusk and though I was almost the only person there, it felt eerily as though I wasn't alone. I never get tired of looking at them, they are unusual and fascinating.
A funny thing happened the other day. I was on my way to the beach and decided I needed my hair trimmed so I stopped in at a hair salon on South Rd near my Aunt's place. I settled in to the chair and asked for a quick trim. The young woman commented on my accent and asked me where I was from. When I told her, she said "I have an aunt who lives there", and, naturally, I asked her which part of Canada. She said she really didn't know. After a pause she asked me "where is Canada"? I was stunned and when I regained my composure I asked her if she knew where the United States was and she said, yes, is it near there? Bless. Though she may not be the brightestest girl I've ever met, she was smart enough to charge me £12 quid for a 5 minute trim!

Endless cups of tea!

It's true. A cup of tea seems to make everything better. Whether you've already had 2, or 5, or 10, when someone says "shall I put the kettle on"? the answer is always yes. I don't know what it is that makes the tea here so good. It could be the water, or the fact that the electricity is 220w which makes the water seem to boil even more fiercely than at home. Or it could be the milk because everything dairy is just better here. Whatever it is, I am always up for a cuppa.
Now, onto other travel plans. I have booked a trip to Morocco from Nov 13 to 27th which is pretty exciting. I'll be landing in Casablanca and ending up in Marakesh. Activities include camping in the desert and riding camels. I have decided to change my ticket home and will be staying here longer because, well, I just don't have a reason not to really. I feel like I have this amazing opportunity to travel the world. I'm relatively unencumbered and just feel like this is the right thing to do. I am a bit homesick at times..... I miss my kids, my friends and my Georgie boy, but I know everyone understands and supports me.
I spend my days with my family, walking on the beach and going to the gym. Today I ran 5km.
I am very blessed to have my aunt and uncle put me up so graciously and I am enjoying my time with them immensely. Just need to sort out a visit with Arlene now and after that.....who knows!

Hanging Out in Liverpool

It is Friday afternoon and I have spent the day doing nothing. I signed up at the gym with my cousin Mel and went yesterday for two hours. It was great to know that I am in good shape and it felt really good to move my body after a week of the sedentary life. My plan is to go every day if I can. I am researching my options for travel now - so much choice! It's a little overwhelming, well, everything is these days. I just feel like I should be walking! And where the hell are those damn yellow arrows when you really need them!?
It's been great being in Liverpool staying with my aunt and uncle Sue and Terry, and seeing my cousins and Aunt Angela every day. The weather is cold and I had to buy a winter jacket yesterday as I really didn't pack properly for post-Camino weather. I wandered around Liverpool yesterday and really enjoyed Bold Street and lunch with my cousin Gemma. I am beginning to feel itchy and need to move on to the next trip. I have some ideas, so keep reading...
I am feeling a little bit blue...homesick for my kids I think. It seems so long ago since I've seen them and haven't spoken to them since I left for Spain. I will try calling this weekend so if you are reading this Sarah, Robbie, and James, make sure you answer your phones when you see "unknown number" on your call display!
Not too much else to report other than a nice evening last night with Phil (my cousin Mel's husband) and their friend Chris. We went to a couple of pubs and listened to some live music. Tonight I'm going over there for curry and then this weekend my other cousin William and his wife Anne and their children are coming up from London for a visit. It will be great seeing them. I hope to make a plan to go to Bristol to see Arlene before my next trip.
I need to go for a long walk so I'm going to sign off and get outside.
Lots of love to all
Jena

Post Camino transition

Back in Liverpool again. I was met at the train station by my lovely Aunties Susie and Angela and it was soooo lovely to see them. Susie, Terry and I shared a bottle of bubbly (my second glass of the day) and we had a delicious dinner. I put my washing in and put on some clothes I had left here and realizeed how much weight I must have lost.  This is all good, but I am no longer walking 25km a day!  Maybe my cousin Mel will take me to the gym with her every day while I'm here.
I know this transition is going to be difficult. The simplicity of life on the Camino is over and I find myself thinking about other things again. The trick is to keep reminding myself of the things learned there that I want to retain and hope that people can cope with the changes in me. I miss very much the people I met and became so close with in such intense and unusual circumstances. I am in touch with a few and look forward to seeing Arlene and hopefully Lewis in Bristol soon.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Santiago. I couldn't stop gazing at the magnificent cathedral and found myself drawn back to the chuch square again and again, gazing up at it's grand stature, smiling as new batches of pilgrims made their emotional entrance into the square. Perhaps I felt a spiritual connection, knowing that so many pilgrims over so many centuries had come to this very place after a long and incredible journey. It's a feeling I hope I never forget.
So now I will begin researching the possibilities that lie before me.
Keep reading...... I will keep writing.

The end of the earth

I went to Finisterra yesterday with Arlene, and the three English people I met on the first day of walking: Rita, Ken and Carmel. We decided to rent a car instead of taking the bus and I think it was a good thing to do in the end. God bless Arlene, the only person who had her drivers license with her, for driving. We had a gps unit (Kate) in the car and even then it was a bit crazy getting out of the city. Once we got out on the highway though, Kate sent us up into the mountains, away from the coast, but it turned out alright in the end as we were rewarded with stunning views of the whole coastline. Again, it was hot, sunny and clear and as we made our way down the mountain and to the coast we were swept up in the beauty of it all. We made it to Finisterra and had a little walk around the town and then went for lunch at one of the many restaurants on the sea front. Afterwards we went up to the lighthouse and took many photos. There is a long tradition of pilgrims going to Finisterra and burning all their clothing so as to cleanse themselves in both body and spirit before turning back and making the long journey home. Now, it is a very touristy place and no burning is allowed! We had to settle for absorbing ourselves in the stunning views of the beautiful coastline - it was blissful being by the sea again, inhaling it´s salty, sweet scent.
Back to Santiago and one last evening with my good friend Arlene. She is so amazing and such a gift from my Camino experience. We laughed, we cried, we shared many moments walking, eating, drinking and sharing as if we´d known each other for years. She is a gem and I am so blessed to have met her. The only thing that prevented me from crying my eyes out is that I know I will see her again in the UK before I go home.
I have decided to go back to Liverpool on Monday. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with my experience and feel the need to re-group before making further travel plans. I feel good about this and even though Barcelona would be amazing, I feel like I have plenty of time to come back to Spain if I want to later. The weather here continues to be sunny and hot - today it was 36 degrees!! Hard to leave this country...
So, two more nights at the Parador (!!!) - I heard someone call me a "Paradonna", which I thought was very fitting. I could have moved to another hotel, or, God forbid the Alburgue, but hey, I´ll only turn 50 once and I might as well milk it for all it´s worth.
Stay tuned, I will continue to write about my journey. I appreciated all the beatiful emails I received for my birthday from all who took the time to email or comment. Thank you.