The Little Island Lighthouse

Nestled in the Arctic Circle - Elena and Frode have created a magical place to just be.

This blog is more of a short story, the reason - I do not know how to encapsulate my feelings in a succinct way that would do justice to this little slice of heaven. If you have been kind enough to start reading this , I know life is busy, can you give yourself some time, make yourself a lovely cup of your favourite hot stuff, maybe even grab a small snacky snack, a blanket?  In true Norwegian Hygge style curl up in your favourite spot and settle in. Even the word Hygge makes me smile , meaning cosiness, contentment, conviviality, creating a cosy environment or enjoying the simple pleasures of life - time to let out a big deep heartfelt sigh. Let me tell you about this magical place called Litloy FYR, a little island lighthouse in the arctic circle overlooking the Lofoten mountains, nestled into the rugged coastline in the middle of the Norwegian sea, with a minor marital spat causing a small digression in the beginning of an otherwise idyllic trip.

I nearly did not make it here , I am so glad that I did. A few months ago I had been at home with my husband sat in the kitchen, surrounded by our six hounds in our usual evening spot. We started to watch a television programme, maybe you have seen it, Ben fogles New lives in the wild. Ben finds himself often in remote highlands , islands and locations around the world with people who have chosen unique paths in life, many who live sustainably off grid, in some pretty challenging environments. The programme tends to follow a format – Ben introduces a location – goes to meet the hardy souls residing there, filming troublesome moments whilst often discussing life’s challenges or events that has caused a catalyst for a complete lifestyle change. It is always positive, with many people overcoming some huge traumatic life events. These fascinating people are inspiring as they refuse to get stuck in life, they make bold choices, choosing to live their lives in ways that may be inconceivable to many.

Without doubt they face their fears and encounter scary but exciting sliding door moments, facing head on those decisions in life, stay where you are ,comfortable with the discomfort or go for a total unknown, letting go of control, complete acts of surrender to it will be what it will be. Some of them trusting the process.

This episode starts with Elena picking up Ben and crew on her bright red rib, she gracefully and skilfully cuts through the sea, the camera shot pans to a beautiful old white wooden house and a tiny red lighthouse hugged into the imposing rock face on the horizon.

Elena's story is inspirational, taking on the island house alone in 2006 as she craved manual labour, in need of complete redirection after loosing her brother and working as a peace keeper in Jerusalem where sadly she had seen many atrocities of war. The house she had purchased was battered by the weather, in a pretty poor condition when she arrived , commencing work Elena had a vision and dream to turn it into beautiful accommodation, with international volunteers with many differing skills helping her out at times over the years.

Elena tells Ben, four years ago the roof of the house was leaking badly and she called to get some help. Frode a skilled builder arrived super quickly to help her fix the problem. He never left, subsequently forming a romance, partnership and formidable team .  Their story is truly beautiful, never without their challenges living on the island, their resilience for life is astonishing.  Elena is a phenomenal women with a twinkle in her eye, I watched the programme three times and shared it with many visiting friends, something filled my heart listening to Elena’s story. I have always loved lighthouses and when it was mentioned that you can stay there it seemed like a dream destination for me.

The following day I got home from work and my husband said he checked out the lighthouse, emailed Elena and she had room for this summer. Flights booked , dog sitter booked and before you know it the time arrives to travel.

It is not the easiest of journeys to reach the lighthouse, I have a passion for travel I cannot tame nor do I wish to, it is my perk of not being able to have my own family, I have freedom to roam, I do as often as I can, especially if I can travel to far flung remote havens off of the beaten track.

We flew from London to Oslo then onto Tromso which is the most Northerly city in the world. The plan was to spend a day in Tromso and the following evening at 1am we would take an eleven hour ferry journey to the town of Bo spending a night in a small guest house before getting taken by boat to the lighthouse.

There was a spanner in the works – The spanner was an event known as The lions gate portal – as away with the fairies or woo woo as this sounds, let me explain a little. what the hairy heck is the lions gate portal.

 ‘The Lions Gate Portal represents a cosmic energy convergence that catalyses profound shifts in your consciousness and spiritual growth. It is a potent gateway for higher vibrational frequencies to enter the Earth. It also enables you to access heightened awareness, clarity, and spiritual alignment.’

I am fascinated by energy in all forms especially planetary and our own. In my life I have shifted spiritually, personally and energetically in many ways, how I am now is a far cry from my days as a Detective in the Metropolitan Police, if you had told me my fortune back then that I would have been doing what I do now I would have laughed out loud. I am super grateful for my path it works for me.

