And here I am yet again!

Coming back to Mallorca once again has been a really good thing! My trips here before each have been different, and this one is no exception. Some things remain the same: the beauty of this place and the warmth of those who live here - and some things change: almost all the students I knew here in 2003/4 have (thanks to their efforts) graduated and moved on to new things in their lives. I miss them, and wish them all the best.

I'm living in an apartment that is one floor down and across the stairwell from where I lived in Bunyola last time. The Bar Paris is still about 30 meters from the front door of the building, but my friend Jaime (the owner) is no longer running the place - he is renting it to a new team. It has a different ambience, now, without Jaime. I ran into him over the weekend in Cafe Central - he drives a taxi on weekends and I suppose he is in a position similar to mine: semi-retirement. One of his friends told me he has a room just chock-full of money!! I wonder if he's actually well-to-do. I hope so!!

I'm still in the process of settling in, and likely will do some traveling about with my camera as time permits. I hope to swim in the Mediterranean this time - since most of my trips here have been in winter, I've not done that yet!

It is such a great thing to have a chance to be with my UIB friends again: Arnau Amengual, Romu Romero, Victor Homar, Sergio Alonso, Clemente Ramis. It's as if no time at all has gone by since last we met. Although I did see Victor's family on my first day here - Tony is growing up fast and Annie is a beautiful new addition (born nearly the same time as my granddaughter, Teresa) - so I can see the passage of time clearly. But my friends have aged well, and nearly look the same.

This lovely island will always be special to me! You can never completely re-create experiences of the past, but new experiences are inevitable, and I look forward to those!