“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
– Hermann Hesse
In Elizabeth Gilbert’s latest novel, The Signature of All Things, there is a character named Ambrose Pike.
Set mainly in the 19th century, the entire book is themed around botany, its protagonist Alma Whittaker is devoted to the study of moss, and Ambrose is a gifted botanical artist, with a particular love for painting orchids.
When Ambrose appears halfway through the story, he has just returned to the U.S. after working in the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala for 18 years. He arrives at Alma’s family’s estate at her invitation, and the two form an immediate connection. At dinner their first night, Alma asks him about his plans for the future.
After initially insisting he has no plans, Ambrose replies: “I would like never to travel again. I would like to spend the rest of my days in a place so silent—and working at a pace so slow—that I would be able to hear myself living.”
* * *
Although I can’t relate to Ambrose’s wish to never travel again – not in the least! – I can absolutely relate to his desire to slow down. His desire to, as Elizabeth Gilbert put it so beautifully, “hear myself living.”
Can you think of a better way to say it? To me, it seems to capture exactly what slowing down really is…not just some defensive move against busy schedules and overflowing planners, but a very intentional decision to live with awareness and presence. To honor each day and hour we’ve been given. To put life first.
I think, at last, that I’m ready for that. As I recently wrote here, I could not be more grateful for the many crazy and unexpected gifts that 2013 held – it is still hard to believe that last year saw me stepping foot in twenty countries on three continents. I feel extraordinarily blessed and humbled by that – by all the people I was able to meet and the experiences I will never forget having.
But if I’m honest with you, last year moved a little too quickly for me. I often felt like I was racing to keep up with it, and it brought back many an unpleasant memory of commuting from Kingston into London, sprinting to the train station three mornings a week with papers flying and my hair a wreck. If I made the train, I’d collapse into the nearest open seat with a remarkable lack of grace. And if I didn’t make the train? Perhaps it’s best not to go there…
Much of my traveling last year was centered around two sketching trips, as I’ve also written that the biggest unexpected gift of 2013 was this new venture of becoming a sketch artist. But at the heart of it all, at the heart of my vision and vocation, is still a deep-seated desire to be an author.
And so, as my dear friend and fellow writer Lola Akinmade Åkerström often says, I am “shifting gears.” While sketching has become a big part of my life and I’m thrilled to keep working on current projects, for now I am putting my memoir first. This was difficult to do last year because the premise of it was still in development. Halfway through the summer, I realized I was living out the ending of my book, and that I needed to give it time to finish naturally. As I wrote last August, I realized some things can’t be rushed.
But now, I think I’m finally there. Currently titled The Only Courage, my first memoir is the story of my beginning, the story of how I found my path in life, and I’m so determined to write it only because I feel like I’m in a place to begin helping others – especially other 20-somethings – find their own path in life.
At the start of 2014, I find myself at the crossroads of intersecting desires – a desire to slow down, and a desire to finish my book.
* * *
The only remaining question these last few weeks has been that of where. Where to slow down? Where to begin hearing myself live? Where to finish my book?
First there was Saigon. Ever since visiting last May, I have been enamored with the city and the unexpected creative energy I found there. Many fellow blogging friends are currently either living in or passing through Saigon, so it wasn’t hard to envision the benefits of setting up life there for a while: cheap rent, even cheaper (and delicious) food, great company, and a city I would never tire of exploring.
And then there was Istanbul. While spending time there before and after trekking the Evliya Çelebi Way, my claim of Saigon as my favorite city in the world was soon being put to the test. It was just as easy to imagine living in Istanbul for a few months, sneaking out of my apartment for çay breaks, maybe taking Turkish lessons at night and filling my weekends with ferry rides on the Bosphorus, and giving my new-found love for Turkey room to grow.
But as appealing as Saigon and Istanbul were, I also knew I wanted somewhere a little more familiar. If I was to base myself in such a different culture, I would be tempted to keep exploring it – or at least feel guilty for not doing so while holing up with my manuscript. And so I began narrowing my search, specifically to the Pacific Northwest – where I spent three weeks last summer and loved it.
