From sun to snow and cats in tall trees
2 months later since my last adventure blog and suddenly 2500 kilometers further! Greece was beautiful and warm and welcoming. The lovely people and the friendly atmosphere, despite the lockdown, were very nice for me. I fear Mimi has a slightly different opinion about this, given that he had a problem almost every day with one of the many stray cats that roam Greece in large numbers. In general, very nice creatures to people, but tolerance is hard to find among each other. And despite the welcome atmosphere, a good Workaway place with the lovely Rita in Kriti Athens and a very nice pre-Christmas with my dear Dutch friend Sacha and her Greek husband George in Nea Makri, Mimi and I traveled to France.
Why, suddenly such a long journey in the middle of lockdown without winter tires or major preparation? So that's what happens when I follow my heart. It’s not reasonable, nor economical, or very convenient in any other way, but I am very happy that I got in the van again with Mimi on December 24. We hit the road again for 7 days of travel, plus an additional night on the ferry from Greece to Italy.
For a number of weeks, I felt that I really had to go to a forest and that this forest was not located in Greece. It was a very strange sensation for me to feel this so strongly and I was not sure what to do with it. Given the lockdown, travel between regions in Greece was not really allowed, let alone to another country. And besides that, I was not exactly prepared for driving in winter weather, without winter tires or snow chains, or even a winter jacket. I had planned to spend the winter in warmer places and I had set up Betsy the van and my own attire accordingly. But yes, that just goes to show that planning in advance and the desires of the heart do not always go well together. So when I spoke to my other dear friend 2 weeks before Christmas who manages an organic farm on a beautiful mountain with lots of trees in the South of France, we both felt immediately that I had to go to her. So that was quickly decided.
So at the last minute, I ordered snow chains and borrowed a winter coat from Sacha and just before the new year was announced, Mimi and I arrived at our new place, among the chickens, sheep, cats with 3 cute kittens and 2 sweet donkeys with which my girlfriend shares her farm. Fortunately, we didn't have to use the snow chains, but the winter coat was very welcome, given that we encountered snow and freezing cold a few times on our way to France.
This is a very special place, and it feels like I, and hopefully Mimi too, need to be here at the moment. The vibrations of this piece of mountain and forest are very high and tangible. There is drinkable spring water here which flows straight into the garden from the top of the mountain and nature seems to speak to us here. There is even a real witch circle nearby. Since we got here, everything has changed again for Mimi and me. I am extremely challenged in my urge to control and my desire to do everything perfectly. Everything here runs in its own time and in its own way to the rhythm of the animals and nature, so nothing I can control or try to fix to safe my life. Insights and mirrors are the order of the day, and fortunately, my wise friend knows how the energy works in this place and all is welcome. The tears that sometimes flow spontaneously, the joy of the first snowfall and all the spontaneous things that happen here, and the unexpected challenges when the taps freeze while all the animals need drinking water, the garden seem to flood by the mountain water that flows down, or suddenly a sheep escapes, which the donkeys want to have their way with.
I hope Mimi and I can stay for several weeks and maybe even a few months to experience this place in its entirety and take in the wisdom it so generously shares.
And how are things going for Mimi so far? Well, he walks his own path here and also encounters his challenges. There are only female cats here so he doesn't suffer from dominant fighting males for a while, but the chickens here are a bit scary and then there are deer, boars, foxes, ermines, and a lot more wild animals around. Last Friday night he was probably hunted by an ermine or a similar animal and fled into a tree that easily looked 10 meters high. In the freezing cold, Mimi was lost for 2 nights before I finally found him high up in the tree on Sunday morning. Poor Mimi, meowing, freezing and scared, too afraid to come down. In the end, with the help of very friendly neighbors, we had to cut the tree down to get Mimi out safely. And with the exception of a split lip, he came out of his ordeal unharmed. What an adventure! So Mimi certainly has his own challenges cut out for him during our journey. And yet he keeps finding his way back to the van and he still cuddles up on my lap every day.
We really make this journey together and the loss in my heart I felt when I could not find him those 2 days, made this fact very clear to me. The connection between Mimi and me is so strong that even a 10-meter high tree cannot separate us. Together we can grow and learn and experience and I am very grateful for that and I hope Mimi is grateful too.
Love ♥︎ Kirsten
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