Transitions by Will

On our final evening in Boise I sat on a balcony for a moment taking in what has become the familiar vista from our bedroom.  Seeing downtown Boise and the mountains to the east offered a reassuring sense of stability.  Knowing it was not to be our constant backdrop for the next three months made me pause for an extra second and try to capture a portable image in my mind, something that I could carry with us but that did not need to be added to our expanding collection of baggage.

Flash forward, after the usual highs and lows of air travel and we find ourselves immersed in a new city.  We have exchanged a twenty-mile view for one that measures twenty meters.  I am can now see across a busy street into offices that are located in a historic downtown Barcelona building.  The apartment we rented brought us a fresh platform from which to launch our adventure.  Everything was new until it was not.  Upon closer inspection we saw the scuffs, hand prints, and deferred maintenance issues that comes with any property.  Suddenly I was taking my first pictures in Spain not of the historic and vibrant culture we had come to explore but instead creating a portfolio of images to document the state of the apartment as defense against any claims from the rental agency that we had caused this damage.  I was interested in protecting our nest egg of a damage deposit.  I did not need to leave Boise to have this experience.  This is universal to anyone who had rented, owned or just occupied a building.

Perhaps is was not until after taking a run along the beach and then heading out to discover the city with the kids that I found my body shifting tempo.  I was not committed to the usual agenda attached to typical international travel, a mental countdown timer watching the sacred number of days left dwindling from a precious few towards a rapidly approaching departure day.  We have time.  Time to sit in a church on the way to the store and just watch tourists come and go.  No need to see all the side alters today, we can come back tomorrow.  Space to lean against a wall and watch the full documentary movie about Antoni Gaudi's life without dread that the next stop on our itinerary is a thirty minute walk away.  We have permission to try a new alley in the Gothic Quarter, even when it holds little promise of revealing a 'must see' attraction.  It is a game to wander at an unconventional pace.  To reflect on what strikes you at the moment and not be overcome by the numerous pages flagged in the guidebook.  The intent now is to leave with a general direction in mind and allow ourselves to find the rhythm of discovery.  The real journey has little to do with place and much to do with pace.