And what I found was this: A month-old entry on Craigslist looking for someone to sublet a yurt on a little place called Salt Spring Island. Ever since the sixth grade, when I constructed a model yurt from popsicle sticks and brown felt (complete with a fire ring I made out of rocks from our driveway), I have wanted to live in one, which is perhaps best-known as the traditional home of Central Asian nomads.
Living in a yurt in the middle of the woods would have been enough for me, but I soon learned more about the island. It’s located on the Canadian side of the Pacific Northwest, right off the coast of Vancouver Island, and is about a three-hour ferry ride from the city of Vancouver. It has two towns – Ganges and Fulford Harbour – and a population of about 10,000 people, many of whom are also artists.
After getting in touch with the yurt’s owner and learning it was still available, it was decided: I will be renting his yurt for three months, from the end of February ‘til the end of May. Although it’s hard to say for sure without having seen it in person, everything so far sounds perfect: I love the quirkiness of the yurt – and the fact that it’s heated by a wood-burning stove – I love that I’ll be living on a small island, and because the island itself is in Canada, I love that I’ll still be calling a different country home.
But most of all, I love that my book will get three months of my undivided attention. As literary agent Rachelle Gardner wrote just this morning:
“The only way forward is the same as it ever was: run away from the noise, hunker down and wrestle mightily with your prose. Writing your best book is what matters, regardless of how many people ever read it. And in a nice bit of synchronicity, it’s what will make people want to read it.”
Will I grow stir-crazy by the end of my own hunkering down? Will I grow dangerously close to becoming a hermit and forget how to interact with humanity?
Only time will tell, my friends.
* * *
As I write this now, I’ve got about six weeks to go before taking ownership of my lovely temporary abode. Next Thursday (the 23rd), I’ll be heading to San Francisco for a week. In between lots of catch-ups with writing friends and mentors, I’ll have my first little speaking engagement. Nomadic Matt is giving a two-day webinar/workshop on stress-free budget travel with CreativeLIVE, and he has kindly invited me to join him for a session on travel safety. I can’t wait!
After that, I’m off to Seattle and Vashon Island for a couple of weeks. I’m envisioning more great catch-ups with friends there, lots of rain, equal amounts of coffee, and hopefully a completed book proposal. And finally, come the last week of February, I’ll board a bus to Vancouver, and then a ferry to Salt Spring Island.
I really hope you’ll join me on this next journey (mostly virtually, but hey, if you’re passing through Vancouver this spring, definitely let me know!). I haven’t spent three solid months in the same place since 2011, but strangely enough, the prospect doesn’t frighten me as much as I once thought it would. I’m actually welcoming the space this stillness will bring to my book and my life – the space to dive into the story I’m hoping to share, and to dig deep into the lessons these last few years on the road have taught me.
This new adventure will look a bit different from those I shared last year, but I hope you’ll continue to follow along. Although travel plans for the rest of 2014 are still in the works (rumor has it South America and Africa may even be on the horizon…), for now, I’m excited to shift gears and slow down for a few months.
Or as Ambrose Pike himself said, I’m excited to hear myself living again.
Now I’d love to hear your plans for 2014…what adventures does the new year hold for you?
What a wonderful idea, Candace! Sounds like you’re going to have the perfect place to get some serious writing done 🙂
Thank you, Flora! I’m definitely looking forward to the solid writing time 🙂 Hope all is well with you, too – I believe you’re in Peru now? I’d love to hear more about what the year holds for you!
