It was our last full day and there was another gorgeous sunrise to get it going.

D made a sensational breakfast. He is a trained but uncertified chef. What he is particularly good at is repurposing leftovers in fresh and novel ways. Good thing, as we had a fridge full of food that we needed to use and distribute. He learned this when we owned a number of buffet restaurants back home.

I was glued to the suite. I wanted to soak everything in and bottle it up until our next travels. Plus, I only had a 1/4 left of my book and I wanted to finish it before we left.

During our twnty years visiting the island, I was always told to stay out of the ocean on the east side. I spotted someone enjoying the crashing waves that day. Joe had great water shoes to protect against the coral and enjoyed walking into the surf too.

We walked into Centro for our last sunset. I am so blessed that D and I love so many of the same pleasures in life. He is the reason we get to travel as often as we do. His hobby is finding affordable airfare, packages and offers and he has us listed on Home Exchange now, so we are trading our city and lake homes with other folks wanting to do the same. He is not yet retired, but can work anywhere in Canada, so we have a fabulous west coast adventure coming up this fall.

I always seem to take more photos closer to departure day. I guess it is my way of storing up these memories. I must have 1 Zillion sunset photos but it is never enough. I am always on the search for that “not to be missed” shot.

Many years ago, we made the mistake of not taking food with us to the airport. We paid a fortune for a ghastly pizza and so now we always plan ahead. We had declared Sonny’s was our favourite pizza on this this trip so we returned for dinner that evening.

We met my sister Sue for good byes and ice cream at Cafeteria Juanita la Bendicion , the blog link is attached.

We savoured our last glass of wine under the stars. Isla you give me so much. Each and every time.

Departure Day: I am never sad when I have to leave the island because I know that it will always be part of my life (in some way or another).

Our normal routine was followed that morning- D at tennis, me putskiing ( a made up word) and enjoying my last coffee while gazing at the turquoise sea.

After another yummy breakfast, we divided the spoils of our bar and kitchen and took 2 cabs in opposite directions.

Joe and Deb to join friends at Punta Sur and us to the ferry.

It was a rather uneventful way home.

What did I come back to? My D (husband for almost 40 years), my six wonderful kids (including 2 SILs and a DIL), my five amazing grandkids, my enormous family (50+), two homes (one in the city, one at the lake), my one church, two gardens to tend, satisfying work to do and hundreds of Isla pictures and thoughts and a thousand precious memories. There, I counted my blessings….

Kath’s quote: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”― Terry Pratchett

Love never fails.

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