The People on the Path

Such wonderful characters everywhere.

Peter ... the 71-year-old Scot who has cycled in NZ or Thailand or Malaysia for 5 months these last 16 years, and has been a YHA member since '51. His deep blue eyes sparkle as he gushes over humanity ... how terrific people are, how interesting everyone is, how great it is to be alive.

Isobel ... the 78-year-young tennis playing, Eric-bashing, entertaining lady of the lake from Wanaka.

Qin Chong (Cindy) the 24-year-old Chinese girl studying English here in New Zealand. She laughed heartily at my 'women are a complete mystery' joke (you want that bridge two lanes or four?) and then turned to me in all seriousness and said 'Eric, you know ... that's true. I don't even understand myself about half of the time.'

Peter ... the solitary squatter whose dancing blue eyes revealed an amazing life on the path less traveled. He's lived in a 6 x 10 foot shack on a hillside north of Kaikoura for over 25 years now, with permission. The land is too steep for sheep, so Peter has made himself a home. He lives on $20/week, going into Christchurch once a month for supplies. Sadly, he lost his wife 8 years ago when she was headed to the ocean on a stormy day. The wind was gale force, the surf pounding, and she stepped on the railroad tracks at precisely the wrong moment. Yet he continues to laugh, tell terrific stories, read his books, and enjoy his hermit existence.

Maria ... the 25-year-old Sweedish fashion designer and ex-model. She told me could have been a very rich girl by now had she continued with her modeling career. But she hated the objectification and the fact her wicked intellect wasn't appreciated. So she became a fashion designer and is changing the industry from the inside. She's just sold everything and is moving to Australia to start over, tired of the long Scandanavian winters.

Peter (yeah, a load of them on this trip) from Austria. He's about to build a health center in Nelson after having an early and successful career in building and construction in Vienna. He gave me one of the deepest massages I've ever received at the end of my cycle tour.

Cathie ... the elegant, artistic, Chagall loving, creative woman who so graciously entertained us and who has a terrific website at www.jumpingtangents.co.nz for interesting and different gifts.

Our Property in Nelson

Debra did an amazing job planting over 170 trees on our property just outside of Nelson. It's such a huge draw for me to just sit on that magical piece of land, look out over the Tasman Sea, and dream of the house that will soon grace this 1/2 acre. It feels so much larger, given the mature landscaping that borders the site, and the slope that goes down to the sometimes running creek.

Noah wants a water feature and a swimming pool on the land, Sophie wants a skate park. It's so much fun to dream of what we want to create on Clairmont Heights.

Although Debra and I have split up, we are both very excited about having a home here in New Zealand. I'd like to help build this home starting in 3 years or so.

The Far South

On my last trip here, I didn't get to Stewart Island or Golden Bay. Opposite ends of the island, of course. So off the the south I went.

If you've not seen the movie The World's Fastest Indian with Sir Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro go out and rent it tonight! It's a terrific tale of one of Invercargill's more notorious characters. And in speaking to someone in town who knew Burt, this old codger just shrugged his shoulders and stated that there are many such folk living in Invercargill.

On Stewart Island I stayed with another interesting man. Pete's been a fisherman and has traveled the world shearing sheep. At 65 he's selling the family farm on the island to move to Uruguay. Ain't that wonderful! His adventure continues.

Traveling with Debra

This trip was put in place prior to us splitting up as we needed to complete some residency requirements. Sophie was going to spend 5 weeks with me here while Deb and Noah returned to the US on January 1st. But that would put Debra and Sophie apart for 10 of 11 weeks. So Debra and Sophie stuck around until the 10th of January and we went back to Wanaka, lovely Wanaka, for a week. With this change I now get to cycle around for a month while Boulder is covered in snow and ice. A partial redux of my trip from 2 years ago.

It's interesting to be traveling with my ex. We were best friends for 25 years, and I suspect we'll remain great friends. There were one or two awkward moments as we continue to discover this new way of being together, but mostly we experience huge compatibility. I've a friend in CA who told me he knows of not one couple that has divorced without animosity. I told him he does now. We continue to take a very high road, treating each other with great respect.

And it was delightful to have our holidays together as a family in Nelson just down the road from our property. Wonderful to get to walk up to our property at all hours of the day to watch the light, listen to the birds, enjoy the native forest Debra planted, and view the Tasman Sea.

Happiness

This hermit comes to town every few days to resupply. He is such a delightful and happy character, spreading joy to everyone he meets. One day one of the villagers asks how it is he is so happy, and he responds it's because he touches grief every day.

Certainly that speaks to so much of 2006 for me, not my year. It's great to be in 2007. My appetite returned, I'm sleeping, and I'm my upbeat self again. I don't know about the spreading joy, though. I pay attention to what I'm teaching, in case it's true we teach best what we most need to learn. I've always felt I landed on the wrong planet ... I was aiming for one where peace and goodwill reigned. Thus my teaching of and practicing joy.

And I'm happy to be back here in NZ. This is a lovely spot. It's joy to be on my bike or out in the wildnerness hiking (actually on this trip I'm far more focused on tramping). I'm delighting in the warmth, the daily adventures, the wonderful connections that occur, the rekindling of old friendships, making new ones.

And it's interesting to revisit places we spent time as a family. I ponder ... and I wonder so much about my time with Noah and Sophie ... did I know how much fun we were having? Did I remember to hold on as tightly as possible to the joy of our days together? Did I suck all the marrow out of each day possible? I think not ... I think I took too much for granted. And I'm sad about not getting every ounce of joy out of every possible moment. And what a great reminder for today.

And Then Two Years Pass

Fast forward almost two years ... in a quick blink.