Hi, great to hear of your new plans. And interestingly, as you are slowing down, I am gearing up 🙂 I make my 2014 a travel packed year, getting out of my London stillness (though that is a bit of an oxymoron I guess) after finishing my 80.000+ words baby writing project. I have a feeling it is time for me to spread the wings again and to find a new path. It took me over a decade to finish my study enterprise, now it is time to find other challanges and exploring new countries is first on the list. I am heading to Malta in about the same time you will be heading to Seattle. Granted, it is not so excited as living in a yurt (how could I ever come up with your ‘exotic’ style of living 😛 I have booked a room in a 16th century palazzo though) I am still excited as a teenager on her first trip abroad 🙂 I hope your soul finds stillness while your mind flows with the words. I am soo looking forward to reading your book!
Tanja! There is so much great news here I hardly know where to start 🙂 First off, I could not be any happier for you in finishing your studies!! CONGRATS, my friend! You deserve every adventure you’ve got planned for this year. And your journey to Malta sounds incredible – I’m fairly certain that staying in a 16th century palazzo absolutely eclipses living in a yurt 😉 I love that even though we’ll be going at different speeds this year, it’s exactly what we both need. I’m so excited to see where 2014 takes you, and will be anxiously awaiting photos from Malta! xo
Your writing is so lovely! I’ve always wanted to see what I’d do in any Thoreau-esque situation. I’ll wait to see what happens 🙂
Thanks so much, Michelle! I’m a big fan of Thoreau, and am definitely excited to have my own little Walden experience 🙂 Can’t wait to start sharing stories from the island with you soon!
A creative hub – all to yourself. Such a fab idea. Good luck with finishing your book!
Thanks, Becki! I really appreciate that 🙂 I’m so thrilled for everything you’ve got going on this year, and can’t wait to keep following along your adventures!
Love, love, love! Wishing you every good thing, wish, and desire you dream for yourself in 2014!
Thank you so much, Lola! Thank you as well for inspiring me to challenge myself this year, and to not be afraid to switch gears for a little while 🙂 Can’t wait to see what 2014 holds for you!
Wow! 3 months on an Canada island living in a yurt? I feel like I’m more excited about it than you are! I’m really looking forward to reading about your time there! Although, for a few seconds, I was hoping to see you in Istanbul soon 😉
I wish you all the best for his amazing project and I hope you will reach your goal of finishing your memoir! Can’t wait to read it! I bet it’s full of inspiration for my future plans 🙂
Christin
Thank you so much for all your kind words, Christin! Although I absolutely wish we were meeting up soon in Istanbul, I’m really looking forward to sharing stories from the yurt with you – and I’m keeping my fingers crossed as well that our paths cross elsewhere in the world 🙂 Can’t wait to hear how your time in Turkey goes…only about a month to go now, I think?!
I believe I must run out and get that book to read…. “hear myself living” what a fantastic quote! Your remote hideaway looks absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait to see what wonderful writing comes from that little yurt. I think this may be the year for slowing down, purposefully, not, as you said, just as an attempt to not rush from one thing to the next. Kim mentioned it in her post recently, and I, too, am feeling a huge desire to appreciate each day for what it is and not spend my time rushing to the “whats next” step. Enjoy your time in your yurt and looking forward to seeing you in Portland!
Thanks, Rhonda! I did indeed see that in Kim’s latest post, and thought it was quite interesting that many of us are looking to take life a little slower this year. I love what you said about not rushing from step to step, always looking ahead to what’s next – that is sometimes so hard for me to do, but really worth aiming for. And yes! I absolutely look forward to finally meeting in person this year 🙂
All the very best Candace, in slowing down. There is a rhythm in life, just like breathing. Sometimes you breath faster, perhaps because you’re moving around more or are just continually excited. When there is calm, life slows down, as does the breathing. You have many wonderful (and maybe some not so wonderful) memories stored, now is the time to sort them out and put them on paper. The yurt seems to be fulfilling a dream you have had, so the accommodations appear to be spot on. I can’t wait to read the finished product!
