life unfolds as it must ~ Lisboa 28 Aug

well boom! is a thing of the past and the next phase of my journey has begun.
The beauty of my experience, especially in last 2 years, is that I am learning a
great lesson in trust....taking life a day at a time and even, on occasion, an hour
at a time...it is exhilarating, challenging and gratifying.  With no planned way to
get out of boom!, which is about 60km from nearest town (small villages nearby),
and lift opportunities dwindling rapidly, I only had my thumb, legs and smile to
help me and they sure did the trick...caught a lift in a vehicle with Inez, going to
Lisbon and with my baggage in Johanna's van!  The day before I went back to my
tent to contemplate the options, wondering how I was going to lighten my load so
that I would be more free to travel to remoter places...within 3 minutes Bilal, one
of the healers came and chatted, offered that I could use his home in Lisbon as a
base to leave things and come and go from there as required!!  He arrived like an
angel (which he is!!). And so all our needs are met.  We arrived at about 7pm and
he came through to collect my excess stuff...he helped me with directions etc to a
backpackers in the centre of old Lisbon.  I was going to board the Metro thought I
must check if bed still available and it wasn't??!!  Eish, that would have been hectic
to arrive there so late with no place to sleep..I called Bilal and he graciously helped
again..came back, tried to find alternate accommodation, but none, so I slept over at his
place - like a 5 star hotel after 2 weeks of rough camping.  He has been soooo
gracious and kind...life is amazing when one´s heart is right.

It´s a WOW!!! for me.  So today I weigh up all the options....look for WWOOFER
farmwork opportunities, possibly teaching English here or in Spain, may meet up
with another friend who is going to work in the Pyrenees, visit some eco-villages,
go to a very remote farm in the north of Portugal where Sophie lives and works...
it´s great.  But the best of all is that I have been offered to house-sit in Sintra - a
deeply spiritual area north of Lisbon - it is the place where royalty used to go for
the summer holidays - amazing castles and villas - the original home of the Knights
Templar here in Portugal, so it is steeped in mysticism and legend.  I have full
access to Valentina and Francois´home - she was the manager of the healing area @
boom and they will be staying there to breakdown structures or going to Italy for a
few weeks.  I basically just need to air the place as it can become damp - lots of
mist most of the time - you know me and that kind of weather - and feed the 2
chickens!!!  Whoopeeeee....so might just hang there for 3 weeks...or months!!! 

BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! 12 - 28 August 2010

OH MY WORD!! What a place....it is just quite magical. A stunning lake, the most inspiring creations and a ragged band of wonderful eclectic people that I will share space with over the next 3 weeks. I set up home in Thelia's 1-man tent just outside the main backstage camp.

Boom is an incredible experience....lots of hard physical work....so Marjo our months of not getting to ride bike\walk as often as we want to were a hidden blessing!!! I made up for that in the 1st week at boom!! Lots of hard walking and heavy physical work!! Working in very high temps was at times unpleasant (42 one weekend), but then I could just stroll down to the stunning clear lake and take a dip whenever required....have a very good almost all-over tan!!! The only down side of boom for me, and most of the people I spoke to was that it started as a trance party way back when, but has evolved into more organic music and healing as well. However the trance music permeates through everything and you cannot get away from it, even if you had a peaceful meditation in the Pudja tent - it was still there. So quality and quantity of sleep seriously affected. The last 2 nights were bliss though - only the sounds of nature. All the stuff that was happening was incredible - workshops on raising our awareness, consciousness, connecting more with the Creator, wonderful healing therapies - I had a Watsu session which was a profound experience. I have made friends with some incredible people and have invitations to visit them all over.

There is much activity at Boom...lots to do..time running by fast. I work with Tiago mostly, and Valentina...getting bios of the 35 odd healers together. Who would have thought that I would travel to Boom and be sitting behind a PC again!! Monkey shows his tricks...but I didn't...it just happened that way. Some days I really need to escape from the heat of the container and the machine...then I go off and help Thelia with her mind-blowing creations...what talent.

