Coincidences

I have adopted my own philosophy whilst on this journey. It may sound quite superstitious or even religious, but I propose that its actually an entertaining way to view the world, and on occasion it can be a solace and guide.

My philosophy is as follows: coincidences are the sign-posts of your true path. They are what highlight that you are on the right path, and that good things await. They also serve to guide your decision-making.

The fun of this way of thinking is that it makes you super-aware of the world around you. I am constantly lingering, looking into things further, hyper-sensitive to events and things around me. Which is a wonderful thing when you are travelling! The significance of this way of thinking is that I feel some comfort and almost spiritual accompaniament, which is soothing when travelling far from home and friends and family. I like to believe some divine spirit is watching over me, and communicating to me via coincidences. Its not necessarily what I actually believe, but its soothing to act like I believe it.

So... coincidences... there have been quite a few startling ones. Here are just a few of them: (Note, Ste, this is me taking your advice and adding sub-headings to break my sagas up a bit!)

1. St Nicolas in Myra
I was sitting in my pension called St Nicolas Pension, in the area called Myra (in Turkey). I had just left my 10-day tour and was by myself for the first time, unsure if I'd made the right decision. I was waiting for my breakfast, and leafing through an activities pamphlet on my table, with the heading on the cover 'St Nicolas - Myra'. I closed the pamphlet, picked up my novel 'The 2 1/2 Pillars of Wisdom', and went to the paragraph I was up to. The sentence began 'Have you heard of St Nicolas, who was the bishop of Myra in the 4th Centure AD?'.

I was breathless and stunned. To be sitting in St Nicolas Pension, in Myra, having just read the words 'St Nicolas - Myra', and then to read the same words in the book I was reading right at that point in time... the odds are scary. Coincidence, or divine sign? Well, I took it as a sign that I had made the right decision to leave the tour and head to this place on my own...

2. Amazing mazes
I was on my last full day of my first leg of my journey, in Seville. I had been a bit lonely after Turkey, everything else had paled in comparison, and I hadn't met any people vaguely as interesting as I'd met in Turkey, and I was yearning for some good company. All I had met were young silly Aussies and Americans, more intent on getting drunk on cheap vodka in their rooms than exploring places, or more intent on saving every cent than exploring what a city had to offer. The night before I had gone out with a few people from my hostel, nice but not terribly exciting. The only thing I remember was a story one girl had told me about this couple she had met in Cordoba: they were a married couple but were forced to sleep in separate rooms as the dorms in this hostel were not mixed. They were supposedly an interesting couple as they were researching Spanish food before heading back to Sydney to open a funky Tapas restaurant... I found this interesting for obvious reasons (yes, Damien, you are that reason!)

Anyway, back to the next day. I was lonely and a little sad. I was about to head back to London the next day, and I wanted desperately to have a fun experience with a kindred spirit. Then I found a maze! I had been wandering through the incredible gardens of the Alcazar in Seville, these majestic thrilling gardens created by kalifs and kings. I have a thing about mazes (similar to the thing I have for ruins!), so was rather excited by my find. I ventured into the maze, in awe and in wonderment - it was the most wonderful maze, thick and lush and wild and confusing. I fell into almost a daze, almost dizzy with glee. It was such fun to wander alone, with the smell of orange blossoms and honeysuckle in the air, and the sound of birds chirping... When I finally came out of my trance, the first thing I saw was this couple, running around chasing each other in the maze (the maze reached eye-level, so you could see other people in the maze). They were having so much fun, it reminded me of my friends and what we would have done in such a maze. We ended up falling into conversation, and helped each other out of the maze. They introduced themselves, they were in Spain researching Spanish food as they were going to open a tapas restaurant in Sydney...

... Can you imagine my shock! I did a double-take and said to them "Oh my god, I know you! You were in Cordoba a few days ago, and you are married, and you couldn't sleep in the same room as they weren't mixed dorms!" My look of shock was quickly reflected in their faces! "How do you know that?!" they asked. "Aah, I'm magic" I grinned... then told them how I knew. We fell into conversation, and did not move from that spot outside the maze for an hour as we chatted incessantly about the best jamon we had tried, the best place to try sherry, how the salmorejo in La Coruna was divine... I had found my food kindred spirits!!! After an hour we arranged to meet up that night to go out. We ended up having the most wonderful time together, doing a tapas crawl of Seville, trying everything, moaning about the flavours, discussing our lives... they are a very cool couple! We then found an underground flamenco bar, and watched in awe as wild woman pounded the floor with their heels. What a night! What a find! Coincidence?? Or a sign?

3. Russian Museum encounter
My last night in London was spent at Pip's farewell party. She and her boyfriend were off to travel before heading back home, like me. Anyway, fast forward two weeks, and I'm in the Russian Museum by myself, once again after finishing my tour. I was having a lovely time gazing at art, but then, for some reason, I thought to myself "Why aren't there any beautiful people in Russia?" because indeed, I had found it a particularly unattractive place to people-watch. So at that moment, I turned from the art on the walls and surveyed the large room I was in to see if there were any pretty people around. My eyes went to one guy who had just walked in the room, he was the best looking person in the room... then I noticed who was on his arm... Pip! Yep, Pip had just walked into my room in the Russian Museum just as I was surveying it. Very weird! We tried to arrange to meet up that night, but her phone wasn't receiving or sending messages, so it never happened, but it was a funny coincidence nonetheless. What does it mean? Not sure yet.

So there you go... weird hey? Coincidence or divine messages... not sure, but its more fun to believe its the latter!