Roberta, thank you as always for your kind, insightful words – it was wonderful to hear from you here! I love what you said about there being a rhythm to life – I’ll be keeping that in mind as I head to the island soon and get set up there 🙂 And I think you’re very right about taking the time to sort through the stories I’ve been gathering and begin to tell them…as much as I’d love to keep traveling right now, I also feel like it might be time to honor the stories I’m grateful to have already experienced – and of course, I look forward to sharing as many as I can here with you. Wishing you a beautiful start to 2014!
Awesome. That is the word.
May 2014 quickly shape up to be the year of great creation. You made quite an impact on 2013 – now hunker down and wrestle mightily. Make those words shine until the publishing world wonders where all that light is coming from, and drops by to investigate.
Mike, my friend, you have this exquisite talent of penning words that bring me to tears, and which I immediately have to go and transfer into my journal. Thank you for that 🙂 I’m beyond excited about the year ahead of us both…I’ve got a good feeling about it! Amen to it being a year of great creation.
That sounds like such a wonderful plan Candace – I’m quite jealous! There’s something to be said for the opportunity to hunker down and focus solely on one singular creative outlet. Not to mention that the yurt and the island seem like a beautiful place to do it! I can’t wait to hear about your experiences and read your memoir as it makes it’s way out into the world – be that in one year or ten.
Have fun slowing down! Like others, this experience will still seem to pass quicky – so is life!
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Lindsey! I’m especially grateful for what you said about my memoir making its way into the world when it’s ready, be it in one year or ten. That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in this process…that the book will be done when it needs to be done, and that time only helps in understanding the story better. Hope all has been well since your NZ adventures, I’m wishing you a wonderful 2014!
This is exactly how I feel this year!
That’s awesome to hear, Andi! Here’s hoping we’re both able to slow down a little 🙂 Wishing you all the best for 2014!
AMAZING!! Candace, that looks like the perfect little place to finish your book. I wish I could drop by and write a little something of my own. I can’t wait to see how it all works out. XO
Nothing would make me happier than if you were to drop by the yurt for a little weekend book-writing session!! While I’m guessing the chances of that happening are a little low (unless you’re passing through Portland sometime this spring?!) I’ve still got my fingers crossed for Mexico one day 😉 I’m excited to see where 2014 takes you and Brian! xo
I have to admit I’ve never heard of a yurt before but it looks so cute and cosy! I am actually living in Vancouver at the moment – 7 months and counting – and it would be great to catch up sometime. Talk soon 🙂
I’m so glad I could introduce you to yurts, Hayley 🙂 Although I’ve known about them for a while now, I’ve still yet to step foot in one! And I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear you’re in Vancouver…what are the chances?? Will you still be there in February? It would be amazing to finally meet up in person 🙂 I’m so looking forward to it!
I definitely will be here in February!
Fantastic! I’ll be in touch a little closer to when I’m passing through 🙂 Can’t wait to meet up!
Agreed! I, too, am ready to slow down and shift gears in 2014. Let’s keep one another accountable 😉
Done! I am all about some accountability this year, Kristin 😉 Here’s to a year of focus and intention!
I live halfway between San Francisco and Portland. If you’re driving and need a place to stay feel free to hit me up!
Thank you so much for that, Shanna – I would love the chance to meet up! While I don’t think I will be driving on the way up to Seattle this month, I will absolutely be back in the Bay Area this summer, and perhaps a West Coast roadtrip is in store 🙂 I’ll keep you posted!
So exciting Candace! I love the PNW – and I cannot wait to see the sketches and writing that come out of that beautiful yurt! (Have you read The Brothers K? Makes me think of the house on of the brothers goes to live in). Enjoy — wish I could swing by for a little writing time too!
I wish you could swing by as well! It would be so lovely to finally meet up in person 🙂 I’m ashamed to say I actually haven’t read that novel yet, but it sounds like I need to make that happen! And yes…although I’ve only spent a few weeks in the PNW, I truly loved the area, so I’m excited to get to know it a little better this spring. By the way, I just hopped over to your blog and realized how terribly behind I am – the photos from your treks in Oregon are *stunning*, so I shall finish up here soon and go pore through your stories. Wishing you a wonderful 2014, Aurora!