We have the most delish raw food restaurant and a wonderful team supplying the good food...thanks guys...Suzanna, Hugo, Matilde and those whose names I never got...you are stars.

Some days are really hard but there is always some peace to tap into...until the festival starts.....DARN IT!!! The trance music from the main dance floor permeates through everything...there is just no escape...and there is is Anti-Boom as well....the rebels that felt the need to counteract Boom??? Weird stuff!! I eventually resort to Prestik in my ears. I just can't handle the energy that was at the main dance area...not in my body an definitely not in my spirit. And I wasn't the only one.

Sacred Fire next door has much cooler music...live..organic..more pleasing to the soul. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??!! I get to see Ganga Giri live....now that was a WOW!!!

Boom and all that it is is just quite awesome....I felt I was living in Mad Max and the Thunderdome visiting Stargate!!

Caceres 11 & 12 August 2010

What a beautiful town! It is so old, with amazing castles and little cobbled streets. I just love it! (But then it seems that i just love every place I go to!!). I am spoilt...Raine treated me to a night in a "proper" hotel...quite delightful after bunk beds in the backpackers...I have my own bathroom, a TV and an airconditioner! Thanks sweetheart!!

Spend most of my time just wandering through the many winding streets. I see a beautiful leather backpack but decide not to buy it as I am on a tight budget until I get a feel for the flow of money! I am regretting still...darn...but I believe the leather goods in Morocco are even better in quality and price...so I accept that.

Yaaay!! Thelia has materialised the vehicle...we find each other in the town square...what a joyous meeting...much shouts of delight and hugs.

And off we go...in the car of lovely elf, Sofie...life is a treat!!

Madrid 10 August 2010

Madrid is a stunning city...I love everything about this part of the world. The tappas bars are everywhere....4 or 5 in a block. Of course the bloodhound in me sniffed out a few really good fresh food markets. I brave the Metro and travel back and forth, just getting a feel for the city. It's awesome to feel so safe...alone, at night...no problem. Viva a libertad!!

Synchronicity is very apparent in my journey....I chose a tappas bar to try out my 1st Spanish meal...it was PACKED, 3 rows deep. I wondered around, much like a lost fart in a whirlwind, trying to see what there was on offer, what it costs and how to order it!! This is what I love about foreign travel.

After going from one side of the bar to the other, looking for a gap...the crowds parted and an elderly man and woman beckoned me to the counter. I ordered a jambon roll and a beer. There is just a torrent of Spanish conversation around me. Then a sweet voice says "I think you must ask him again..he has forgotten your jambon!!" The sweet voice belongs to a sweet old lady...within minutes she has asked me to visit her when I come back to Madrid and would like to know if I am interested in teaching English!!!! My 1st valuable contact in Europe.

I stay 2 nights at the backpackers then head off to Caceres to meet up with Thelia, who will some how materialise a vehicle to fetch me!!

Joburg to Boom ~ 9 August 2010

Raine whisks me off to Oliver Tambo International Airport.....I am so excited it's just not true.

There was some eina goodbyes (some more than others, but I will heal...and so will they). I bump into a darling friend who is leaving an hour later to visit her kids in the UK....thanks Bexi for a lekker farewell...love to the KL Club. To all my grrrlfriends....guyfriends....family.....I love you!

2 hour stopover in Dubai...what an amazing airport!!

Arrive in Madrid Wed 1430. Too much baggage, not enough Spanish - off into the unknown on the Metro. But I made it, despite the language barriers and lug my katunda up to the youth hostel. What an adventure I have started.

a Divinely appointed journey ~ August 2010

So here I am in a beautiful apartment in Lisbon, Portugal, still in awe of how I came to be here. Let me share my wonderment!