If you have been to any yoga classes chances are you will have experienced a teacher talking about sun or moon energy, planets colliding or in retrograde. Suffice to say sometimes we can feel really out of whack and we are quick to blame the moon. Some may say this is crazy talk but it is no coincidence during 17 years of policing in London - full moon nights, the energy was always you could say interesting, the busiest shifts with some of the most bizarre calls and incidents you could ever begin to imagine. If you know an emergency worker ask them?

What has this got to do with this trip well I blame the lions portal for the fact my husband and I were not seeing eye to eye at all on anything for the first two days of our trip, we were annoying the hell out of each other. Being completely honest here, anyone who has been in any long term relationship will know that there are challenging times – well we had a huge argument. Neil left on the 11 hour ferry and I chose to not get on the ferry. Taking a flight the following morning to Bergen. Trouble in paradise I hear you say or as my best friend pointed out - you never posted that bit on Instagram. The mind - or more accurately my mind needs a lot of work and just because I teach yoga does not mean I get it right all the time, far from it actually,

A temporary reprieve from locking horns I started dreaming of a Yogi life teaching in Bali, never to return, ever, slightly extreme I know.

In reality I spent a miserable evening torturing myself and eventually figuring out that first and foremost I love my dogs and ok I admit it, also my husband. Too much to leave for a new life. I mean how would we divide my beautiful pack of floofs anyway they have already been through so much ? I am not being flippant I was really getting myself into full blown spiral.

The mind can be so irrational at times and yoga teaches us to calm these fluctuations – good job really as I was down 40 rabbit holes ! I would love to be able to tell you that our row was over some heart wrenching problem it wasn’t it was just stupid niggles, tiredness, both of us being very stubborn Aquarius signs.

I put myself through a rollercoaster of emotions, giving myself a super hard time – surely this lions gate portal was to blame.

Fuming at the fact he had not messaged me – yes for all you single people out there it can still happen in a marriage too, well mine anyway – then the thoughts' of what if something had happened to him , swallowed by a giant whale in a Norwegian fjord, perhaps he has lot his phone and he is desperately sad at not being able to call me - not the case- more spirals. I was far from present or in the moment, as I replayed the rather ridiculous fight trying to desperately apportion blame solely to himself . This is just to let you know yoga teachers are far from perfect and if you have ever placed one on a  pedestal . please remove us and definitely remove me to where I belong , with every other flawed, impulsive, stubborn angry human being on this planet who is trying there best to survive this ride. To my one student who said to me after class "Thankyou Clare that Class was so lovely can you come with me to keep me calm for the rest of the day" – I say thankyou for those kind words that day but on reading this you are doing great by yourself as CLEARLY I  get pulled far away from my peaceful centre just as much as the next person.

APPLE TAGS IN MY BAGS

The reason I had not been contacted – I was being tracked – Damn it! I unpacked my bag and my apple tag fell out, this new fangled device that you pop in your luggage and can be tracked from an app on your phone. The reason for no contact well that and the fact he is stubborn too. He knew I was safe in Bergen, as wasteful as it sounds I launched the apple tag into the bin , still angry and upset with myself mainly at this point for pretty much ruining a holiday I had been looking forward to.

All emotions are part of us in life, we all have a shadow side and certain emotions we try to control , deny or shove down still appear with force at times. I acknowledge my shenanigans had not been my finest hours. The way I had spoken to Neil I would have got on that ferry too - only I didn't did I !

After a few hours of feeling low, sobbing mainly over the realisation that we are taught in yoga philosophy to be detached – well I am very attached to my dogs , I may have mentioned it a few times before. My main mental dilemma my dogs ! I decided to myself Clare Bali is a little far flung but maybe Florence for a week is not that far, 4 hours from Bergen actually. The fluctuation's of the mind, how many times have you been told or heard you are not your thoughts .This my friend's is why I need yoga because without it honestly I can drive myself totally nuts at times. A constant work in progress are we not?

Well time to cut this part of the story short, Neil and I started communicating like the adults that we are, when we are not both operating from our inner child. During our marriage we have come to realise that little Neil and little Clare would have not been very harmonious at all if they had been put together in the school playground. When we argue it is never ever mature – more work to do there always. It is coming for me but that is another story entirely - tune in for the next episode soon folks..... We resolved our imminent reasons to depart from each other and decided we would resume the holiday together after all.