You need to look at the book When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler’s Journal of Staying Put by Vivian Swift …a sketch artist like you who settled down for in a small NE town – charming with great insights about life & living I randomly found and fell in love with this book as a fellow traveller still consumed by wanderlust 🙂
Hello, Abbe! Funnily enough, I followed your previous recommendation of the book and actually bought it a couple of weeks ago 🙂 Although I haven’t had much of a chance to read through it yet, it looks beautiful and I’m really looking forward to bringing it with me to the yurt. Thanks so much again for suggesting it!
Candace, Love your Passion for travel, your writing and especially your Sketches.
i’ve been following your blog/travels for a awhile. Glad you’ll be enjoying the PNW soon.
As a fellow traveler (just got back from 3 weeks in the countryside of South Vietnam yesterday) I really appreciate your want to see and truly feel your travels, and sharing them through your heart and very beautiful sketches.
I look forward to more of your work. You’ve inspired my journaling and I’ve started working on my asia blog again (pretty rough though)http://ttowneinasia.blogspot.com/
Big Thanks
Todd/Tacoma
Welcome back from Vietnam, Todd! It’s awesome to hear you’ve just been exploring one of my favorite countries for three weeks 🙂 I look forward to checking out your blog and reading about your time there! I also just wanted to thank you for your kind words – it’s always a huge boost to hear that the stories and sketches I share here resonate with someone. I hope the new year is off to a great start for you so far, and I look forward to hopefully meeting up in the PNW sometime soon!
Well, 2014 for me has started with a bit of uncertainty. It would be a blessing to ‘hear myself living’; to achieve that level of peace and inner serenity. A yurt on an island sounds like just the place to be. Enjoy!! I look forward to your memoirs 🙂
I’m really sorry to hear about your present uncertainty, Gayla – I absolutely understand how unsettling it can be to not have the answers or direction we desire. I’m so glad to hear the phrase from Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel resonated with you, though, and I hope it might help you find some amount of peace as you walk through the unknown right now. I’ll be thinking of you! Thank you as always for reading and saying hello 🙂
That’s amazing! I love your yurt- it looks like such a perfect place to craft a memoir! And what a wonderful intention, to hear yourself living. Definitely an important goal for anyone, no matter how slow or fast they’re moving! I always take away some new piece of inspiration from your posts 🙂
Thanks so much, Casey! I’m definitely looking forward to the writing retreat 🙂 And I love what you said about living with intention, no matter the speed at which we’re traveling and moving…that’s such a great thought. What does 2014 hold for you? Any idea where you’re headed next?
So excited for you, Candace! I can’t wait to see what you pen on paper. You are a remarkable person and beautiful writer, so I know I will enjoy reading it. Best wishes!!
Thank you, Josalin! That really means the world to me. It’s been so wonderful connecting with you these last few weeks, and I can’t wait to see where your path leads in 2014. wishing you all the best for your writing and journeying!
I am glad to know that you are also writing a book and you are going to seclude yourself to finish it. All the best, Candace!
I have also written a novel, but I still need to polish it. I have sidelined it because of my blog. Even I have decided to get back to it in 2014. Thanks for the encouragement!
Thanks so much, Renuka! It’s awesome to hear about your own book as well – big congrats on finishing it…whether or not it needs polishing, that’s still a huge accomplishment to have completed the first draft. I’m thrilled you’ve decided to pick the project back up, and know that I can’t wait to read it!
What an adventure! That’s an amazing opportunity. How exciting. And I know what you mean about taking it quietly for awhile–even in the last few days I’ve realized how much I miss just doing things for the fun of it–I’ve bogged myself down with so much, that I’ve made a chore of most things, when it isn’t necessary. So I’ve been trying to take it more quietly. I wish you the best of luck! And I can’t wait to see your next post. Man, the yurt looks so cozy and cute…and inspirational. Good luck with the writing!
