OCTOBER 22 - THE LAST DAY

Friday, October 22 – When I woke (that damn alarm again) I turned on the tv and the bow camera told me that we were in port. A quick dress, and off for breakfast, back to the room, and up to the lounge to wait for the others to meander. We let the organized groups go first – by the time we get there, the Customs people have gone for their morning coffee, so we retrieved our bags easily (all the other bags had already been taken) and we strolled out without anyone even looking at us, our luggage or our passports. The bus was waiting, but I put my foot down and insisted we get a group picture in which everyone’s face can be seen. And we did, in a location with our ship, Cristal, in the background.

The bus ride to the airport took us along the coast – Yanni had called and found the traffic was heavy on the highway, so we took the coastal road with a better view and about the same travel time. I had presented him with a Xavier Society bag earlier, and on the bus we gave him our envelope. We made a bathroom stop at the airport, check in was easy (except for two of our group who got randomly picked for a full baggage search) and I even found a free wifi service. For the record – you did not have to take off your shoes. While we were waiting to board, I saw a man I thought looked familiar – then I wondered – finally I went up and it was a guy who plays sax at the Jazz at Noon group (which this season moves to the Players Club instead of the National Arts Club).

 I wasn't the only one who didn't get enough sleep last night.

Airplane travel is airplane travel – many of the same films and tv shows on the entertainment system – I remembered how bad the beef had been on the way over so I had chicken. Better. Someone in First Class bought out the chocolate covered blueberries before they got to me, so I saved money – but now what am I going to get for so and so? (Just kidding.) It was the retirement flight for one of the flight attendants after 41 years of service. She was a First Class attendant, so we really didn’t even see her, but they made the announcement several times, and large pictures of her at the beginning of her career and now were posted in the cabin in several places. As we were settling in, before we took off, the pilot announced that the doors were closed, and if anyone wanted to change their seats they could – so the woman next to me, in the middle, went searching and found an aisle seat, so the seat next to me is empty. Thank you, Jesus! And I got my computer into the overhead, so the space under the seat in front of me is also blessedly empty.

I’m finishing this bit on the plane – when we land, I will get my bag from Customs and see about a flight to Buffalo. I have a reservation on a 9PM but if we get there in time and no problems, I might try for a 6:20 that exists. (Turned out it didn't exist, and I waited in the airport for the 10 something plane, that ended up being about 40 minutes late. Sigh. Welcome home.)

Reflection: A trip like this needs some reflection time, and I’m not sure I am entirely ready for that. On the other hand, looking at my schedule for the next several weeks, this may be the best chance I have, at least in the immediate future.

It was a varied group, and the dynamics were a little strange at the beginning – one woman from Minnesota didn’t know anybody, was traveling alone and is blind. Another who came along is also blind; I knew her, but I was the only one. She had a roommate she didn’t know. Two other blind people had companions with them. Our Xavier group was 13 and then we had 7 others we didn’t know either. One person knew only me and her sister whom she had brought with her. One person spent more time working and looking for internet cafes and connections than taking part in the pilgrimage, one person was working through some personal problems, another got sick toward the end with an intestinal infection of some kind, another had knee problems, and another could only walk for very short distances, and in fact carried a seat cane so she could sit when she needed. So there were distractions and problems - mostly minor but it was not a trip of unbroken joy.

But each person on the pilgrimage is basically a good person, and we started taking care of one another almost from the first moment. We were interested in one another and when we got on the boat and into the private dining room, we started learning more about one another. Different people took different tours, and went exploring in different groups, so there was usually a story to share, an experience to relate. There was extraordinary generosity in helping the blind folks who were traveling alone – they are both very independent, but in strange situations, like exploring the Grand Bazaar or climbing a mountain, some help is needed. Some people learned how to help a blind person – many people don’t know that and haven’t had any experience of what blind people need and want. And don’t want.

I’ve been doing these pilgrimages for only two years but so far, we have been positively blessed with guides. Last year Moshe – this year Iannis. Thank you whatever guardian angel or St. Francis Xavier is guiding these people to us. It does make a world of difference when the guide is more than competent, likes the group and helps make the exploring fun and rewarding. We know from the Xavier Society that there are some who are clients, who use our services. There are also those who become friends, whose lives we get to know in a small way. I hope that for our guides we have moved from being just clients to something more.

 Our new best friend, who guided us in and around so many places.

Daily Mass is an important anchor, at least for me. It helps keep me in a pilgrimage mode, rather than a tour or a trip or a “vacation.” Not every stop or every location had something to do with St. Paul, but they were part of the world in which he lived and preached, to one degree or another. And as we discovered last year, having to “re-see” the views and panoramas and sights in order to describe them to our companions was an illuminating and an important part of the trip. (As I write this we are leaving Europe behind and heading out into the ocean – Lord, your seas are so large and this plane is so small….)

I found strange things moving – Mars Hill, where Paul preached, is a large rock. Yet that touched me more than some of the architectural and archaeological marvels we saw. I found myself at home in the Grand Bazaar, probably from my time in Nigeria, but the group of 4,000 shops, the people pressed together, shop keepers trying to sell you something as you passed by, the bargaining – I felt very much at home.

And yet I don’t like crowds (unless, as I noted earlier, they’re audience.) I don’t like tourists and I am already planning next year’s trip to the Holy Land in the same time period we went last year, precisely to avoid crowds. Go figure.

Watching BBC Europe reminds me that for most of the world the U.S. is NOT the center of the world and much of what goes isn’t even interesting in other countries. The lead story while we have been away has been pretty much the riots in France, to a lesser degree the budget cuts in Britain, and the continuing protests in Greece.

In the final analysis, there are probably more negative comments for the agent here in the U.S. than there were for last year's pilgrimage. But it was a wonderful time, and we met some truly extraordinary people. Everyone had the freedom to create their own trip, and I think that most did. That their pilgrimage didn't always look a lot like mine is a tribute to how good the trip was, I think. 

There will be more pictures, at some point, and perhaps even more reflections. Or stories I have forgotten. When I left the airport I went up to Buffalo for the NY State Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, where I gave a speech and said Mass on Sunday morning. 

Next year - back to Jerusalem!!! With a couple of days in Jordan. Stay tuned for further announcements.