Maybe it was the tenderness with which she welcomed me into her home. Into her circle of friends and her daily routine. How we cooked meals together and set the table with forks and knives...so civil. Or her kind reminders to eat my vegetables, and drink enough water. Maybe it was the sense of adventure we both had; a relaxed spontaneous sort of spirit. The shared grumbling of our tummies on the hunt to fill up on tasty treats. Or it could have been the comfort of seeing a familiar face after having met so many new ones this semester. One of these things, or all of these things, left me feeling at ease, assured and light. It was all so familiar yet so new.
Last time I saw her we were 15. Her family was visiting North Carolina once more and we’d met up to watch a track meet and eat Moe’s. Now we’re 19 and I’m visiting her in Scotland. Didn’t see that coming.
It was odd. We embraced and talked like old friends, which we were, but you could almost say we were strangers. Because 4 years changes a person. The week held promise of sweet conversations, laughter and discoveries. We reminisced on shared history; or short lived ‘glory days’ on the track team, impactful english teachers, schoolmates that we’d forgotten about. We asked about each other’s lives; our best and most favorite memories, our passions and plans and families.
Jo said that I brought the sun with me. After months of usual UK weather, St. Andrews experienced a full 7 days of sunshine and warm weather. And we wasted none of it. Walking for miles, soaking in rays, and relishing each and every day.
One of those days Jo was in class and I was out exploring the little town by myself. Which is okay with me, I don’t mind being alone, in fact I enjoy it… usually. But today felt different. It was a bright, sunny day and everyone was out soaking it in. The line for gelato was out the door, almost all the benches were taken and students were flooding in groups to the seashore. I wanted to go. But something was holding me back. I couldn’t feel as happy as they looked, couldn't take pleasure in exploring this unknown territory. Not alone. Not without someone to take it in with. Which was odd. I felt desperate to share in the experience with. Desperate to look at something and say out loud “wow isn’t that beautiful, isn’t this cool” and hear a response. I wanted the memory to be held by more than just my brain. A feeling I haven’t felt in a while. So I sat there and read my book while I waited for her to be done with class so we could explore together.
The next day though, the last day, was exhilarating. The original plan was to walk from St. Andrews to Crail via the coastal path, have Fish & Chips in that town then walk back. But when we found that Crail was 14 miles one-way we thought; hmm better not. So we ate Thai Street Food from Tanon grabbed our adventure gear and set out to see where this coastal path would lead us.
We had been walking for 5 minutes when we hear the sounds of an acoustic guitar and euphonic voices ringing in the air. Glancing back we see two guys not too far behind us, strumming and singing loudly, giant smiles plastered on their face and feet pressing forward with leisure and direction. We walk on enjoying the music they provided, sometimes singing along and nodding our head with the rhythm. When they catch up to us, they ask if we too were headed to the hidden cave for the wedding ceremony (I later found that he meant an academic wedding, which is a student tradition). Curious to see this cave, we follow them a few hundred feet and turn down a steep decline, and I brace myself for a fall that I’m sure is coming. It didn't, and a group is gathered on the beach talking and chatting and one of them comes up to us. “You here for the wedding!?” “No, we just followed some people here, we wanted to see the hidden cave.” I sense a slight disappointment but it's quickly masked with excitement. “Oh! It’s right over here I’ll show you.” We follow him carefully over jagged rocks and ascend up a muddy incline, holding tightly to the three ropes tied to separate trees.
At the top we duck into the cave and survey the scene. My initial reaction was “this is it?” I don’t know what I was expecting. It was dark and damp, two giant slabs of rock and an opening. Greenery growing in between cracks with a nice view of the sea. My first hidden cave experience. It was nice, we stayed for all of 60 seconds and traveled back the way we came. Saying farewells and thank you’s to the kind strangers we continued on in search of the next adventure.
I was really impressed with how fast Josephine scaled those rocks. Every now and again one would slip from under her feet. I would gasp and look up, thinking she’d fallen, and she’d look back at me and chuckle, already safely on a secured rock. Honestly, I could barely keep up. I’ve always loved the challenge of finding routes to solid ground but didn’t realize how tentatively I proceed. Watching her advance so fast encouraged me to step up my game.
We come to this opening. And we just stare, I fill up the silence with the word “wow” on repeat. To the right; sand, rocks, and seashells color the ground below a colossal overhanging cliff. On the left; clear blues of turquoise and teal, dark rock just below the shallow waters. And right in the middle three looming mounds of earth shot up from the shoreline. We pick one and head to climb it.
Going up was no problem at all. The rugged earth providing the perfect holds to propel higher. The puzzle of finding where to put your feet, how to angle your body so that you can hoist your weight up up up. It was fun, it gives you an accomplished feeling. Atop, maybe 40-45 feet in the air, sitting on a thin grassy piece of earth. The view astonishing, the wind strong, and the sun warm. I wasn’t yet worried. Because going up was no problem at all. But going down… yeah that was a challenge. From the first move down I was struggling. Jo started a video of the descend but it took so long to get down that she stopped less than halfway through. But I’m alive without injury or pain so praise God!
So I guess I’ll wrap up here. Everything, EVERYTHING was lovely in St. Andrews. Thank you Jo for the wonderful reunion, for looking out and providing for me, encouraging me and teaching me a few life lessons. I cannot wait to do this again!
I hate leaving so much out of the story but there is just no way I could relate it all. One month till the journey is over but it ain’t over yet:)