Have arrived ridiculously early for my long, 20 hour journey back to England, home and heart. After a rather frantic series of attempts to add funds to my 'pay-as-you-go' mobile broadband, I am back online - touch and go for a moment there. Apparently the check-in folks for Emirates begin 'editing' seat allocations around 2.00am, so I have 90 minutes to keep all possible digits and limbs crossed that I will get my desired EE row seat all the way home. Yes I know I bang on about this, but as I have a 36" inside leg measurement, whenever the person in front of me reclines their seat, my knees get crushed. No fun on a flight that takes 12 hours! Suffice to say I've got my natty black stockings on again but fear I will have to keep my shoes on the entire journey home, for fear of posioning the air.
And so 'The Big Trip' comes to a close. Five weeks of travelling, talking, listening, laughing, packing and unpacking. I've reconnected with old friends, hopefully met some new ones, listened to hilariously funny anecdotes and painfully sad stories of loss. I've visited three countries and by the time I get home will have flown on 14 planes. I've rented 5 cars and travelled by train, plane, bus and car. I've stayed in people's homes, hotels, B&Bs and motels. I've visited 10 cities and seen quite a few small towns and even smaller villages. I've lost count of the number of marathoniers I've met, emailed or spoken with by phone. I have blogged almost everyday. And I have gathered a vast amount of research material on the Marathon. This latter, and the meetings and conversations far exceeded any of my expectations and I'm so grateful to all those who took the time to see me, all showing such patience, generousity and wonderful hospitality. I even got to see two of the original Marathon cars and best of all, drove one of them, fast down a country road!
And I've learnt a thing or two about myself - I am extremely capable, mostly confident in myself, hold fast to the importance of politeness and good manners, expect certain standards when paying for goods and services and have developed the ability to spend long periods of time on my own (I can remember a time not long ago when this was not the case). I have also allowed myself to entertain the possibility that I can write. Of course, others will judge this in the end, but a little self-belief never did anyone any harm.
And I'm ready to go home, back to Minch', to Rob, to puppies, to regular daily life. Funny how a switch suddenly clicks, and really all I want is to be homeward bound. Staring out across Perth and the Swan River this afternoon, the sun shining, crazy birds laughing and whooping above my head, all I could think of was coming home. I have had enough of this travelling malarky, and cannot wait to see Rob and get home again.
A few pennies will now need to be earnt to pay for some of this trip - the Aussie Dollar/Sterling exchange rate is not for the faint-hearted!
I've had a ball writing these blogs. They've been a way for me to reflect on things, on people, on situations and events. They've also kept me connected with folks important to me, and will serve as a record of my own 'marathon' in search of the Marathon.
And regarding this? Now the work really starts!
Thanks for reading.
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