What a Difference a Day Makes

Pea soup fog this morning at 7:15 a.m. No need for a photo.

Twenty four hours ago I took a taxi to the Inverness airport. There was the familiar cloud cover, but as the plane lifted, the sun broke through and I viewed glimpses of the highlands for the final time on this trip. Green glens, lochs, mountains, rivers, fields with hedges. At first I tried to identify them, but then just relaxed and studied the patterns as a montage of memories danced in my mind.

Eight weeks travel so far on this Alban Pilgrimage. I planned carefully for both structured and open exploration. During the open space I decided to change plans and travel to Ireland. Music was the reason. Derry – Londonderry, Northern Ireland is the 2013 Culture Capital of Europe. The Song Fest Conference about music and reconciliation grabbed my attention.

This took several hours of inernet cancelling and re-negotiating. A few days later things flared up in Belfast, my flight destination for a train connection to travel further.

There were moments not so much of wanting to cancel, but of exploring options outside of landing in Belfast. I monitored infomation, but in the end looked inside and my gut instinct said go ahead.

The organizers of SONG FEST have worked many months to draw together musicians and speakers intent on exploring the power of music and its role in reconciliation. If they are bravely extending a hand for peace, then I also extend mine to them. Simple as that.

I sat next to a retired man on the plane, very congenial. He would take a train to Dublin. As we landed he whispered, “There has been some unrest, I don’t like staying in Belfast too long.” He waited as I retrieved my bag and offered to share a taxi. Belfast has two train stations and the taxi driver was unsure if there even was a train to Londonderry. My companion paid for the taxi and gave him extra to stay outside with my bags as we went in to inquire. Yes there was a train.

I waited for about an hour for it to arrive. There were very few people in the train station and even fewer on the street as I looked out the window in the station coffee shop. I felt calm, but alert. There seemed to be a slight nervousness in the air.

Good news is that the train arrived on time. We traveled through many of the towns and villages associated in the news with the troubles. No evidence from the train windows, in fact very little graffiti. It is some of the most beautiful countryside I have seen.

We arrived in Derry – Londonderry (as per festival marketing) to a vibrant city celebating summer and the arts. This was the first time this year I felt the heat of summer. From my hotel room late last night I saw the bright colors on the peace bridge and a waxing moon lingering above to the sounds of happy voices in the streets.

A deep sleep and thick pea soup fog this morning.

Travel is dreams within dreams.