In January this year, a darling friend, soul sister, Magenta Angel (aka Thelia) asked if I would like to join her at Boom. BOOM?? I didnt even know about it, but when she told me that it was a music etc. festival in Portugal, the prospect of travel grabbed me and I said "of course". Thelia mentioned that it would be sometime from June, possibly July to the end of the festival late August.

Well I didn't give it much more thought. The next thing I heard T had left for Boom in May, so I presumed that there was not an opportunity for me and put it out of my mind. In the 2nd week of July I get an email asking if I would still like to come over - they need a facilitator in the Welcome Tent of the Healing Area. Wow!! My heart took a double beat! But I had much to consider, some really important issues, such as a relationship I was in, a contract I was committed to (but had the feeling for some weeks that my time with these precious people, who have since become good friends, was drawing to an end), a passport that was missing and limited funds to buy a ticket. Nothing major!!

As I always do, I laid my heart before God, asking for His wisdom and direction. The sense that this was something I was destined to do, became ever stronger, but the hurdles?? I had been searching high & low for my passport, to no avail, since March, for a possible trip to Namibia and then in June for Mocambique. Nada! Aziko! Skoonweg!! So one Thursday morning before leaving to work, I asked that if I was meant to go to Portugal, that I would have my passport in my grubby paws that evening...not Fri, not Saturday, but that night. When I got home at 5, I knew I had to start looking again, but felt it to be a fruitless exercise and didnt really feel like going through all my stuff, yet again. Those that know my circumstances will appreciate that I have small room in Heidi's house, a few shelves, 1 box of winter clothes and a few plastic trunks in the back of my Uno. Not a lot to go through, but I had done this a few times and there was no passport. Daaamn!! So I go to the box, yank out a handful of clothes, see a bag, lift it and out and give it a shake....and....yes you guessed it (otherwise I wouldn't be writing this from Portugal!!), there in a zip compartment is my passport. I know that I know that I must go...no doubts whatsoever.

Hurdle No. 2 - to leave work and Wendell & Marjo...I know that they will understand that this is from God, but still not easy. I give it a few days. There is an opportunity to chat to Wendell and he shares some stuff about their business that makes my decision easier and clearer. Thanks guys, for the great time together and for offering to keep the door open should I return - I love and appreciate you!

Hurdle No.3 - the bucks!!! I have a bit in savings, but not enough for my ticket. But knowing that I must go, and trusting the Divine Plan, the money will surely come in. 2 days later I get a call from Jan (my partner in the GSD breeding) asking if I want to sell Shula, who has been with him since I embarked on my nomadic journey. I don't immediately put 2 and 2 together, but react with an emphatic "NO!!" how can I sell my baby?? He reminds me that she has been away from me for 2 years (sheeet...is it that long already!!) and even though I see her from time to time, she's not with me. Lee - "Yes, but I love her" Jan - "yes but these people will also love her!!" And so my better judgement over-rules my heart...as hard as it is, it's best for her - she will be in a loving family home. I make a deal with Jan for him to keep some of the bucks to say thanks for caring for her - 4 days later I have the money in my account....and....it's exactly what I am short to buy the ticket!!

Are you getting the picture??

I still take things a day at a time, trusting that all unfolds in perfect time. The only ones who know of the possibility of me going are my children. Not even my best friends had a clue and I kept it that way until I was 100% sure that I was going...not easy to contain such a B I G, E X C I T I N G secret!!

Next I need enough money in my credit card to show that I can look after myself...thanks to a very special angel...you know who you are! Voila!!

And so, just a week before I depart, I apply for my visa...the last hurdle...and I am over it!! Y A A A Y Y !!! Portugal here I come.

I let my loved ones all know a week before I leave...of course there were mixed emotions....lots of joy, excitement, tears (those who knew in their hearts that it would be a long time before I returned), but all wished me well.

It really was like dominoes falling....and soooo meant to be. And I guess I knew in my heart that the planned 6 weeks would possibly turn into months...or even years!