farewell to paradise (sfgm #6)

I think Jebs & I eventually discovered the true Mystery of Mayne Island …

After sitting on a rock for ages, just gazing out onto the ocean (in company of the cute little bump here, which you will have to trust me is one of a pair of sea-lions frolicking in the sunshine)

… and after exulting in the profusion of autumn hedgerows (that we have always cherished back home, but never before with humming-bird nests added into quite such a crazy collage)

… and after being honoured by another thrilling & stately ride-past of orca (this time slightly better captured by my poor little point & shoot camera)

… after all that and more, we have finally realised the true mystery of this place : which is, of course, how anyone can ever bring themselves to leave such beauty & tranquillity behind

Loading onto the ferry was really tough - made even more so because leaving the island meant it was now time for Jebs to fly home

… thus bringing to a close part one of our sabbatical. As I type this she is landing back in the UK, while I have arrived in my college room on the vast campus of UBC (the University of British Columbia). It is a peninsular shared with some 50,000 fellow students, but at the moment it feels a tad lonely

The solo adventure of the college library awaits me tomorrow, which I know I’ll find richly inspiring in a completely different way (and which should allow these posts to go back to being more blog than travelogue)

But right now I confess that this old tune (in a local version recommended to me by a Mayne islander) rather seems to capture the moment best …