The Week in Review: Week 13- 2019 - Longitude and Lustitude

This was my final week in review before heading to my next home base. It was slower than the others and I got quite a bit of writing and thinking done so that was great! For without further ado, here is the Weekly Review.

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Monday

Today my friend Masie and I got a slow start but headed out from Dublin to head to the cliffs of cork. We will spend the week at a Meditation retreat there.

https://www.dzogchenbeara.org

Once we got out of the Dublin area it was just so beautiful. I have lived in a city for so long, seeing only local parks with very little actual grass, all the gorgeous green farmland was just stunning to me. I grew up in the farmland hills of upstate NY at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, so in a lot of ways, these views felt comfortable. Like home!

We took a side trip to see St. Patricks Rock of Cashel. It’s an amazing castle, cathedral, chapel with so much history. It has one of the only medieval chapels in all of Ireland and the oldest spiral staircase in the country too. It was really interesting to hear the history of the buildings and the area. The green farmlands and other ancient ruins below made for some truly incredible sights and photos.

We arrived at the retreat center and settled into the hostel. I have only ever stayed in a hostel once before, in Africa. This was a nice experience and the people who volunteer there are very nice. My friend Masie will be volunteering there for two months before she starts her new job.

Tuesday

The next few days I spent at the retreat center. I didn’t do the meditations or any classes, but I settled my butt on a chair in the cafe, overlooking the ocean and cliffs and got some writing done. There was very little internet which was a blessing because I got way more work done that way.

In the afternoon when her volunteer duties were done, Masie and I went for a long drive with more amazing views and then for a walk along the hills an cliffs in between Cork and Kerry. We went up to the village of Allihies and just did a bit of looking around.

We went back to the town of Castletownbere to have a few beers (had Murphy’s stout) in “Ireland’s Best Pub 2016!” and check our internet. The pub is a very old fashioned one, they have a little store in the front where you could buy dish soap and kitchen towels, etc. if you want! It was just a Tuesday late afternoon so it was empty except for us and our laptops. I posted this story while I was there.

Self Discovery

Wednesday

Today I did more writing. Again sitting in the cafe overlooking the cliffs. After her duties today, Masie and I went for a nice long walk along the cliffs right by the retreat. It felt good to walk in the sunshine, the wind whipping on our faces. It felt good to walk too. My knees were surprisingly tough, even though when I saw the long path out, I opted to go back the way we came, more sure of the distance. Again another good writing day! I need to get some of these stories posted on the blog soon!

Thursday

Masie had the day off today from her duties so I did some writing while she did the morning meditation and we headed off on another adventure. This time we drove off to Kenmare. She really loves this little town and wanted to show me around. It’s a lovely place and it was such a gorgeous sunny day, again, that we sat outside a little pub for our lunch. Local Crab and salad for me, with a wine of course.

After walking around and driving around the still absolutely gorgeous countryside, we went back to the hostel in the evening to hang out. I may have had too much Baileys and wine and had a very deep conversation with one of the volunteers about polyamory and sexual liberation.

Friday

My last day in the cafe writing. It felt so good to be so prolific. I know my schedule and timeline is going to change significantly next week and I’m going to have to figure out my new writing routine, so having some things lined up to keep it going for a while feels good.

The ride home was an uneventful 5.5 hours, talking, cow/sheep watching, and more beautiful green lands. When we got home, we did all the little chores you do after being away a week, laundry, showers, repack for my next trip.

I also did my final travel preparations, checked into my flight (or so I thought) and checked with United airlines to make sure my bags were checked all the way through. (They said yes but they weren’t.) I felt ready to face the next adventure. I also published another blog post, this one about attending Eroticon.

They’re Like Me, They’re Really Like Me

Saturday

Masie had some errands to run so I stayed home and completely redid the way my suitcases were ordered. I also worked a bit on the blogs since I had some nice steady internet. We headed out and she dropped me at the Air Coach in the later afternoon and I headed to the airport.

When I got there, I learned for sure that A: my bags were NOT going to be checked all the way through, and B: I was NOT in fact checked in all the way through either. This meant that when I got to London Heathrow, I would have to leave the arrivals hall with my luggage, go BACK to ticketing and recheck in for the final legs of the trip. This was a HUGE pain in the arse. In the end, it was fine, no passport control coming in from Ireland meant the process was not too complicated. (Thank god it was not the day after Brexit after all!) I got checked in and even had the chance to grab a drink in the lounge before boarding.

The flight from London to Medellin is over 12 hours. It was a bumpy ride a lot of the night, but since I was sort of sleeping through most of it, it wasn’t awful. I did watch a Star is Born, and people I have feels about this. They are not good ones. Not at all. I couldn’t watch the end and was ugly crying in my airplane seat. It gave me such terrible sad, remembered feelings about my own relationship with my alcoholic husband. No people! Just say no to romanticizing tormented people and co-dependent relationships. Just No!

Sunday

I am here! I am in Medellin! My second favorite place in the world. My second heart home. The only city besides Berlin that is memorialized specifically in my large travel tattoo. The city of eternal spring. I loved coming down the mountain and into the city, catching glimpses of the beautiful ring of mountains surrounding the bowl-like city, the thousands of red brick skyscrapers, the smog filling the sky. I was finally starting to feel free from the sadness that has been right at the edge of my emotions for week and months. It was starting to feel like maybe I CAN make a new start, enjoy my adventures, and open my heart again here.

Our flat is great. My flatmate was already here and the place is full of light. Our balcony/patio is huge and has a great view of the mountains. The first thing we did was make Colombian coffee and sit out on the balcony to catch up! I was too tired to go out and do much, I even grabbed a quick nap. In the evening another one of my friends, Karo, came over for dinner and another awesome catch-up! She is such a doll! I met her three years ago when I first came to the city and we have stayed in touch and been friends ever since.

We caught up on our love relationships and I explained Polyamory to her. I am lucky that her business brings her into contact with a lot of expats and the international community. Her outlook is a lot less traditional than many Colombians. She even told me, had I told her about my lifestyle a few years ago, she would have just summarily dropped me as a friend because it would have seemed too wrong in her eyes. Now she says she is so glad she understands that people can have relationships and also friends. Even having a girls night out when you have a boyfriend at home, was a revelation to her. (You see what I am up against here?)

I also turned on Tinder and OKCupid today. Not sure what I want to do about dating here exactly, (you saw in the last paragraph how very traditional people feel about relationships, even casual ones can be fraught with landmines of religion and traditional views) but after being purposefully celibate the past six weeks, I am sure ready for some flirty fun!

Here’s a sexy story I wrote about Medellin before!

And Finally, Salsa

Summary:

6 days in Ireland
1 day in Medellin
10 flirty Tinder Texts
2 old friends
1 favorite city
1 thunderstorm
14.6 miles of walking (hopefully this will be a higher number once I settle in)

Overall, it was such a relaxing and very productive writing week that it felt great. I am happy to be here in Medellin and look forward to being settled and having some fun Colombian dating stories to share with you all. Maybe some sexy ones too! 🙂