Flights booked.

6am from Bergen

To

Oslo

To

Odda

To

Stokmarknes

Time to turn it around, like Bridget Jones chasing after Mark Darcey directly as the result of a daft misunderstanding. I thought I had left disastrous relationship episodes behind me but no here I am 47 years old, married still acting like to quote Bridge 'well a 'bit of an arse really'

All was going swimmingly well, flights on time, easy connections, thoughts of I am sorry planet. I arrived thanks to the efficiency of Norwegian transport systems. I was going to make it on time, reunited with my husband who will hate me sharing this , he is a good kind man with a big heart who puts up with all my good, bad and ugly over the years (That part cuts both ways just for your information).

Flying over tiny islands with golden sandy bays and crystal blue seas, it is hard to imagine it would look like a scene from a shaken snow globe in the winter months, some of the most stunning scenery I have had the joy of witnessing.

Feeling a bit worn out after experiencing a day or so of mental turmoil, I ended up in STOKMARKNESS, which turned out to be one of the tiniest airports I had ever visited. I was still an hour and a half away from my final destination. I waited with about 15 other people who clearly hadn’t been planning there new life in Bali for our bags. I had secured a cab which in itself was a small miracle and no mean feat in this remote part of the world . I rung my husband to tell him "Bridget I mean Clare is on her way" I would be there in plenty of time to catch the boat to the little lighthouse, we were both happy we would not inconvenience our hosts.

Slowly one by one, fourteen people left the terminal with their bags until it was just me, the two staff that run the entire airport started to lock up the arrivals gate and leave. The slow and fretful realisation dawned on me – my bag had not arrived. A life lesson directly from the universe and those pesky planets causing chaotic energy again. I ticked the list off in my mind, wasteful behaviour,  misguided anger and rage, a flash back to me happily tossing my apple tag into the bin, I do not know how much clearer ‘signier’ signs we have to get sometimes.  I bowed my head temporarily defeated, 24 hours, a new life in Bali, a ditched apple tag, the angriest I had felt in ages with no bag and no clothes in the artic circle. Life lesson learned Universe I hear you loud and clear.

Despite the initial setback of not having anything to wear, I decided not to give up. I approached one of the two staff members and filed a lost luggage report. Shortly after, my cab arrived, and the kind driver even made a detour to allow me to purchase some basic necessities such as underwear and a toothbrush. While the pants may have been oversized, in the cold temperatures of the Arctic Circle, I was grateful for the extra coverage they provided. With these essentials in hand, I felt prepared to manage until my bag was located. Later, I received a call informing me that my bag would be delivered that evening, but as it was a trek to where I was going, they offered to store it safely until the following Monday.

TIME TO GO TO THE LIGHTHOUSE FINALLY.

I arrived in Bo and met Neil at the most beautiful waterside guesthouse run by a lady called Lone, historically families who worked on the lighthouse would have stayed here and the accommodation was filled with beautiful relics from days long gone by. Neil and I were happy to see each other, had a big hug , my new life in Bali was firmly abandoned – for now anyway – never say never. (Maybe in the next lifetime) Always interests me how in life we could be one decision away from a very different chapter! Which route we take is always our choice and nothing holds us back in our lives other than ourselves. A short while later Elenas partner Frode arrived in his van. He was smiley and welcoming with round glasses and sparkly eyes, he looked hardy and strong like he had weathered many storms. In the back of his van he has a huge basket of fresh strawberries and the smell wafted my way as we flew along the quayside to where his boat was moored.

Frode had laughed as he gave me a giant dry suit, he said this will be too big but you will need it, he handed me a strawberry with a big smile, 'fresh from the local farm'. He said 'they wrap them in wool in the ground make them extra sweet’  He wasn’t wrong, dry suit on and the sweetest strawberry taste in my mouth I was already feeling considerably more cheerful than I had been. This too had passed, it always does and it always will.

The sun was high in the sky at this time of year, the sun goes down at about midnight and pops back up at about 3am, the winters on the other hand can be very dark and drawn out it is why the Norwegians are so amazing at the hygge lifestyle, they create super cosy and welcoming homes. The land of the midnight sun so beautiful, quiet and peaceful. We climbed on to the big red rib, the seats where all central in the boat I straddled the seat, holding on to the metal frame in front off me feeling like I had just been strapped into a theme park ride, this wasn’t going to be a sedate journey I felt. Frode like an extra from a bond movie zipped us out into the sea, the boat cutting through the water with ease, passing ramshackle fishing huts on the shores as we left the shelter of the harbour. He was fast , every now and then he would stop the boat to have a chat to tell us interesting facts about the island.

