It’s a Wrap

Well in reality it was a wrap several weeks ago (insert embarrassed emoji here).  Our last stop was a sweet little place in New Caledonia.  With only 2 cottages we were the sole guests and thus had the pool and the entire pretty property to ourselves, except for the hosts who also live on site.  Picture evenings lying in the pool looking up at a sky covered from end to end with stars.  And breakfasts on the generously furnished terrace of our hosts Barbara (massage therapist extraordinaire) and Michele (retired policeman) which included homemade yogurt and freshly baked treats.  It was a lovely, relaxing way to spend our final days together.

 By the way, I have crowned people in New Caledonia the friendliest people in the world.  I laughingly told Emily in this country I felt like I was bilingual, so kind were the people to my French speaking efforts.  And speaking French, with my intermediate skills, or doing some very creative miming, was needed there with the limited English speakers we encountered. 

So, what was it like, 4 of us traveling around together for 8 weeks, basically joined at the hips the whole time?  Almost literally joined in our last little rental, a small car we called a clown car because it was so small, we felt like oversized people in a miniature vehicle.  In a small-town parade.  How small was the car?  Well, our luggage didn’t fit in the trunk so half of it had to go in the backseat between whoever was unfortunate enough to be sitting there.  But because this country only involved our traveling from one location to another with all our stuff we made do.  Economizing where possible was useful to the overall expenditure. 

We quickly fell into roles.  Jo was mainly the menu planner, she and Brenda selected most of the groceries and cooked the dinners.  I put myself on meal clean up while Lloyd oversaw collecting and taking out garbage on moving day and fitting all our luggage in the trunk, which was a tricky task, especially on occasions where we had a lot of grocery bags that had to go in around our 4 carryon cases and backpacks.  Oh and 4 pairs of hiking boots because no way between stops did we try to maneuver those back into our suitcases. 

We were a good foursome.  For the large part we all wanted to do the same things and when we didn’t, we were comfortable going our separate ways.  And when we hiked if someone didn’t want to go the full distance, we were cool with that individual turning around and going back.  We hiked at our own pace which meant we were often in separate twosomes, enjoying our together but apart time.  We also agreed easily on grocery items from our pooled money; what I didn’t need bought in meat I made up for with wine.    Or sort of.  There were some vegetarian options that would get put in the cart to accommodate my requirements.   And having our own bedrooms was key; I think we all appreciated having a little space away from the others after all the together time.  A place to spread out our own stuff for however many nights we were in that location.  Now to find rental properties with 3 bedrooms meant they were often family oriented but I was fine with sleeping in a bottom bunk, or in one of two single beds in a room.  Space to myself was the biggest priority.

April 1^st was break up day.  Jo and Lloyd flew back to Canada via an overnight in Sydney, Australia; Brenda went directly to Vancouver via Auckland while I had a direct two-and-a-half-hour flight to Brisbane, Australia where I caught up with the relatives for a few days.  As it turned out the others all flew out mid-morning while I had to wait at the small airport for my late afternoon flight.  I was well equipped with downloaded shows from Netflix on my iPad, an e-reader, and my trusted phone but it was strange, being solo for the first time in two months.  Browsing the gift shop/store, having lunch at the café, making my way through security and to my gate all solo felt weird.  But I also slid into that single traveler mode with it feeling familiar and comfortable.  And I admit to liking both traveling with company and alone.  Company, for a social person like me, guarantees companionship and alone feels liberating and independent.  I guess neither one is the right one for me and thank heavens I don’t have to choose between the two.  Sometimes I will plan an adventure with a like-minded traveler(s) and other times I will wander on my own.  Wow.  The prospects are truly endless.

From S.t Albert, Alberta, a bientot!   xo