I will be heading out towards Natchez tomorrow and it look as if for the next three or four nights I will be in my tent as my list of friends has quite sadly ran out. But I guess this opens doors for more adventures and new friendships hey. If I can get to Natchez in three days I will be setting a cracking pace and looking at arriving to New Orleans ahead of time, but lets not get too carried away yet...
On a personal note, I would like to thank Ray and the folk from Rolling Fork for their incredible, Southern hospitality and friendship. It really was a pleasure and a blessing to have spent time with you guys again. Ray, you are a great man, and the invitation for both Australia and Colombia is always on the table...
8th July, 2013 – Appreciating the small things in life…
After a great night’s sleep in Leland I was up at 8am feeling a lot better than I had the previous day, a little sore around the legs and feet as to be suspected, but overall, a lot better. I went downstairs to say good morning to Miss Charlotte to find a buffet of options waiting for me in the sun room; 10 different types of cereal, danishes, bananas, apples, coffee, orange juice, yogurt, you name it and it was there. I demolished a good breakfast in no time, thanked Miss Charlotte and Steph (who had come to help me get a phone for the rest of the trip and see me off – what a beautiful person she is, thanks for everything Steph) whole heartedly again, readied my pack and was off again heading south.
I am not sure if it was the good rest and whole atmosphere in Leland that gave me that extra strength but I felt really good heading off that morning. It was a good 5 hour trek to my next destination, Rolling Fork, where I had two more friends waiting for me. I arrived there still feeling good to be greeted by Ray and Cheryl and Rays sister Elizabeth. They were a welcome sight. We shared a coke and a good old catch up and I was on my way again. I would return there that night but since I was still feeling good I wanted to get a few more kms behind me. The sun really picked up as I pushed on, so much that I began to feel a little weak and light headed. I was knackered, the sun was zapping my energy, my mouth was dry, I was dripping in sweat, covered in dust and it had just been a bloody long day. I remembered that I had an apple in my bag. It was a big, juicy granny smith that Miss Charlotte had given me for the road. I took it out and sank my teeth into it and this is where the title of this entry began to take shape. At the first bite I was in love with this apple, I could not get enough of it. I had apple juice shamelessly all over my face as I devoured the whole thing in record time. I have never enjoyed a piece of fruit as much as that apple I tell ya. I told myself at that moment I will never eat another apple without appreciating it. This got me through the next 5 or so kms, I then called headed back to Rays for dinner or hot dogs, rice, chilli con carne and a nice, cold beer, that was a perfect ending to a hard day.
Ray had kindly organized for me to stay at a friend of his named Lynn, who has a cabin on her property. The cabin is done in a classic style that one has to see to appreciate. It is an old eccentric, blues, Mississippi - delta style cabin with its own kitchen, bathroom, and great old stereo system with golden oldies playing out of it and to top it all of… a swimming pool!!! Can you imagine anything better after walking 40kms in stinking hot, humid conditions that a dip in a swimming pool in the middle of the Mississippi delta? Diving into that pool was magic, all the pain seemed to float away at once. From there, I showered and hopped into bed and I think I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
Today I slept in to around 8:15am as it is a tad harder to pull ones self out from such comforts to go slog it out on a hot summers day along the delta. Ray took me to the spot where I left off yesterday and I was off again. I am feeling stronger every day. I am becoming accustomed more and more to the heat and humidity. Although each day is still a real battle, I am starting to cope a little better with each step. I arrived at a little town named “Onward” which consisted of a few houses and a beautiful little store which sold Mississippi souvenirs and lunches. I sat down on one of their rocking chairs on their front deck for a little to grab a drink and snack on some nuts I had. It was nice and pleasant there but time was ticking. I little further up the road I recived a call from someone that needless to say, lifted my spirits a lot… it ws Cami!!! We chatted for around half an hour which was really great. I think that little chat was just as satisfying as that apple I had yesterday, haha! But it really was great hearing her voice, she occupies my mind constantly on the trek and I miss her a lot, this helped me immensely today… te amo mi negrita… So I moved on solidly for the rest of the day until roughly 5pm. This was it, I had covered more or less 40kms and decided to call it a day. I headed back to my cabin where myself, Ray and Lynne sat down to a great meal of beef, broccoli and cous cous. After two big plates of this and some good laughs which is the usual when one is with Ray, I was almost falling asleep at the table. I said my good nights and this is where I am now. Things are progressing well. I hope to be in Vicksburg tomorrow, from there I will aim at Natchez. If I keep this pace I should have no problem at getting to my final destination with as little time to spare.
Appreciating the little things, a bottle of water, a shower with soap, the moment you dive into a pool, clean sheets in a warm bed, beautiful music, fresh fruit, a phone call from a loved one, a bathroom WITH toilet paper, food, a conversation at dinner… these small things have given me such a satisfaction over the past few days that normally I would never have given another thought… how blessed we are these days and do not even know it…
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