Arrival and departure

I write this sitting on the sofa. That is, my feet are on the rug, the rest of me is on the Chesterfield, and I am home. I’m back in the Mushroom Kingdom and delighted to see my princess, though as an awesome independent woman she needed no rescuing. Aside from Lauren, I can safely say there were a few things I was looking forward to, including, but not limited to, my own bed, proper towels, Marmite, consistently hot showers, potable tap water, a decent pillow, fresh vegetables, not living out of a backpack, not having to slather myself with sun cream and insect repellent on a daily basis, not being regularly embarrassed by my broken Spanish.

Before the long flight home, I had a shorter hop from Panama City back to the Sand Kingdom, AKA Mexico. Cancun was still there and I finished the trip with a satisfying if not spectacular pizza and reprised my hammock plus rum and Coke trick because it felt appropriate and because I could. The following day brought the return leg to Gatwick, a night flight which landed me at 9.00 with a couple of hours of sleep at least, before the bus back to Oxford and home for lunch. As we drove further west the clouds were growing increasingly ominous and it came as no surprise that it began to rain. It was cold when I left and despite three months passing, it was cold when I returned.

While I felt ready to come home, I will definitely miss the sunshine and was not unhappy to have dodged the worst of the British winter. I will also definitely miss the wildlife, the rum, the scenery, the beaches, the gelato, the history, the beer, the culture, the food, the people, the prices and the freedom. I had an incredible three months, so many brilliant experiences and plenty of amazing memories that will stay with me. I completed all eight bits of my odyssey safely and soundly and am very grateful for having been fortunate enough to enjoy these adventures. Thanks for coming along for the ride!