Return to Paradise…and “Home”…

After our whirlwind tour of South Africa, we are back on Parrot Cay, and the place that I guess will be my home for the foreseeable future…

We arrived with far more luggage than we had set out with…!! Patricia could not wait to get a “decent” cup of coffee, after the long flight…!!

We arrived in New York early on Sunday morning and were collected from the airport by Patricia’s brother, Ken… Who I now call MY brother-in-law…!!

I am still agog at the huge family that I now have the pleasure of being part of…!!

Considering all the luggage we were hauling about, the sight of Ken waving to us from the parking area was a huge relief…!!

I had hardly slept a wink during the long 15 hour, non-stop flight from Joburg, and spent the remainder of the day in a bit of a daze…

While Ken spent the afternoon preparing dinner, Patricia and I related details of our SA “honeymoon”…

It felt strange to be sitting in New Jersey again, barely 10 days after having left there, and this time talking about a visit to a continent that we had been on just a day ago…!!

Later that evening we sat down to yet another lively Spahn dinner, joined by Jack, Ellen and Max… During dinner I sat musing about this large, happy family that I had married into, and was very grateful to be part of it all…

With a tight feeling in my throat and a little tickle behind the eyes, I thought of my own family whom I had spent so little time with, having been away from them for so long…

I wished then, as I do now, that things could have been different, and that we could have spent at least a month in South Africa… I know Patricia feels the same way, as she was as emotional as I was whenever we said our goodbyes to my family and friends back home…

Barely 24 hours later, we were on our way to yet another airport, Newark this time, and at midday, took off for Miami, where we spent a few hours waiting for our connecting flight to the Turks and Caicos…

While we waited, I kept looking across at my new bride and smiling quietly to myself… I still found it hard to believe that my long ride around the world had ended in marriage to this beautiful woman who now sat beside me…

I am not quite sure when this feeling of wonder will wear off, but I hope that it is no time soon…!!

Anabel and the ladies from the Spa had this surprise waiting for us when we slid the door to our apartment open… Thank you ladies…!!

We took off from Miami on time and landed in Provo at 8.30 pm… The ride to Leeward Dock seemed to take forever, and the boat ride from there to South Dock on Parrot Cay, under the light of a full moon, seemed to take even longer than that…

The effects of the traveling such a long distance over the past two days had taken their toll on us I think, and all we wanted to do was flop onto a comfortable bed and have a good night’s sleep…

We were met at the dock by Patricia’s assistant Eka, and Mai, and for a brief moment, I thought that the buggy would not be able to take all the luggage we had with us, but somehow we got it all on and were whisked back to our apartment in the staff village…

While Eka updated Patricia on what had taken place while she was away, I sat staring out into the gloom, feeling waves of tiredness wash over me…

I calculated that since waking up at 6.00 am on Saturday morning, I had probably had about six hours sleep in all, and it was now almost 10 pm on Monday evening…!! I could hardly focus on the narrow concrete track that led to the northern tip of the island…!!

A large bunch of flowers picked from the hotel gardens was waiting for us when we arrived home, and with it a photo of us on our wedding day, with best wishes for our future together, written below it…

The message ended with : “Lots of Love – You family at Como Shambhala Spa…”

Both Patricia and I were touched at this very special gesture from her staff and friends on the island and to my mind confirms the close relationship she enjoys with them… Barely half an hour after entering the apartment, and after a quick shower, we were both sound asleep, and for the first time in ages, I slept right through until the strident call from Patricia’s alarm jarred me awake…

Another day in paradise beckoned… But this one had a very different feel to all the others I had woken up to here on Parrot Cay…

For the first time in a very long time, I woke up in a place that I would from now on refer to as “home”, AND, as if that wasn’t change enough for the Gypsy Biker; in this place I would call home, I also woke up and looked into the sleepy green eyes of my beautiful wife, Patricia…

The smile on my face must have spoken volumes, because the smile I received in return, all but lit up the room…

I have resigned myself to the fact that getting my head around all of this, all at once, is not going to be easy…!! But then, as you all know, I am not one to back down from a challenge…!!

©GBWT 2012