Prascari

I have now arrived in Prascari and was greeted this morning by a nice Croatian who speaks English and German because he lived in the Netherlands for 20 years. I only found that out later though.

At around 11am, nobody was there, apart from a few employees who were tidying everything up outside. I then used the time to tidy up my bus and put the muddy sand "sheets" that I had stuck behind the ladder at the back of the door yesterday (and was very happy that they fit there when I was thinking about how I was going to transport them without painting everything brown with them...) in the sun to dry.

Yesterday, while I was out walking, I found a really nice spot under an oak tree, hidden from the "road", i.e. the gravel path, and with a nice atmosphere. And I could see that no one had driven past that spot for a long time, so I assumed that with the constant rain, no one would drive through that spot on that particular day.

So after changing into my wet clothes, I drove the bus there. That went well until I tried to "park" backwards on a gentle slope. The tires spun and I stayed where I was. No chance with the ground soaked by the constant rain. A brief moment of panic, then I knew what to do. It was clear that I had to somehow turn the bus with the nose pointing upwards, i.e. facing the slope (since it was rear-wheel drive) and I knew that I had the sand plates in the back, which had been given their own place when the "trunk" was installed. So I let the bus roll further down the small slope, hoping to somehow turn my five-meter ship around at the bottom, where it was flatter. Luckily, that just about worked, but that was it. I was stuck, with a 25-meter slope in front of me full of red mud. And then, in 1.5 hours of meticulous work, I moved the Sprinter up with the help of the sand plates. Sometimes I had to rock it to get it to touch the metal. Eventually everything was brown and red. My hands, the steering wheel, the door handle, the seat, everything I came into contact with, even though I sacrificed my floor towel to wipe my hands.

But it worked. In 5 meter steps. Get out, collect the sheets of metal, which got 2 kg heavier each time because the mud had worked its way into everything, clamp them in front of the tires again, get in, start, roll on. Stall the engine, restart. And so on... In the end, each sheet of metal with the earth on the underside weighed around 10 kg. I need both hands to carry one sheet of metal... they've become so heavy!

Anyway, I dried these sheets in the sun and the Croatian said that that wouldn't work. And then he sprayed them with water because he thought that I wouldn't be able to get the mud out dry (which isn't true, because I could knock off the remaining residue...) But I let him do it and we chatted and he told me about the Netherlands and taught me a few Croatian words. Puna means a lot and mala means a little, if I remember correctly. I've forgotten what essen and eating mean.

Then Alain came and I was very happy to see him! We hugged to say hello and I really enjoyed the hug. Only then did I realise how long it had been since anyone had hugged me and how good it was to see someone familiar! I missed that without even realising it! But now that I have it, I realise how good a hug from a loved and trusted person is for me.

At some point Romana, who organizes everything here, came and showed me my room, which I will be sharing with a 5 rhythm teacher from, I think, South America. We have our own bathroom.

The houses we live in here are amazing! My heart jumped for joy to be able to live in such a beautiful place!

And it's really nice to be alone here for a few hours before everyone else arrives! I unloaded the bus, got settled in, had a shower and washed my hair after a week (for the third time since I've been on the road!), put on fresh clothes, went for a walk, warmed up my curry and tried out the coffee machine here. And I feel really good here and am enjoying the time alone before it all starts soon. And it's raining again... how nice to have a whole house and be able to move around indoors in the dry!

I had an interesting feeling while I was showering, as I was still processing the beauty of this place. It was a feeling that I had once led a wealthy life in another life. There was such a matter-of-factness in all of it, a feeling as if I was entitled to all of it and as if it was normal. As if I had grown up with it. There was something royal about it, but without arrogance, rather something naturally sublime. So the opposite of my reality in 2024. Interesting that in this life I was born into a rather poor family, with a single mother who struggled to support us both. And where money was always an issue.

It's really interesting. The whole little mini-village is a retreat center. That means all 5 houses here, including the gardens, parking spaces, etc., belong together and the whole village is rented. So we are the only ones here - apart from the employees, the cook, etc. - in this village and there are 30 of us! It's really crazy! The long journey was well worth it for this experience and the retreat hasn't started yet! But it starts in an hour and I'm excited! for the 10 days of intensive inner work. Awaken my soul. Please. I need it!