I’m back from leading my Scottish Highlands & Islands Odyssey and my fellow ‘Odyssey-ites’ (sixteen) and I had the most wonderfilled, magical, transformative time, ever! (We’re only back physically – our hearts and souls are still there!)
Whenever I talk about the experience, people respond with a deep sigh and say, “I wish I could have been there.”
That got me thinking, and I decided to share my day-to-day Odyssey experiences with you through a series of posts. Starting today, every few days, I’ll post an account with photos of our amazing adventure. Please feel free to offer feedback and ask questions.
I’m so thankful to all of the people who joined me on what has been (and continues to be) revealed to us as a ‘game changing’ event in our lives. And I’m so thankful to all of you who are fellow travelers on the path of Spiritual evolution.
Thursday, October 2nd and Friday, October 3rd
Winslow Eliot and I arrived at Edinburgh airport and as our driver lead us to the parking lot on this uncharacteristically warm and sunny day, we noticed the huge banner hanging from the building across from us. It read, “Edinburgh Welcomes You Home!”
What an auspicious beginning to our adventure! Winslow (who was assisting me on the Odyssey) and I had come in a couple of days early to make sure everything was in order. We used the time well. Over the next two days, we had a great lunch and a celebratory glass of Prosecco at Stac Polly, the restaurant that would host our opening and farewell group dinners and met the delightful Pam, who was in charge of the arrangements. We made sure the hotel was aware of all of our arrivals and was prepared to make our stay there comfortable. We wandered about the town and got our bearings (OK- since I have a very poor sense of direction, Winslow got our bearings and I just followed her.) We marveled at the beauty of the classic architecture. And we checked out one of the most important aspects of any great journey-shopping.
Everywhere we went, we met wonderful, generous, heart-centered people. We also met mystery and magic. Part of our mission had been to find and check out a store called The Wyrd Shop. It’s Scotland’s oldest occult shop and we were excited about visiting it. Spurred on by the mysteriously vanishing crystals (more on that later), we set out to find it.
As we walked along the Royal Mile, we noticed many an interesting shop. We finally stopped in one called Canongate Jerseys & Crafts. It’s a great place that specializes in Scottish made crafts, textiles and books. As I bought a beautiful, iridescent raven pin, the very personable owner, Heather, confirmed that we were only a few feet away from The Wyrd Shop. She also told us that the owner was somewhat inconsistent in his opening hours for the store and there was no guarantee that the shop would be open.
As we left Heather’s shop, Winslow told me, “Finding that shop and meeting her is the real reason we’re here this afternoon. The Wyrd Shop is just the lure.”
The next shop that caught our eye was a silver jewelry shop. We pointed out pieces we liked and admired the overall décor of the shop before moving on. Immediately after that, we noticed we were standing in front of the Museum of Edinburgh. It looked interesting and we debated as to whether or not we should go in. We decided that finding the Wyrd Shop was more important, so we continued on. After too long a while, we asked about the illusive Wyrd Shop in a souvenir shop. The owner took me outside and pointed in the direction we’d just come from as she gave me landmarks that would help me locate it.
Winslow and I walked back to where we’d been directed and found ourselves standing in front of the long sought after shop of Wyrd. It being red, we couldn’t figure out how we’d passed it by and missed it. It was, as Heather had warned us, closed. It was also compelling-we stood there trying to will it to be open. It was while standing in front of the red painted Wyrd Shop that we noticed that the silver jewelry shop was immediately to the right of it and the Museum of Edinburgh was immediately to the left of it!
How had we missed it!? Where had it been!? Before that moment, if you’d asked us, we’d have told you that the silver jewelry store was next door to the Museum of Edinburgh. Who knows, before that moment, we might have been right.
As we made our way back up the Royal Mile, we realized that we felt quite at home here and we couldn’t wait to show this beautiful olde city to the others who’d be arriving the next day.
Next: The official start of the Odyssey…