Thank you, Elora! I’m so glad you like the look of the yurt – it won me over immediately as soon as I saw the photos of it 🙂 Thanks as well for sharing about your own quest to slow down and begin doing things that bring you joy, not because they’re something to check off your to-do list. I hope you’re able to claim back some of those things, and that the process brings you contentment and peace – wishing you all the best for the new year, Elora!
Great post. Always looking forward to what you have to write next. And where you go next.
Thanks so much, Clay! That means a lot. Any ideas where you’re headed next yourself? 🙂
Just found your blog via Travel Junkette and love it already! Thanks for sharing your life with the world. I just have one small, constructive piece of advice or something like that… twenty-somethings aren’t your only audience that will appeal to your writing. Thirty-somethings go through a similar type of transformation/search. I know this because I am this and all of my friends that are open about it, are going through it too. Maybe forty-somethings do as well, but I’m not there yet! So don’t leave out the older folks! We can benefit from your generosity of spirit as well. 🙂
I’m so glad that Travel Junkette sent you this way today, Jenny – it’s great to hear from you! I can’t thank you enough for your candid advice – I love what you said about the transformation and search, and it’s interesting that you and your friends are going through something similar right now. I will absolutely be keeping that in mind as I begin the process of finishing my book – perhaps it has a broader audience than I’ve been giving it credit for 🙂 Thanks again, and I hope you’ll continue reading and sharing your insights this year!
WAH! I AM passing by Seattle/Vancouver in April! Do you think we can somehow meet up? Oh my goodness! I’m going to bring my copy of “Beneath the Lantern’s Glow” and get you to sign it 🙂
Whaaa?? Pauline, this is just about the best news ever 🙂 We absolutely *have* to meet up, and it would be such an honor to sign your copy in person…please keep me posted on your plans!!
Our trip has actually been moved back to early May, but I see that you’ll be in Vancouver until the end of May. So, hopefully this will work out in our favor! I’ll keep you posted!
Thanks so much for the update, Pauline! I will be on Salt Spring until the end of May, but would love to either see you on the island or in Vancouver itself 🙂 Please keep me posted, and I am so looking forward to finally connecting in person! xo
Loved this piece! It seems that the older I get, the faster life comes at me. I reconnected with a bit of that stillness (ironically since I was always moving) on the Camino de Santiago and have tried to figure out how to add it to my day-to-day life. I wish you all the creative energy to focus and finish up your memoir during your time there. Looks like a beautiful area where you can slow down, savor those small moments, and reflect on your adventures thus far. ~Courtney
Thanks, Courtney! I loved what you said about the stillness you felt on the Camino – although it’s definitely a bit ironic, I couldn’t agree more. I wonder if the thing about these pilgrimages and walking journeys that helps us feel centered is the focus they bring. We have one goal, we’re close to the ground, we’re living simply and moving only by our own momentum – all things I’m trying to claim back in my regular, non-pilgrimaging life this year 🙂 I really thank you for your kind words, and wish you the same for 2014! I hope you find time to savor the small moments in Japan as well.
So many thoughts on this!
First, and most importantly, I am so happy to hear that you feel like you’re back in the right place to tackle your book again. You’re right that some things just can’t be rushed, but when you know, you know, and I always love that stage of a project where you’re just itching to work on it (even if it will be, you know, work).
Second: As amazing as it would have been if you had come back to Saigon (I mean, seriously! How awesome would that have been?!?), I cannot fault you for going with that yurt. It is seriously adorable and I think the serenity will be conducive to your work. Plus, it’s still an adventure, just of a different scale and scope.
Third: Despite loathing Eat Pray Love so much I found everything after the Italy sections unreadable, I am excited to try Gilbert’s new book. I think she is a good writer, I maybe just don’t find her life story as interesting as she herself does.