He pulled into a little beach area and told us how there was inhabitants living on the island right up until the 1950’s that was when the last family left, due to the lure of mains electric  and running water arriving on the main land, resourceful though as materials were sparse the took there houses down and used what they had to rebuild on their new plots. Very little was left of the old villages despite the fact at one time two hundred people would have resided there and now just two. It was a very busy fishing area and about eight hundred fisherman would come to work from the island with no accommodation they would turn their boats over at night and sleep underneath, they used to dip their wool gloves in the sea as this would heat them up.

As Frode powered us towards home for three days the view of the Lofoten mountains were incredible, we leaned to one side as Frode took a huge sweeping curve through the water skilly fully and safely navigating the boat through huge lumps of rock jutting above the surface and then all of a sudden there she was in all her glory – The little red lighthouse.

As we approached the island quayside Frode steered the boat onto a wonderful contraption that lifts the rib out of the water for safe storage, I could see Elena waving to us. We were elevated out of the water. 'Aha Mr Bond we have been expecting you, welcome to the Bond Lair' was not how Elena greeted us but I would have totally been ok with that if she had. The boat lift had been installed out of necessity as over the years the storms had claimed two of Elena's boats to the depths of the sea. We stepped off the boat after our exhilarating ride , we chatted non stop with Elena occasionally stopping to catch our breath whilst ascending the three hundred steps. Elena immediately felt to me like a beautifully welcoming Auntie, that favourite relative that you love dearly, the one that always moves miles away and is the most contented family member you know the one who you visit and it is a total joy. Smiling with her long silver hair shimmering in the sun , she was shiny, happy and joyful, little creases formed underneath her round glasses by her eyes as she beamed at us, her environment suited her, 'I bet you are hungry' she said. 'I have made you some vegetable soup with vegetables grown from the patches next to these steps you climbed, I dug the patches myself when I arrived here years ago now, I made some fresh homemade bread too, I thought you might like to sit outside and enjoy the view, but first let me show you the lighthouse.' Just with those few sentences my whole soul felt nourished.

 We walked up a few more steps to the lighthouse perched high on the rock of Litloy island, words failed me it was a dream come true to stay in an actual lighthouse.

During my years in the police always on particularly challenging days I used to joke that I would leave and live in a lighthouse away from everyone one day , dealing with members of the public in my old job who were not the most positive cross section of society , meeting people in traumatic situations daily had me craving peace and solitude even back then. It is funny in life how things change, what we hope for and desire, I remember getting excited when I could afford my own first little flat, my own car, a promotion at work, all those things we strive and push ourselves through super tough times for and yet now the slower I allow myself to get the more my heart feels true contentment and alignment to the peace of somewhere I can just be.

Elena pushed open the vibrant orange door and entered into the little red lighthouse. You could see how much of her love she had poured into the painstaking restoration of this cylindrical dream world every tiny detail considered. We off loaded our luggage for the first time I was actually grateful my big bag had not arrived after the climb up those steps. Every single window out of the lighthouse led you to want to stand and stare for hours, Elena told us when she arrived for a long time she could not take her eyes from the view. I got it!

A huge compass was sunken into wooden floor, a table with freshly picked flowers framed the largest window on this floor, with a book called No Signal - living in the heart of nature by Brice Portolano had Elena photographed on the front cover, stood on the balcony outside the light house in her matching red mack and yellow wellington boots overlooking the sea, this felt magical . Pictures hung on the walls of the original light that had been housed there once and details of the French creators of the lamp, a paper log of the shifts the lighthouse keepers took and how the maintained the lamp and kept it shining through the dark winters, three lighthouse keepers would take a eight hour shift each. Every hour the would have to crank a handle to make the light revolve in the tower. Every hour someone had to winch the handle to ensure the safety of others especially over the six weeks where there is no day light at all.

