…this sweet lil book of poems lies beside the bed. I picked it up today and was overwhelmed with emotion. I remember why I booked this trip; how I came to land here in the first place; what this all represents. There was a past before today and a future that lies ahead, for that I’m grateful.

“And so i have to learn
to swim inside my dreams
in case the sea should come
and visit me in my sleep.
And if that happens, all will be well,
and when tomorrow stirs
on the wet stones, the sand
and the great resounding sway of sea
will know who I am and why I return,
will accept me into their school.

And I can be content again
in the solitude of the sand,
graduated by the wind
and respected by the sea-world.” – Neruda

…and some not so strangers on the shore have arrived. Their presence is indeed a present, just like the lil hippie who dropped off the coconuts at the cafe today…