(As an aside, I am always so impressed with how you read so much that you always have the best quotes to start of every single one of your posts. You’ve got a gift, my friend!)
Yay! There’s nothing I love more than a list of fun thoughts. Firstly, thank you so much! I love that stage as well, and definitely feel like I’m in it right now. And yes, although I would have loved to settle down in Saigon with you guys for a little while, as soon as this opportunity came up, it just felt like the right decision. I can’t wait to keep following your own adventures in Vietnam right now, though, and live there vicariously for a while through your posts 😉 Finally, I know what you mean about Eat, Pray, Love – I have mixed feelings about it, too, but I am enjoying her new novel…hopefully you’ll have a chance to check it out soon!
PS – I have a small confession: I find most of the quotes simply through Google and GoodReads! Occasionally there will be one in something I’m reading at the time, but usually I have to go hunt for them 🙂
This all sounds so exciting! I’ve never heard of a yurt but it definitely looks and sounds like a cozy little place to get some solitude and lots of work done. Good luck with it all and I can’t wait to read the book!
Thanks so much, Mariana! If not for my little school project so many years ago, I doubt I would have heard of a yurt either 🙂 But I’m definitely looking forward to it, and especially to the writing retreat it promises to be! I think I read on your site that you recently moved to Australia? I did the working holiday program in New Zealand and really enjoyed it – how’s it going in Oz so far?
Wow! (I feel like I start a lot of my comments to you that way…)
That’s such a great idea for working. I think if I gave Shawn the choice, that’s where he’d be for three months (or longer) to work. I only wish that we were going to be closer to come visit.
I wish you could visit, too! That would be lovely 🙂 But in the mean time, I’m excited to keep following along your SE Asian adventures!
My father and uncle built a yurt back in the ’60s and we visited it a few years ago in western Massachusetts. Seemed like a fun place to be, and definitely great for focusing on your memoir! Will you have internet access in the yurt itself or will you need to go into town for that?
Can’t wait to read more.
That’s awesome to hear, Kara! Although I’ve been fascinated by yurts for a long time, I’ve yet to actually step foot in one, so I’m really looking forward to it. And I believe there actually is wifi in this yurt, so that should be helpful!
How about your own travel plans? I think I saw on your site that you’ll be graduating soon…any idea of what you’d like to do afterwards? 🙂
Your place is so cute! It looks like a great place to chill and live in solitude so you can focus. Enjoy your ‘you’ time and getting the things you want done, done!
Thanks, Nina! My heart did indeed melt a little when I first saw the photos – I can’t wait to call the yurt home in just about a month’s time 🙂 All the best to you for the new year as well – I just read your latest post on freelancing and loved it…keep up the awesome work!
If you end up in Portland, OR at any point and want to meet up for coffee or tea, please let me know! I’d love to pick your brain on Turkey.
That would be wonderful, Heather! I’d love to finally meet up in person and chat about all things pilgrimages 🙂 I’ll keep you posted, and let me know if you’re up near Vancouver at any point this spring!
Candace, this sounds wonderful. I’ve just spent a few months in sleepy Devon and it was exactly what I needed — time to hear myself living. What a wonderful way to put it.
Good luck with the book. I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you, Victoria! I’m so happy that you and Steve were able to base yourselves in Devon for a little while and hear yourselves live – I thought that was just the most perfect way to describe it, and I am excited to put it into practice very soon at the yurt!
Saltspring Island is the perfect place for you! I lived in Victoria for many, many years and we would go to Saltspring in the summer for the market and the country roads. It is known as an artists’ retreat – you are going to fit in perfectly. Besides, the yurt is adorable!
That’s awesome to hear, Gillian! I hadn’t realized you lived in Victoria for a while – I’m definitely looking forward to visiting there while I’m on Salt Spring 🙂 And I have heard that there are quite a few artists and musicians on the island, so I can’t wait to connect with them and hopefully be a part of their community for a few months. Keep me posted if you visit either island while I’m in the area!