My experience with NomadSister: A review

Do you remember the last time you did something for the first time?

Of course, with the lockdown, nothing was simple, and our once obvious impulses were cut off in mid-air. Yet there are still journeys: reading, contemplating a tree, walking, writing, gardening, cooking, making love, and listening to our hair grow are all possibilities of escape.

Like you, I adapt. But here's the thing: I'm a traveller at heart, my life is made up of insatiable curiosity towards the other, towards the unknown.

Near or far, by car or by plane, there comes a time when nothing is enough for me: what I think is that I need to hit the road, to go down a river, to not know where I'm going, to sleep in an airport, to no longer control my life with my work, my schedules, my family life, my responsibilities, my mental load, but to let chance play. In short, to feel alive.

The Internet is a fabulous tool, for better or for worse. For some time now, I've been browsing to see if a site exists for women who travel. I have been living in Quebec for 20 years, in Montreal to be precise. When I discovered SisterHome, I had the feeling that I had found part of what I was looking for. The world needs to become more serene and safe for women, and travelling is always a risk.

What I think is that we are not living in a fairy tale, bad memories are also a reality of my travels. There are countries I cannot go to because it is too dangerous for a woman alone to venture there. And yet, the more women travel alone, the more we can take possession of our world, our freedoms, and our strength.

Driven by the need to feel the wind, the tides, and the iodine, I looked on the hostesses map in the lower St. Lawrence River. For those who don't know this great country in which I live, St. Lawrence is a gigantic river, 1200 km long and up to 300 km wide in the gulf...

In short, it is a sea. Exactly where I wanted to go, I saw a small T on the map: T for Tiffa. 

When I saw her profile, I immediately liked the tone and what she had to say. So I wrote to her and we started writing to each other. Her boyfriend and their children were waiting for me with joy. So I packed my bag and set off down the river, slowly, stopping to clear my head and fill my heart, lungs, and everything else.

The magic of the encounter.

We spent two days together. What I think is that it was a wonderful meeting, made of sharing, laughter, trust, and gratitude. In their great generosity, they let me spend an afternoon with their children to go and play in the Bic National Park. 

We looked for seals, collected shells and mussels, called out to an imaginary fox, and came home soaked, exhausted, and happy! 

I left with the idea of praising slowness, but my wish was granted!

We covered the 500 metres of beach in two hours because with each step, these two magnificent children found treasures in the sand. Looking at the infinitely small, landscape and the horizon through their eyes was a magical moment that I never expected. 

And when, tired, the three of us lay down in the chilly sun of this early spring, we closed our eyes, stuck together, and with a sigh of happiness, little Isis whispered: we are really good...Yes, Isis, you were right. We were in heaven.

And it was on our last evening together that Tiffanie and Lionel gave me a precious gift: he is a sound therapist, and she practices reiki.

I arrived at their home tired of my job, which I love but which is demanding. Like everyone else, I have things to sort out and knots to untie. They invited me to leave, or rather to put down, during this session, which weighs me down the most. I could feel the gift, the attention, and the quality of their presence during this session. They too have a big travel project. 

I wish them to meet people who will surround them with kindness and who will wrap them in warmth and security, what I think would be the best for them. I left the next morning after a deep night's sleep and it was as light as a feather that I took the road back home to find my son, my sun child.

  

I know that we will meet again and that we will follow each other in our respective projects. 

So, what I think of my first experience with this website is very good. Without leaving my adopted country, I went on a trip, and thanks to the impulse of SisterHome, I felt I was exactly in the right place at the right time. 

I will continue to meet women, and share our realities to be nourished by them. But to do this, you have to feel confident and safe. And this is what I felt in this unexpected trip, in this beautiful surprise of the possible union between the women travellers of this world.

Translated from French by Ines El Aoufir