Leaving this place is quite different than the day I arrived. First of all, the day I arrived it was pouring buckets and now today it is a most beautifully sunny day. But more significant is the change I am as a traveler I suppose. Arriving I was on my own, doing my own thing...I did meet a woman (Jenny) on the bus across Mull. She’d seen me on the train and sat with me on the bus and it turned out we were both going to Iona, though she was staying at the other centre. We sat together today again on the bus to bookend our journey. One member of the Iona community met us last Saturday as we arrived at the jetty and accompanied us up to the abbey. Today the whole community came down to the pier and waved and cheered us off until we were out of sight. We sat in little groups on the ferry, still exchanging contact info and now many of us are sitting scattered on the train. A guy I’d noticed on the ferry out I saw again on the ferry back today. I haven’t seen him all week. I don’t think he was on Iona but he was coming back on the same ferry and train from wherever he was. We exchanged nods of recognition. I guess the difference being that we’d all arrived as individuals and we’re all leaving as a community, family of sorts, with a common link. Even that guy seems like an old friend. It makes this route a completely different journey.
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