After 20 days away from my desk, away from my kitchen, away from my bed, I have returned to my place in the universe. It is good to be home; to have all my stuff at hand - except for the few kitchen things that the house sitters moved. It is really good to be sleeping in my own bed again. No matter where my love and I have travelled, both near and far, both the ordinary and exotic, the challenging and the intriguing, I am always happy to arrive back home.
The latest adventure took us to Ecuador in South America, both the mainland (Quito) and the Islands of the Galapagos. Though one of the shortest treks in recent years, the pace was high with new sights and sounds not just every day, but around every corner. Over 4000 digital pictures survived the first click of the delete key to document our journey. I'd like to suggest a new app for digital cameras, one that warns me that I have already taken 352 pictures of blue footed boobies, or giant tortoises or whatever, and that I need not take any more. While the software wizards puzzle that one out, I will spend the next weeks cataloguing, editing and re-living a most remarkable experience. Slowly but surely...
I love to travel. I love to come home, laundry and all. I'm grateful to live in a place where I'm not drenched in sunscreen infused sweat all day (it was 35°C with 60% humidity every day); where the Internet speed is faster than dial-up (remember those days?); where there is more grass than black lava field; and, where there is an ebb and flow in the hours of daylight (in the equatorial zone the sun rises just after 6am and sets just after 6pm every day of the year).
And Schwartz? The ever-enthusiastic, compliant travel mascot is happy to be home too. He can rest and dry out.
©2015 April Hoeller
