Spectacular sunset on the island

I'm back on the island.

It is now more than two months after I left home in Ottawa. Since then, I have visited New York City, Bonn in Germany, and Brussels in Belgium. And it is now been more than six weeks since I took the train to Paris, and the next day traveled from there to the small 12th-century town of Saint Jean Pied de Port.

Historians will remember the town as the capital of Navarra, the Basque kingdom, after Richard Lionheart's army had destroyed the previous capital. For pilgrims, it is the traditional starting point for the French Way to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino Francés.

Saint Jean Pied de Port, June 17 2022 (all photos: Alexander Verbeek)

On June 17, I became a pilgrim too. In the darkness of the early morning, I walked through the Porte d'Espagne, the "Door to Spain,” crossed the Roman bridge over the River Nive, and started my walk of more than 700 kilometers through the oven of Europe that Spain seems to have become in early summer.

I arrived back on the island yesterday, and some of you will know it now a bit because of my stories and pictures. A few readers decided they wanted to see the island for themselves and wrote me back about its beautiful nature and villages. Some told me they enjoyed walking on its long and wide beaches. I plan to stay here for a while and will likely share the pleasure of spending some summer time here with you.

The first photo I took when I arrived back on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland

But there is so much to share from these past two months—stories that I haven’t been able to tell yet, and photos that I didn't post. Traveling and hiking are not easy to combine with writing. There is often no time, nor is there room for a laptop in a backpack. It gets heavy after hundreds of kilometers. Therefore, I used my iPhone for all my writing in the past six weeks.

So, if you are okay with that, I will share a bit of a mix of impressions this month; it can be something I saw, learned, or photographed during the day, or it can be a story that I didn't find time to write about in one of the many places I have visited since late May. So we will travel back and forth in time, between countries, and between the present and memories. I'm sure it will be less confusing than it sounds.

And did I mention Madrid? I also stayed there. Last Friday, I arrived by train from Santiago de Compostela. I shared the pictures of Retiro Park, and you may also remember the image of Madrid late at night. And for those who follow me on Buy Me A Coffee, I shared an Alexnote of Plaza Mayor. (Those short BMAC notes are often just brief impressions or 'live' updates of where I am and what I'm seeing. It's a spontaneous initiative for those who don't want to miss anything that grew bigger than I planned and now extends into another community. Don't worry; Substack remains the main communication channel :-)

So there will be more on Madrid in August posts. But for now, I want to remind you about the beauty of this island, and I will do so by sharing with you the way I enjoy it.

Whenever I return after having been abroad, going to the high dune in the west of the island to see the sunset, is a ritual of the first evening. It is never a disappointment to stand there and watch the sea, the dunes, the seagulls, the clouds, and the spectacular light show that the sun performs.

So this is what I saw this evening. It's one of the delights that always draws me back to the island.

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