Friday, May 1, 2009

Bye-bye Abu Dhabi...


The day had finally come for me to put Paulo & Liwa into their respective crates and to close my overweight suitcases to catch our flight to Zurich. Even though I had previously embarked on many adventures to much more exotic and weird countries such as Ghana or Russia on my own not knowing what to expect, I must admit that I was more nervous than ever to take this flight. Not only that my dream would suddenly turn into reality but also that I had to leave my love and life in Abu Dhabi behind for a while...Also, I was worried to encounter any problems checking-in the dogs, especially as Paulo had to fly cargo and I had never travelled with them before. And most importantly, I was terrified of the moment when it came to say good-bye to Suhail at the airport...

Well, in the end everything went well and before I realize I am at Zurich airport at 6:25 am. I easily spotted Liwa at the luggage counter as she started a loud squeaking concert once she saw me coming. Hans’s brother was expecting me outside with his daughter and together we went to the cargo area to collect Paulo. First we were informed that due to the public holiday we would have to come back the next day but when they saw my face they quickly changed their mind and after another 1 ½ of bureaucratic procedures, Paulo could finally leave his crate and for the first time breathe the pure Swiss air.

After a 30 minute drive we arrived at our final destination and Paulo & Liwa happily inspected their new home. Hans was busy with a seminar and invited me to join but I decided to first take care of the dogs, empty my suitcases, get acquainted with my new caravan and get rid of my stomach ache and headache that I had carried all the way from Dubai.

When I woke up from my nap in the early afternoon, I for the first time realized how beautiful the place is. The sun was shining nice and warm and I was surrounded by cherry blossoms, colourful fields, juicy green trees and a marvellous view onto the idyllic village of Gansingen. Together with Paulo & Liwa I started walking on a path above my caravan and just like in a dream I discovered one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. It was an endless field covered in yellow flowers offering a breathtaking view into the valley. In the middle there was a huge beautiful tree and I sat down on a bench underneath. Paulo & Liwa started to run around like crazy. The grass was so high that Liwa had to jump like a rabbit to get forward and would constantly loose orientation, would then stretch so you would see her little head peeking out of the grass just to spot Paulo and start her mad jumps again. Paulo, the magical dog, just looked amazing with the long white and feathery coat covering his royal and graceful body galloping in the middle of a yellow sea of flowers. When we got back onto the path, the dogs where both completely yellow, just like the flowers. They looked like they had participated in the festival of colours in India. This moment was indeed magical and the perfect proof that my dream had started...

Once back home, I participated in the last part of the seminar before ending the evening with a delicious welcome barbeque outside Hans’s caravan. I then spent my first night in my caravan, sleeping like a newborn accompanied by a powerful thunderstorm and two dogs keeping me warm. Poor Liwa ended up trembling out of fear and hid under the covers...

1 comment:

  1. I'm sure the jumping Liwa, must have been fun to see.

    ReplyDelete