Coincidences?

One thing I was kindly reminded of last night by a new friend: coincidences are not uncommon when traveling. 

As long as you're open to explore new opportunities. In my last post I stated that the adventure came to a close, and I couldn’t be any further from the truth. The adventure never ends.

Coincidences? Was it a coincidence that I had been planning to teach English in Japan, got a contract, then a friend tells me to look further into the nuclear disaster. Doubts on the severity of the radiation began to arise and I questioned whether or not I should pursue my trip to Japan.

Was it a coincidence that in the spring of 2010, while training in Capoeira, Carlos decided to join the academy for a few months (let me remind you that he's 56 years old). We hadn’t seen each other in years. Then he told me about his plans to sail to Brazil (last summer). I told him: if you were only doing this trip when I finish teacher’s college, I would join you in a heartbeat. He told me, he had waited too long, and he was going to Brazil alone.

In the spring 2011, soon after I had doubts about going to Japan, I met up with Carlos at a gathering of family friends. Was it a coincidence that he had delayed his trip one year? Last summer he got up as far as Quebec City then realized that he wasn’t prepared to go to Brazil at that time and would miss the window to travel down.

So I asked if I could join him, never having been on a sail boat in my life! He accepted. I declined my contract for Japan and we began the voyage to Halifax. I gained a lot of experience along the way. Not only in terms of sailing, but through the conversations I had with Carlos and Mario, through the people I met along the way, through the challenges and the delightful moments.

When I had made my decision to stop in Halifax and not pursue the voyage to Brazil, I had many doubts in my mind as to whether or not this was the right decision. If not Brazil, then what would I do for this year that I wanted to take off? Upon arriving in Halifax, I was kindly reminded to be patient, coincidences are endless.

Why did we even choose to come into Halifax when Chester was to be our final stop? Why did we choose to stop at a small Marina we found across from Halifax in the city of Dartmouth? To be honest, I’m not sure how these ideas crept into our minds. I feel like we’re in Inception, and someone came and planted new ideas in our minds.

Anyhow, we stopped at Alderley Marina in Dartmouth. Coincidence? It just so happened that Arcade Fire was to play a show in the stage right next door to the Marina, and we had prime spots out in the water. It just so happened that it was ‘Natal Day’…celebrating the birth of Halifax. Funny, because we were planning to sail to the city of Natal in Brazil; that was to be my final destination. Then while Arcade Fire was playing that evening, I decided to take the dinghy out to get a better view. I also felt like rowing instead of turning on the engine. And while rowing, a group of people on a sail boat asked if I wanted a drink for all my rowing efforts. I tied on to their boat and hopped on and was immediately introduced to an amazing bunch of people. (On a side note: I have only met amazing people out here on the East Coast…I think it’s simply about living close to the ocean). So in their company I listened to the show and had amazing conversations. The beautiful lights from the city of Halifax behind us, and the illuminated MacDonald bridge by our side.

One of the girls on the boat, Lavilla, told me that coincidences are not uncommon while traveling. A truth that many travelers can attest to. She told me about her stay in New Zealand and her plans to return. I had always dreamed of going to New Zealand…who knows! All I can do is to keep my soul open, patiently knowing that the universe will guide me in a new direction through a strange series of coincidences....

For those friends of mine that keep asking me why I travel so much. It’s for this. It’s for these moments, these coincidences. It’s for the random people you meet along the way. Amazing people everywhere. It’s for the adventures you have. It’s for the lessons you learn. It’s for getting lost then finding your way. It's because I am most alive while traveling and I can’t get enough of it!