Tomorrow we leave Canada for nine months. We'd originally wondered if a little more than two months in our own country at the start of our trip was the right way to go. Obviously I don't know the answer to that question so early in the trip, but I do know that two months is barely enough time to scratch the surface of what this country has to offer. At best, we've narrowed down a summertime list of places we'd love to get to know better. That's saying something for a country that is, in many ways, defined by the way it embraces winter. We may never get another chance to meander from coast to coast visiting friends and family in such a relaxed manner. But what great memories we have of all our visits!

I've probably gushed too much about Newfoundland so will try and control myself in this, the last post from my home town, province and country. I really don't think it's the beauty or the bounty of the place that roots Newfoundlanders so deeply in the land of their birth, although both are reason enough. It would be a useless, throw away cliche to say it's the people themselves who cement the ties to "home." People are people I suppose and I certainly wouldn't want to characterize it as anything approaching arrogance. If there's one thing it's not, it's that. There's a spirit spread over this land that makes it unique in a way that's impossible to capture in a medium so shortcoming in the needed expressiveness as the written word. Maybe that's why so many have turned to music to do it. The spirit is a mixture of easy going persistence in the face of adversity, raw and rough edged beauty, perennial under doggedness, a natural tendency to self deprecation and a silliness, lop sided grin and twinkle in the eye, marinated in mischief, passed down through the generations.

Whatever it is, I've refallen in love with the place all over again after our short visit. The heart aches to think about leaving - just as it did 25 years ago when I did it for the first time. I envy those of my generation who were able to stick it out or return to make a life here and keep the spirit alive and evolving. The ache is manageable, I suppose, by the knowledge that it will always be here and that the strange and wonderful spirit of the place travels with its people wherever they go. And, thankfully, for me at least, they go to every nook and cranny of this wide world. Farewell Newfoundland. It's been lovely to be in your warm embrace again.