My love affair with Spain

My first experience of mainland Spain, as an eighteen year old, wasn’t good!

So bad in fact was that first visit I didn’t return for another 24 years. 

I visited the Canaries and Mallorca but not the mainland. 

The original ill fated visit was with a work colleague who would later play a role in my decision to make 2017 the year I realised my dream. 

My return to the mainland, to Mijas Pueblo, came in the form of a girls break in 2004 and it coincided, unfortunately, with the unexpected passing of my mum.

Mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer in February of that year but was doing well as the prearranged break approached in April. On the second day of our trip she took a turn for the worse and I was unable to get a return flight until the next day. I slept badly during the night having managed to talk to her by phone in the hospital assuring her I was on my way home. I woke suddenly at 4.45 am and went out on to the balcony and as I looked down towards the sea I sensed she was gone – I felt very calm and strangely comforted by the view.

I would later learn that mum left this World, peacefully, at 3.45am UK time – 4.45am in Spain!

The amazing outcome of that experience in Mijas was that, rather than having an enduring bad association with Spain, I fell in love with the country right there on that balcony and each time I return I get the same sense of calm and comfort – Spain had claimed my soul!

I went on to spent many happy times there  and The Dream grew legs and started to gain pace each time I returned. 

Mijas 2014

The Back Story

Saturday, 16 February 2013

Adventure or just plain insanity?

After a career spanning 34 years I have opted to take voluntary redundancy – foolish, maybe.  Risky, undoubtedly.  Daring, exciting and liberating ……. hell yes!

Strangely enough I have had few, if any, moments of doubt.  Instead I have been overcome with a sense of relief and feeling of hope.  Also the realisation that I have spent the last 18 months wasting precious time working in an industry I no longer believe in – smothered in self doubt, negativity and a lack of passion for a role I once loved.

As an avid traveller for many years I have always held a certain curiosity for our cousins over ‘The Pond’ and have a desire to see more of the States.  This, coupled with some romantic notion of travelling on a sleeper train,  bought me to the Amtrak website!

So I am planning a coast to coast round trip, by rail, of the USA.

Taking in 10 cities,  13 rail segments and the States of Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, California, Arizona, Kansas, Virginia and the District of Columbia (DC), I will be leaving England on April 2nd – returning 3 weeks later.

 This was the opening post for my first blog ‘Off the Rails – Coast to Coast with Amtrak

 and it marked a point in my life where I dared to hope there was more to life and that I could somehow grasp it!

I have had so many rich experiences since that initial post – some of which I will recount over the coming posts on this blog – but to start I feel it would be good to give a little background, for those who don’t know me personally, about how I got to this point.

I don’t recall exactly when I started having ‘Living the Dream’ thoughts – it has definitely been my preoccupation for at least 20 years.  My first travel experience – moving with my parents to live in Switzerland – happened when I was just 12 months old.  However, I think my adventurous spirit is in my DNA and travel has become my passion over the years.

My Maternal Great Grandparents left the Welsh valleys following the General Strike of May 1926, which saw Miners starved back into work by November of that year.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t a job for my GGF or his brother in law so the two families moved to a new colliery in Coventry leaving behind their close-knit community and extend family network.  Uncommon back then, it was a huge wrench for all and the distance seemed vast.

They did, however, all thrive and my Grandmother passed that pioneering spirit onto my Mum and so to me.

I have been very lucky and have managed to travel to many places – my love affair with Spain, however, came about in a strange kind of way …………….

Leaving home aged 56

My journey south begins – 1st September 2017 – can I really be embarking on a dream I’ve held for over 20 years? Of course not, this journey is reality, real life, adventure – no more dreaming for me!

My time to ACT is now – no more THINK for me – time to LIVE!

Car packed maps ready – the continuing saga of 2 little dogs and a women hooked on adventure!

#journey #eurotunnel #france #byebyeuk