We climbed a wooded rung up to the first floor, this had been turned into a cosy bedroom , a deluxe shower room off to the left, fluffy rugs either side a cosy gingham spread bed, above the bed a glass ceiling, ironic really as Elena in my mind has smashed through that in what she had achieved here. As you laid on the bed you could see clouds floating by in the huge sky, I think it is the most beautiful location I have ever stayed in and I have been pretty fortunate to travel to some incredible places in my years so far. A small door led you out to a platform so you could walk the circumference of the tower, another set of wrought iron red stairs lead you up to another platform taking you to where the light was once housed. We climbed back down to the bedroom one last floor to explore, the most amazing industrial metal stairs led you to the top of the tower the old lamp room, Elena had replaced the floor in the centre of this space with toughened glass, held by metal supporting struts at first you felt wary to even step on to the glass, during my stay it became the most beautiful makeshift yoga practice space.  The windows in the lighthouse had been replaced and the old floor on the top section removed, the toughened glass was flown in to the tower by helicopter. Elena stated she found it tough to watch, not much seemed to phase Elena in my opinion I had only been there an hour or so and I felt so much admiration for her and the work she had carried out.

The actual light is maintained by the coastal commission and now stands outside the tower on a large metal pole, it is electronically operated a far cry from the hourly turning of the handle to make the light revolve in the days gone by.

Elena invited us down to lunch, we sat on a wooden deck, a little stone love heart sculpture with metal work curled around the base sat on the decking, there was so much sturdiness and industrial textures on the island, the feeling of metaphorical and physical strength was everywhere. Yet today it was such soft energy, gentle and so peaceful it is hard to imagine the storms they must have endured there, the weather was so very calm and the sea was gently rising and falling. The powerful sun beamed down and made patches of sparkles on the sea, the clouds sat low over the Loftoten mountains casting moving shadows over the peaks. Every direction you looked the view was breath-taking you felt like you were at the ends of the earth completely alone. Alone apart from Elena , Frode, Neil and three volunteers who had come to assist on the island via an overseas programme , truly there are some incredible Volunteering opportunities in this world, if you have a little scout about.

Served with the most delicious vegetable soup and home made bread for lunch by Annie who was volunteering from Milan, after taking care of us she told us how much she had loved her volunteering experience. She sat for the afternoon silently reading a book and writing in a notepad.

Refuelled by a Nourishing lunch we took off to explore the island a little, we headed to the beach that Frode has shown us from the boat on the ride in, it was not long before we were joined by the lighthouse cats Lawrence and Lucy , they both took great pride in leading us through the tall swaying grasses along the footpath to the tiny white sand beach. We stayed there for a little while in the good company of the cats, we returned strolling up the mountainside , breathing in the fresh arctic air heading back to the light house for an afternoon nap.

Dinner was served at 7 pm in a beautifully decorated dining room over looking the Lofoten mountains. White wooden chairs set around a rustic wooden table, adorned with a large vase of freshly picked flowers, a crisp white runner with sea shells lovingly placed around the edges, candles softly burned with no flicker as the air was so still as the room with great craftmanship had been sealed from the prevailing storms.  The food grown on the island tasted so fresh , it tasted like it had been prepared with love, I felt relaxed, at home and I had only been there a few hours. The energy of the room was ethereal, the grey windows framed the picture perfect view,. On the window sill sat a tiny golden ancient looking small kaleidoscope, with patterns and vibrant colours swirling and curling as you turned the viewfinder, I imagine the colours would be light relief on a particularly stormy grey day.

My whole nervous system felt at ease, this was an incredible home Elena had created the rugged beauty was astounding . Neil and I laughed about how close we both came to not experiencing the joy and beauty of this place together because of our own storm.

The second day we were joined by other guests, a French family, a Norwegian lady and her American partner. Elena the lighthouse keeper, gave us a tour of her beautiful home & island- her story is one of resilience, challenge, grit, determination, she has worked passionately turning big dreams into a magical reality wishing to be surrounded by 'raw nature' Elena's words. Everything takes it's time on the island, all work manually carried out and many heavy items where carried up the 300 steps in her years progressing her lovely home. Elena had found the manual labour she had craved, Elena would like to build a mini cable car, making it easy to get items from the quayside up to the house. I do not doubt for one moment she will achieve this as what she has already over come and created is mind blowing. They are working on a restaurant area and there is a law in Norway that ceiling in restaurants have to be at a certain height so they are manually breaking up bedrock to lower the floor - each rock gets drilled and filled with a substance called troll powder that cracks the rock apart, then then by hand, each piece is moved in a wheel barrow out of the room to an outdoor patio space they wish to create, the work is painstaking but with a smile Elena says 'It will be so amazing once we have achieved it.'

