Ok so here it is a picture of me riding a wave, hmmmmm yes it is small and I am studying my feet but ...............!

My role was pretty easy.. I had to drive the girls to the beach, unload the surfboards and then join in withthe surf lessons!! Tough heh! Must admit to not actually getting started with the yoga as I found I had gopher type things to do and it was better to get them done during the yoga than miss a surf lesson... we had other things of the agenda too... one afernoon a lady came to do a psychic reading!! I have never been to one of these before so I couldn't resist the tempation to sit in and see what happens. She was a forty something American lady, very pleasant and smiley and she explained that when she was channelling she would actually be 'taken over' by a member of the spirit world so would sound different... she did... she had an accent of a bombay gentleman!! which was a little disconcerting! So people started asking questions and the answers were seemingly very apt, felt the need to ask something as everyone was so I said

'I have sorted out the work thing but can you tell me about my relationships' I sort of left this open as I thought that maybe she/he would give some advice about my relationship with Josh!

A big beaming smile spread across her face and she laughed... she chuckled as she said to me ' Well I can see you have danced with many partners' !!!!!!!!!!!!!! a nice way of putting it I thought, she went on to tell me that I was going to the wrong dancing classes that it was as if I was an advanced salsa dancer looking for a partner in a beginners ballroom class, and that I should really think through the type of 'dancer' I was meeting and maybe change tactics a bit as I became disappointed quickly because I was making the wrong choices!!!!!!!!!hmmmmmmmmmm

The retreat was held on the east side of the island which was considerably warmer that the west and isn't so windy. The sun was shining most days and it had that balmy air of the tropics. Plant life was incredibly flamboyant ad I was walking round in a state of blissful amazement most of the time. In fact I don't think I have smiled so much ever before.

The women on the yoga/surf retreat were an interesting bunch of ladies to say the least and time was spent learning about their lives in a relaxed and beautiful setting. We had one of the larger cottages as HQ and we were dispersed around in a variety of cottages and hotel rooms, so you had your own space to escape to if needed. It was an ideal combination....

So spent a couple of days in Pa'ia wandering around, sitting on the beach at Baldwin, going to Mana foods which was a rather large and very friendly health food shop where all of Pa'ia seemed to come to socialise. Very soon I was starting to recognise people and everyone greeted one another with cheery Aloha's and big enveloping hugs... it was a very very warm atmosphere to be in after the chill of Cambridge

Stayrd with Me-Shell for a couple of days to help in the preparations of the retreat. Had my first driving lessons in a jeep carrying 8 surfboards! Driving for the first time ever in an automatic was excellently easy, driving for the first time everon the wrong side of the road took a little longer to get used to but after a couple of days I was able to negotiate junctions reasonably competantly! Iwas ready in time as I was the main driver and the person to collect everyone from the airport and to ferry them to the Royal Lahaina

Need to write before the trip to Maui becomes such a distant memory that the details get forgotten. This after all was one of the reasons for starting the blog way back when! I have fearful images of forgetting everything and sitting in an old and battered upright armchair in a home, dribble slowly escaping the corner of my mouth and my head empty of all the stuff of life. But stored away electronically here on Delilah are my memories... so better get writing!

Arrived exhausted and excited to be met by Me-Shell at the airport. It was a relief to see a blond haired woman carrying a placard saying Swellwoman as I was beginning to wonder just how I would cope if no-one turned up. Was being quite chilled by that point as I was already there and felt quite comfortable in finding a hostel and just chilling for three weeks. But anyway Me-Shell was there and she took me to a hostel in Pa'ia called Rainbow's End...