REMEMBERING PATAGONIA!

 What wonderful memories of a amazing experience in Argentina and Chile- February 2015.
I have been reliving as I finish up my new book -
                                                          PATAGONIA
                                                      the Camino  Home

HIKING EL CHALTEN

Awestruck, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for such a blessing.  Settling onto a craggy boulder seat to bear witness, the concept of time becomes non existent as I find myself fully engaged with the glory of nature surrounding me.  Twittering birds rustle leaves on the trees as they light.  Azure waters of the lagoon lap the pebbles on the beach...swish...swish. Breezes blowing ever so lightly catch a bough above my head ...creeeak….almost imperceptible.  I am completely connected to the earth and sky.  The energies of this sacred land buzz through me - my very being amplified as I sit one with the Universe.

Voices, laughing, break the silence; sever the serenity as they approach the mirador. A last glimpse skyward, for now, as I stand to gather daypack and trekking poles. A glance at my watch confirms it is time  to head back toward town and on to Cochilla de Salta, an easy 7 kilometer circuit once I reach the base of today's’ earlier climb.

Chorillo del Salto, direct translation ‘trickle jump’  which I reach at about 4 PM, looks crowded with other walkers. An easy hike, most here have wandered the final kilometer to the falls from a carpark just off the gravel one lane road.  Part of the local national Park system, this hike is renowned and draws many on this sunny summer February day.

Rounding a final bend, the hidden 20 foot falls spill before me into a shallow transparent pool. Water's sparkle, so clear each underlying pebble can be counted,each earth tone glistening in the late afternoon sun. And silence. At least 50 others are settled on rocks to the perimeter and below the falls. Voices are non existent.  Faces gaze in wonder at the beauty surrounding us - tilted toward a warm embracing sun.  Water crashing to the pool below is the only sound and it is heavenly.

 I step gingerly over boulders in the pool, claiming an empty rock directly facing this magnificent sight. Sun beating on my shoulders, off come my boots and socks - toes free to test the water temperature. Hot feet ,now cooled. Glorious.  A brief look around and I see others dangling legs, up to their knees, in the refreshing waters.  Sandwiches and snacks are being munched, water guzzled in the late afternoon heat.  I too take advantage of another of Patagonia's magical locales, cooling my Nestea bottle in these mountain waters before taking that first awaited sip. Life does not get better! Here is heaven.

....excerpt from PATAGONIA: the Camino Home - A Camino of the Soul Book #2 due out later this summer

JUNE 1ST - 4:44

    In awakening at exactly 4:44 this gloriously sunny June 1st  Seattle morning,
I am assured beyond any doubt that following my soul's call, my call to walk
long distance pilgrimage paths and write, share in the lessons both physical and spiritual
along my way, is my purpose in this physical realm.

    Messages from my mom-in-law, Sis, and my sister Jeannie, both having died of cancer in 2007,
come to me regularly in the form of numerical whispers.  Whispers assuring me I am on the right path. The answers to questions will show themselves when the time is right.

    Their messages remind me that there are planes of energy existing in synchronicity with one another- a living matrix of energy between this world and the next - between me and the evergreens I gaze upon on morning walks- between those close to me physically and those I love on the other side of the world.   Everything, everyone, is connected --of this I have no doubt.

    4:44 on June 1st, 90 days from the start of my next Camino.
4:44 and a sense of calm wraps itself around my very being, as if my Jeannie has crawled under the covers to hug me, her big sister, good morning, letting me know that the Universe is in order. She knows because she is everywhere, she sees everything past, present and future because there truly is no ' time'.  She knows as angel spirits do.

    Although moving ahead with plans for my next Camino, there have been those hideously frantic moments when fear takes hold - when the logic of the brain seeks to stamp out the fire and passion of the heart- of the soul.  One day I have no question as to the ' right' path.  The next, in a fury of
everyday life issues -   financial concerns, family obligations - I am  questioning my sanity , my right, in considering this walk.

    And yet, in the quiet moments of solitude, in the peace of meditation, the tranquility of my morning walks, my brain settles.  Belief and trust in the Universe seeps back. It is in these moments that my soul knows its way.

    And so, at 4:44 on June 1st, awakened from a peaceful sleep to the rising sun peeking through bedroom curtains, I know she is smiling, encouraging me to follow my heart song.

    I am blessed with her messages.  I am grateful for the whispers of the Universe.