Historically in the 1800's the island was at its peak with a large fishing community, it was a very active island, there was a shop , the local school was on the neighbouring island, there was also a one room prison , apparently some heavy drinking would take place often resulting in someone going to jail. There was a strong exchange market with the Russians, fur and meat traded for dry fish and fish oil. There are two hundred and twenty lighthouses in Norway or churches of the sea Elena told us they were called. She had bought the lighthouse after the purchase of the house for four thousand euros and has scoured the land to find the right professionals to help her lovingly restore it and lovingly restored it has been.

Elena took us around the light house and then pointed out a sculpture made out of barbed wire - in the Second World War three German soldiers occupied the lighthouse, with mines in the sea and large guns on the rocks, they placed the barbed wire all around the tower whilst they were in occupation. When Elena moved to the island it was still there and she did not wish to carry so much heavy wire all the way to the quay side and find a way to dispose of it - so an artist friend turned the wire in a sculpture - a globe symbolising some of the challenges in this world, there is a small seat inside you can sit on.  Elena is intending to add a light inside to represent hope in the world. The sculpture is protected by Amnesty international. Elena who worked in war zones in the middle east expressed it is the most connected in life she has ever felt living there, I could completely understand how she felt that surrounded by the elements in the hands of the universe, God, the divine whatever you wish to label it as. Elena recited to us this beautiful poem today by John Donne,

 'No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, As well as if a promontory were: As well as if a manor of thy friend’s Or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.' 

The poem reminds us of interconnectedness of humanity and the impact of loss.

On my last day I was sad to go Have you ever been anywhere so magical that you never wanted to leave this was how I felt. The weather can be so changeable, the sea had been calm the last few days , how much I felt it mirrored the fluctuations of the mind and our emotions - One of the main reasons I called this yoga group I am the storm - we all have storms inside we need to allow, we can learn how to manage our own turbulent energies, we can be a ‘kaleidoscope of emotions’ As Matt Haig wrote. Rage and anger, other times we are peaceful full of joy,  love & contentment - it is all valid, knowing how to deal with this is the challenge, we can become more self aware, noticing our triggers and what makes our nervous systems feel at ease also learning to react less. On my last morning I said out loud I really don’t want to leave. Elena came out shortly after and said your next guest house is really busy with 20 students you are welcome to stay another night here - probably the quickest decision of my life ! Yes please ! (Thankyou Universe) we started with breakfast joined briefly by Lawrence and Lucy the light house cats before they left for their daily roam of the island. Elena made us a delicious packed lunch, then Frode took us in his boat and dropped us off on a neighbouring island totally alone we took a glorious walk along the mountain path to a tiny white sand beach, on the way I discovered an old relic of sewing machine someone had placed on a rock I am no expert but it looked to be hundreds of years old. I took a picture thinking Elena and Fode might like to see it. I could not resist a dip in the arctic and actually it really wasn’t that cold. A few years ago forget it ,I would never have gone in. We enjoyed our lunch by the beach and wandered back to meet Frode. Welcomed home to our magical idyll by Lawrence waiting outside the little lighthouse tower where we are staying.

Our actual last morning after breakfast Elena asked me if I had time for a chat, she said she had been inspired by watching my yoga practice as it has been part of her dream to create a wellness space, we shared a truly delightful conversation with truth's and vulnerabilities' on both sides - my favourite type of chats. She told me about her belief in manifesting her dreams and that she too has a yoga and meditation practice that has kept her steadfast and strong in difficult times. She shared her hopes and dreams for the future. We made Neil and Frode wait and extra half an hour as we were so engrossed in our chat. We vowed to keep in touch.

I think about Elena, the courage she had to start the project alone, unsure of what the future would bring. Not everyone’s life needs to be a carbon copy we spend so many of our years trying to fit in or follow the herd like sheep, worry about ticking the societal to do list, successful job, searching for partners, marriage, kids, homes, material aspects. sometimes you need to truly follow you heart and you own desires. If people are telling you that is bonkers or you are mad or there's a snigger of I think she or he has lost the plot, maybe just maybe you are on the right path for your life. Anyway I am still sad about leaving, going to manifest hard to come back. Looking at what Elena has achieved by manifestation I am pretty hopeful. who knows maybe, I will help Elena run a yoga retreat one day 🙏🏼💙

Oh and I got my bag back I arrived at the airport and found the two staff members, I apologised as I interrupted there game of ping pong, full blown table tennis match on the run way but they reunited me with my belongings minus the apple air tag of course.

Happy days ! Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

The End.

Pictures are by me - so some quality control required for future blogs. :-0