I have been trying to think of something to share about my travels, but my travel/life here hasn’t been super exciting and I wasn’t sure what to share!! But finally this morning it came to me…
All day yesterday, I kept looking at the date, trying to figure out what I was missing… Was it somebody’s birthday? Someone’s anniversary? And then just as I was falling asleep last night I remembered it was a year ago (today) that I had my “big fall“ down the stairs at the Pisa train station!!
I went to sleep last night feeling a bit morose thinking about what I missed last year and all that I have been through this year because of it, but when I woke up this morning and the sun was shining brightly and all I could see were clear blue skies, I remembered my motto/mantra that I have repeated for many years: “Life is a Journey, not a destination!” And as it turned out, my destination last year was not South America, it was Journeying through the process of my shoulder surgery and recuperation (and all the trauma it took before I got home to English-speaking healthcare)!! ❤️🩹✈️❤️🩹
People don’t usually talk about the challenges of “getting back on the horse“ so to speak, but that’s what this trip has felt like for me…nice and fulfilling, but challenging!! The cruise was nice, but I only met two people I really connected with which is unusual for me! Tarragona would’ve been nice except for the “mobility challenges” and the transportation kerfuffle, but that got resolved fairly quickly (thank goodness) and I recovered after a few days!! 🚂 🚌
Overall, I have been enjoying my time in Salou. I haven’t been doing much “touristing” here, but I have enjoyed many walks to the beach, my favorite cafés, and lots of quiet time to read, gather my thoughts, and catch up on some Netflix!! Although Salou doesn’t have the history or architectural character that I would have enjoyed in Tarragona, it’s the most mobility friendly town I’ve ever seen! They even have a lane on the road right in front of my apartment for walkers, bikes, strollers and mobility scooters!
Every morning around 10 AM there is a bell that rings from the direction of the beach. The only thing similar I have heard is the ferry in Edmonds, so maybe it comes from there? I’m still not sure where it comes from or if it’s announcing that the beach is open or something, but it’s like a pilgrimage: masses of people heading towards the beach to get their perfect spot for the day! I have found it quite entertaining to sit on my terrace and watch as people go by: all sorts of shapes, sizes, ages, and levels of mobility! I may not be having a lot of conversations with people, but this apartment has been perfect for people watching! 🏝️🏝️
After I settled in and rested up from my “transportation/Tarragona kerfuffle“ I looked into some day trips nearby! But I just couldn’t seem to get motivated to go anywhere (which was frustrating for me because I always feel like I “should” be doing something to take advantage of being in a new location)!! I’m a firm believer in honoring my internal process, especially when I travel, so I waited to book anything!
It wasn’t until I had been here for a couple weeks that I finally realized I still have some residual fear left in me about the possibility of tripping or falling!! It wasn’t something that was in my conscious mind (after all, my arm is pretty much healed, and things are mostly back to normal!!), but I think I became acutely aware of just how much fear is still simmering below the surface when I came down those stairs from the apartment in Tarragona!! In those moments, I literally felt like I was hanging on for dear life (even though most people would probably think the stairs were bad, but not life-threatening)!! It just goes to show how much impact trauma can have on our experience in life!!
More than anything, I REALLY don’t want to miss this last cruise I’ve been wanting to do for so long!! Once I had that realization, I decided to play it safe and just enjoy my daily outings to my favorite cafe!! I have a feeling I will be a little more adventurous in the future, but for this trip, I decided to be extra careful!! 😁🚢🙏
It’s probably not what most people think of as a “productive“ trip to Spain, but it seems daily outings to the beach cafe is about all the energy I have for on this trip! And it has been quite delightful going back to the same café almost every day to enjoy my yummy bacon sandwich (a BCT instead of BLT - a delightful change of having a cucumber instead of soggy lettuce - and that amazing British bacon that has almost the thickness of ham instead of American bacon, what they call “fatty bacon”!!! 🥓 😂), chocolate, and churros (yummmm!!), and a new delight… a warm waffle with Nutella, strawberries, and ice cream🧇🍓🍓🍨☕️ (with all my senses being delighted with the food and the gorgeous view)!! 🏝️😎🏝️
Most of all, I enjoy going back and chatting with the waiters (who conveyed their concern to me yesterday that they thought I might have left without saying goodbye because I missed a day - so sweet)!! I keep trying out my Spanish with them even though they understand quite a bit of English (as do most people in this town because of all the Brits who holiday here)!!
Most of the people I chat with are British or European (and many of the workers are from other countries as well), so I think that’s part of why it has felt like I’m somewhere besides Spain. A lot of the workers speak English, French, Spanish, Catalan and a smattering of other languages (at least enough to get by in the restaurants and grocery store)!! I even got my haircut the other day by a guy from Morocco, who spoke Arabic in addition to other languages! It was at a barbershop so I wasn’t sure what kind of haircut to expect, but he did a really great job and I was quite impressed!! 💇♀️ 👏👏
My one big “tourist excursion“ thus far has been taking the Tourist Train around Salou. It was only about 30 minutes so not a BIG excursion, but I was shocked at the hundreds and hundreds of hotels and apartment buildings that make up this town!! I don’t remember seeing one house or grouping of houses anywhere! Salou is a resort town that bulges with people in June, July and August, but almost closes down between November and March! It’s such a unique environment with easy access to food and transportation, but has the hollow feel of an itinerant town.
As I’m writing, I’m just now realizing why this experience has felt okay, but not fabulous! It’s missing the heart and soul of Spain which are the people and families that I’ve interacted with previously. Whew! Now it all makes sense to me, so thanks for listening to my stream of consciousness process! Like I said, it’s been a lovely time for me internally (reading, pondering, enjoying people watching), but “hollow“ is how I would describe the last few weeks externally. I guess it’s all “fodder“ for life and future travels! ✈️🌎🥳
And now onto more exciting things… Only eight days until I get to leave for my cruise back to the US! I’m super excited to be on MSC (cruise line), and I’m hoping to have more heart-centered interactions with the people on the cruise ship! (It could just be my own bias as to why I didn’t meet lots of “my people” on my cruise here, but then again Carnival IS known as the “FUN Ship“ a.k.a. party ship cruise line!!) And if I don’t find lots of people to connect with on my cruise home, I will soon be at my sister Carol’s house for a couple months over the holidays!! I’m sure my heart will get plenty of filling up while I’m there!!!
I’m sure I will be in touch at some point on my cruise, but I will say goodbye for now! I’m looking forward to a Paella making experience in Valencia (doing it in honor of Carol who missed an experience like this when we had to rush home due to Covid in 2020!!), and possibly a few other excursions in Barbados, Grenada, Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten (French and Dutch island), and Puerto Rico before I hit Miami mid-November!! Sending lots of love and hugs to everyone, and thanks for being with me on this Journey!! 💖🤗💖
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