We depart tomorrow for our Atlantic crossing. As I began organizing my thoughts for these “Thoughts” I was troubled that there was nothing new to share. Then I reconsidered. I could not have been more wrong! The lesson in this for me is that when one is not focused on living in the moment, the gifts of the moment may be lost.
My thoughts have been much focused on the experience that awaits us tomorrow. Like a distracted driver, I almost missed the importance of today. For starters, at breakfast we exchanged greetings with a couple and their 10 year old child. It turned out that Seth is an attorney in New Mexico who has traded in his big firm litigator stripes for a solo career. The luster of his profession has tarnished somewhat and he is exploring reawakening his passion for the law. I saw much of myself in my pre-Mediator days in Seth. It was a warm exchange that I think was rewarding for both of us. Don’t put off until tomorrow the things you may find you are then unable to do.
After breakfast, an exchange of personal histories with our host Eddie revealed that he walked the Camino Portuguese in 2016 and looks forward to walking the Primitevo Route to Santiago in the future. We spent time pouring over his maps and discussing route options for our upcoming journey out of Porto on the Portuguese Camino. Eddie is going to see if he can obtain two pilgrim credentials which will identify our Camino starting point as Puerto Rico! Whether or not he is successful is not as relevant as the bonding of 3 Perigrinos that occured.
Yesterday, Christine and I explored the eastern fortifications of Castillo San Cristobal. Today we visited the western battlements. First of all, the entire of the San Juan Old City is surrounded by the old fort. 90% of the surrounding wall is intact and can be traveled atop or alongside by foot. To give some perspective of the size of the Castillo, it takes over 2 hours at a brisk pace to walk the perimeter. This is truly a remarkable feat of engineering that stood virtually invulnerable for 400 years until modern artillery ended its reign in 1898.
As we waited in line to show our “geezer passes” to the National Park Ranger at the fort we overheard 3 couples standing behind us complaining that they had forgotten their passes. A pass entitles the holder and up to 3 guests to free admission. Christine and I turned to the folks and offered to make them our guests. Hurried introductions and the eight of us gained entry on our passes with the knowledge and approval of the ranger. It turned out that those 6 folk are departing tomorrow on our ship for Barcelona and have staterooms just down the hall from us!
How could I have ever thought that there was nothing to write about. As Eddie reminded me this morning, in life there are no coincidences.
Peace Everyone. Pete
Moira says:
In life there are no coincidences. I like that, and todays story!
Pauline Schloss says:
God is good!! He makes these coincidences happen. Where else would two attorney’s share thoughts in P>R. –both from different states–allow for persons to meet under rare circumstances.
Now you have boarded and ready to sail. May the Goodness of your journey continue with love and charity along the way.