39 Blog Post, Sunday, October 13, 2024 “Seaside”
We are now in the seventh week of travel and our 42nd day of being out of the US. Unbelievable. The day we left Boston’s Logan Airport, it seemed impossible that anyone could be away from home for so long. The time and the unknowns stretched farther out than we could see, quite literally for miles and miles. And yet here we are, in the last part of our overseas travel. Tomorrow Alistair’s son arrives and this time next week we’ll be in Greece, the final destination before flying home.
The one constant in all our travels has been the sea. People from New York always want to call big open spaces of water the ocean (at least I do) but we have almost always been by the sea here. The Sea of Iona, the Irish Sea, the Venetian Lagoon, the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea. I didn’t know many of these names until I started to travel, but I now want to learn more about the places where we are spending time, and often because I have fallen in love with so many of them. When we love something or someone, we want to learn more about it (or them), spend time, energy and brain power learning more so we understand more about the thing or person we love.
I love water. I have loved water since I was a child and grew up on the shores of Lake Carmel, NY. Water was my playmate, my entertainment, my natural environment in every season. The sea is certainly different than my little lake, but being close to water has been one of the great benefits of this trip for me, as if the water speaks my language, cleanses my spirit. We can easily use baptismal images to understand this, and I often think of baptism when I am near water because it renews my soul and my mind. Water, all on its own, provides respite and nourishment for a tired soul.
Today was a super ‘sea’ Sunday. I woke up later than I wanted, but managed to get a sort-of run in. But the entire run was right on the harbor and shoreline of Monopoli on the Adriatic Sea (which is connected to the Mediterranean Sea). What an incredible experience. I have been able to run in the best locations. I’m still thinking about the Green Lung in Rome, the long stretch by the sea in Venice. So much beauty in those places, and I get to learn about them in a whole different way when I run there. I have to learn to trust the directions, to learn landmarks and to find a way NOT to get lost. Happily, being by the sea makes it much easier. As long as I stay close to the water, I can always find my way back to our apartment.
We are also fortunate to be in Monopoli for PhEST, an international arts exhibit that features more than 20 artists who primarily use photography or some type of imagery to communicate their vision. One 14 Euro ticket gets us into all the venues, and it’s like a scavenger hunt around the city to find all the exhibits spaces, which has also been a fun part for us. The exhibits are in abandoned churches, palaces, armories, and some are outside where everyone can see them for free. But one artist that we saw tonight had a statement that really struck me because it applies so well to my sabbatical.
Ismail Ferdous, a well-known photographer who was born in Bangladesh, said this about his exhibit which focuses on his relationship with the sea near his childhood home, “The journey outward leads inward, and the farther I have traveled, the more I have come to reconnect to the landscapes of my origin…With every shoreline on earth, we find a communal crossroad between vastness and intimacy.”
Ismail is telling my story.
Today we took a long (too long) walk to a Lidl Grocery Store on the outskirts of Monopoli. Here’s a teeny tiny bit of advice—when you type in an address on Google maps, make sure that you have used the right mode of transportation. Alistair didn’t realize he was looking at the driving directions, not the walking ones, and when he realized his error, it was too late. We were 2/3 of the way through a hot, urban walk and just had to keep going. I stayed in that air-conditioned store much longer than I needed to because the walk home seemed impossibly long and dusty.
But on the way back, Alistair made sure he routed our walk so it would hug the curves of the sea as much as possible, and suddenly, walking by the water, watching the sun dance on the surface, the waves crash into the beach, I was contented. The walk felt much shorter and easier to me.
We also had the surprise of a street fair on the harbor all day today, so when we got back, we were able to browse vendors, listen to Italian pop music, which I am starting to like, and then I noticed that we could get rides in the wooden gozzo boats I wrote about before. Painted bright blue with red trim and seats, these squat boats were first used in the 1600’s with oars, and have survived until present days because of their perfect design for shore work. Now motorized, they are called the “Mother of all Mediterranean boats”, and I was determined to get a ride. I saw a sign that said “10 euros for 30 min) and I thought—deal!!! We waited on line for tickets only to find out that the rides were FREE—I don’t think you can even imagine my delight. Free is a magical word for travelers, and an uncommon one. That other sign was for another type of boat. We were told to come back at 6 pm for our ride, which we shared with a lovely young Italian couple. She navigated getting into and out of that boat wearing a long, fitted skirt and impossible high heels like a professional. I was quite impressed and gave her the universal sign of approval—double-thumbs up. She laughed. Italian women really are dedicated to their fashion. Nothing gets in the way of looking sharp, not even a ride in an old fishing boat.
The boat ride allowed us to see the harbor in a whole new way just after the sun had set and the horizon began its transformation from clear blue to lavender and peach, then fiery orange and shocking pink. Our driver only spoke Italian, so he spoke with the young couple the entire time. I was just enthralled by the whole thing. I actually thought that this was kind of like the Northern Lights for daytime because the colors were so brilliant. (I’m not over the fact that I was out of state again for the big Northern Lights show this past week!!)
After our boat ride, we went out to dinner where I had pizza with octopus and mussels and shrimp—once again the sea makes itself known.
We then walked home by the harbor, as always, letting the sea be our companion on the way, and I continue to think about Ismail’s quote—the journey outward is leading me inward. I may be far away from home, but I am learning about my relationship to home even while I am away. I am learning more about the vastness of God’s big world, the beauty, the way we are all the same in some ways. “Food”, I said to Alistair today as we were nearly home, “Food connects us to all these people because we all have to eat,” but I’ll save food for another blog.. Going inward helps me connect my faith life with all of this as well. Alistair and I have our prayer time every day where we pray out loud for everyone we can think of who could use prayer, we ask God to bless each meal. Our routines are simpler here, and we make an effort to bring home with us wherever we are with these prayers.
And Ismail concluded that “with every shoreline on earth, we find a communal crossroad,” which resonates. These deep blue-green seas are connected in my heart to the small lake where I grew up, to the memories of being nourished by the clear water and the sound of the water as it moved. My gozzo boat ride reminded me of the squat aluminum rowboat my family owned that I used to take out into the lake by myself so I could be surrounded by water. It’s all connected. Perhaps that’s what we are really supposed to take away from all this. Home isn’t really far away when we carry these memories in our hearts. Italy will not seem far away when I return to the US either because I now have these experiences that create a communal crossroad in my heart. I am not done learning about the sea, and I never stop loving my ‘lake of origin’ from my childhood. I will return to the now-cool Adirondack Lakes that reflect the colors of the leaves like mirrors, and I will remember the warmth of the sea, the smell of salt, and I will say prayers of gratitude that each makes me love the other more. God has been so, so good.
How has God created opportunities for connection in your life that enrich and nourish your heart, your soul, your life?
Blessings of the sea,
ML+
