April Zen Retreat

At the end of April, I attended a Zen meditation retreat held at Benburb Priory by Black Mountain Zen Centre of Belfast. Here are a couple of images i took part-way through the retreat. Sitting in my van in silence.. If you look carefully you can see some peacocks through the back window, as the fowl wandered around in the evening sunshine..

The spring blossoms in full bloom

Look carefully for the peacocks.. A friend had put the branch of blossoms under my window wiper one afternoon too 

I found living in my van at the retreat a special experience, as it gave me the luxury of ‘going home to my own bed’ each evening instead of sharing the accommodation with the others. Of course my home is still very simple and fits well with the basic zen type of life – except I am living this way all the time. (Its also nice to have the option of making my own meals sometimes in the van when on retreat  )

Derry, Londonderry in my camper van

In April, I was up in the North West of Ireland seeing some friends, and generally traveling about. Its a beautiful part of the world, and also has a colourful political history. For those of you from outside N.Ireland this might be interesting to see. I took a drive through the Cregan & Bogside areas of Derry city as it is today, and filmed some of the murals and the famous ‘You are now entering Free Derry’ gable wall:

An article about the history of this area can be read here. I can highly recommend a visit to the north west, and there’s lots to see and do in and around the city of Derry, and in crossing over into county Donegal, the city being the gateway to the wonders to be seen in this part of Ireland.

Updates and more inspirational stuff

Time for a few more thoughts and updates. First of all, I have discovered a new way to set up my seating that gives a really spacious feeling and creates a ‘corner suite’ in the van ~ great for relaxing. Using the extra bed cushion as a side back rest works really well like this with the rear seat folded flat. Its great for relaxing during the day, having guests, and gives me an extra place to sit in the kitchen too: (click to enlarge)

Myself and a few friends are preparing to make our annual pilgrimage to the Isle of Skye in Scotland, via Glencoe next month, so I have set myself the challenge of walking to the top of Cavehill in Belfast, twice a week to get into better shape. Its a good training for mountain walking, being a long steady slog to the top, followed by a steep decent, and with time to enjoy the view at the top, and a leisurely pace, its a two hour round trip, perfect for a morning or afternoon outing. Here’s a nice shot from my last visit, looking out over Belfast lough: (click to enlarge)

I want to share this video from JeffTheCanuck2 on YouTube as it was my first real inspiration to think about moving into the van full-time. After this I watched his series of video adventures and got seriously inspired. Thanks Jeff for your positive attitude, neighbourly spirit, and for sharing your Westfalia adventures. Lets see, in time I might start appearing in my own videos 

Inspiration and Strangford trip

Of course I’d encourage anyone to take this step.. A few weeks in and things are going very well. I’ve traveled around quite a bit locally ~ no major trips yet due to still working full time. I have open invites to many friends to use facilities, got a selection of wifi passwords around the city, and I’m feeling more and more comfortable about places to park for the night. People generally mind their own business – the only people who come and speak to me are camper van enthusiasts! I just avoid the thoroughfares where the flow of people goes after closing time  Also I’ve been getting busy so haven’t kept the blog going so much recently. I’m recently back from a round trip through Strangford – Ards Peninsula – here’s a shot from one of my overnight stays: (click to enlarge)

Its amazing not being tied to any location for ‘home’ as I drive my house around.. If I have a couple days off work I can basically go anywhere within a days drive away, and there are many many places. For a little bit of inspiration I follow a couple of guys on YouTube. One of them has just set off on a months trip and today uploaded this: enjoy 

From an enchanted evening

Here’s a little video from the evening in the last post…

This tree kept me company one evening… (click to enlarge)

Enchanted Evening

It has been a beautiful afternoon and evening, and a great last few days. I have videos from the last few days, but I need a better wifi connection to upload them, so that’ll have to wait. So much happens, if I don’t post it soon, or miss a day or two, then there is always something new happening to add, and things get missed. So here are a few photos from this afternoon and evening ~ I just spent the time relaxing and looking at the view.. I didn’t even have to ponder on the events of my life ~ there is already more than enough time to do that..

It was warm enough at this parking spot, really.

Amazing place to stop, the vista was unbelieveable.

View from my kitchen this evening.

Sunset from a reclined position :p

Cattle after sunset..

From here I could see across most of South Down to the Mourne mountains. Watch the falcons scanning the fields for prey, and butterflies are already dancing in pairs in the sunlight, while birdsong echos through the woods behind. Enchanted evening..