Being back on board a commercial aircraft, I finished another audiobook and then poured out some points on my laptop that I was percolating for my next post. No chance I was going to do that on the return charter flight from standing at the edge of an active volcano with it's adventurous journey there and back, the aerial views of the natural world and the welcomed site of developed lodgings and logistics - indeed, there was much to see and soak up.
No multitasking was happening on that tiny plane ride back, especially after Captain Jean nonchalantly announced to the handful of us, “this is my first passenger flight’” We whispered to one another and wordlessly debated whether or not he was joking. Even after we touched down from Tanna Island safely back in Port Vila, Vanuatu’s main hub, we still wondered … Turns out, it was indeed his first commercial flight! It quickly became evident from the miniscule airport with the outdoor ‘departure lounge’, the one staff (who was using his machete to cut grass) and the lackadaisical meandering to board the plane - this was def island style flying. I didn’t have to use much imagination then to see tumbleweed …
Touching down in Australia, I was initially met with swift entry processes that twisted the tale into a snail paced exit once I was (randomly) selected for some additional screening. Seems my itineraries brought on some intrigue. After several inquisitive staff sizing me up, the scrutiny ceased when they heard of my intrepid travels and galivants around the globe.
While this lifelong aspiration to peruse the planet has been an iterative, intentional inkling, I hadn’t imagined many of the mishaps, miracles or moments along the way.
Their questioning made me rethink my routes and reasons. What was I hoping for in ‘seeing the whole world’? I thought of the depth of being human and wondered if I would carve out more time and thought to craft that inward journey - for indeed, this was a road less travelled.
It softly and somewhat ungraciously came back into view, this tumbleweed. With these multi country, multipurpose and multi week trips, tethering can be challenged. But isn’t that a driver for getting out and about to discover? I tinkered with the distinction between freedom and feeling grounded, between having liberties to leave and what destinations we prefer, the need for security versus the endless battle with attachments and what it meant to be at peace regardless of the people and place.
Untethering can sound liberating, or as overwhelming as shedding can be. I pictured a sail that lets loose, flapping in the wind waiting for it be anchored before it can navigate (and race) again.
Currency exchange, Wi-Fi connectivity, how to get from A to B – such simple and serial tasks that suddenly require a rethink when roaming, literally and figuratively.
Finally, the Uber arrived. Before I could take the reins, I asked the stranger who was swiftly stuffing her suitcase into the trunk how she knew that was the Uber meant for her. Frazzled followed her, but hey, some of life’s pandemonium does have a prescribed process. The rain has not yet let up, so many weeks into this journey. I feel the inertia in my tissues, mirroring the weather outside. Melbourne’s rush hour screeched and slithered on, and while I was seat belted into the gridlock, the big city feel juxtaposed the remote island ways.
Where do we choose to live, work, play and grow? I wonder at what intervals ought we to mindfully consider a redesign on life. Does it take Navroz, a New Year, a major milestone or mishap - or is a new day carte blanche enough?
As we pulled into the community centre, I saw volunteers standing with umbrellas in the rain, on the ready. While there may be more that’s needed for feeling grounded, safe and secure, for now, this was enough to give pause to the tumbling inside of me.
May we have and offer safety and security, knowing we’re all doing our best to navigate this journey every day, in every new month and in every new year,