Like the fall-run Chinook Salmon which spend 3-4 years in the ocean before migrating to their spawning grounds in the fall, Rocky and I will be returning to the Pacific Northwest at the end of September. While we do not plan to spawn or die right away on our return, as the Chinook do, we are excited to settle into a place we still consider home. After several years wandering huge distances, most salmon return to their natal rivers. Rocky and I were not born in the Pacific Northwest but lived there for 23 years, longer than we’ve lived anywhere else. It is time to return home.

It feels like a natural extension of our adventures to return someplace where we feel we have the deepest roots. Our time in Spain has been meaningful, enriching and incredibly exciting but I am feeling a deep yearning to return to our PNW community. By the time we go back, we will have been in Spain almost 4 years which is what made me think we might have absorbed some characteristics of the Chinook! Somehow, the salmon know when it is time to return home.

Rocky imagined that we would live in Spain for the rest of our lives but, from the earliest days, I felt like it was a temporary stay.  Initially I thought we’d wait until we had grandchildren to return to the U.S. but that has not happened yet and is not guaranteed. Instead, I feel the call to teach yoga in person again and not just on retreat. Although I have continued to teach yoga on Zoom to my private clients, I miss teaching weekly in-person classes. I miss my friends, fellow yoga teachers, and warm, fluffy towels right out of a dryer. Maybe I’ll continue to dry a few things on the clothesline as we do here, but not our towels which become stiff and scratchy.

Although Rocky did not want to consider returning at first, the thought of being able to shop at his beloved Costco, drive a car and eat Dungessness Crab has him starting to look forward to our move. The biggest difference for him will be that he can communicate on his own. Rocky took Spanish language classes for two years and still practices on the language app, Duolingo, but learning a new language has not been easy for him.

He has mastered ordering food and wine like a pro and even does all of the grocery shopping without too many challenges unless the cashier goes  “off-script,” as he likes to say.  What has been most difficult is not being able to go to the doctor, the bank, or any business office without his wife. You can imagine, as a grown-ass man, he does not want his wife having to accompany him to the doctor every time!

When we run into Spanish friends or neighbors while walking Wilma, Rocky nods and smiles and even manages to laugh at the right time because he studies people so well. Five minutes after we walk away from them though, and I ask him what they said, he makes up a hilarious story that he concocted out of the few words that he actually understood. He has a vivid imagination! While we  always get a good laugh out of this, over time, it has led to his increased frustration.

Rocky is a guy who loves to have deep conversations and share his thoughts on a variety of topics. He has made some really close friends here who speak English but for the most part his daily audience is Wilma and I. Probably not very satisfying for someone used to engaging with lots of different people. He has said he is happy continuing to learn slowly but I am convinced he will love being independent again when we return to the U.S.

Our arrival in Spain happened just a couple of months after Rocky retired so he associates our life here with free time to cook, walk, read, enjoy friends and take siestas, which he rarely had time to do when he was working. I believe we will be able to build a similar life when we return to Tacoma, as well.

Some of the things we loved the most about Asturias are things that reminded us of the PNW: mountains, water, moderate temperatures and rain. The area where we live is called Green Spain just like Washington was known as the Emerald State. There is an abundance of great seafood, fabulous hiking trails and open-minded people like in Washington State. When we first arrived, Rocky used to say, “If only they didn’t speak Spanish, this place would be ideal!”

We have not landed on a neighborhood in Tacoma yet. Our walking lifestyle here has been wonderful for our health and we do not want to give it up entirely. Finding a neighborhood where we can walk to the grocery store, restaurants, cafes, a library and a yoga studio is a priority when we return. Rocky has already picked out a car he wants to buy that will get us to the mountains for hiking but we will try to avoid using it daily.

You may recall we got rid of everything before we moved, arriving in Gijon with just six suicases. We have been renting a fully furnished apartment ever since so we have not accumulated much more. Rocky has a few more shoes and a lot more wine glasses and I have some new boots and yoga stuff. It will not be as easy to start over in Tacoma since furnished places are rare and pricey but we are looking forward to the challenge. “Embrace the eclectic” will be our new motto as we comb through used furniture shops.

At the end of September, we will land in Tacoma and take a month to look for the right neighborhood and a place to rent. Our son, Devin, and his fiancee Kendra, are getting married in Texas in October so we will take some time out to go the the wedding/family reunion and then return to start figuring out our next steps.

We don’t know where, what or how but those questions will all be answered in time. Until then, we are happily living the questions and savoring all of the possibilites. In Spain, we will continue working through our own Spanish bucket list as well as hosting retreats in Japan in April, Italy in May, walking part of the Camino in June and doing a retreat in Greece in September. Our moving date will arrive very quickly with so much travel on our schedule.

Returning to Tacoma will not mean the end of our trips as we plan to keep Global Yoga Trips going! All we are doing is moving my office back to Tacoma where it all started. Our proximity to Asia may allow us to develop more Asia-based retreats and we may continue developing our South America destinations. We already have a fully-booked retreat in Portugal in May 2025 so we will definitely be returning to Europe as well. Let us know if you have a destination in mind you’d like us to consider!

Living in Spain has given me not only the opportunity to improve my Spanish but has exposed us to new friends from all over the world. Last week, I celebrated Les Comadres, a 100-year-old Asturian tradition where women get together to have dinner, chat and support each other on the first Thursday before Antroxu, the week before Lent.

Our group of 15 consisted of women from 12 different countries: Belgium, Mexico, South Africa, Wales (UK), Turkey, Finland, the Ukraine, Russia, China, Australia, Spain, the U.S. . Our common languages were English and Spanish and most of us met in Spanish language, yoga or cooking classes. Five of the women are married to Spanish men and the rest are either single or married to other ex-pats. Although we were born in other countries we all live in Gijon and share many interests.

When we arrived in Spain, I had no idea we would meet so many people from other countries. Getting to know other ex-pats has inspired us to travel to countries we had not imagined visiting before meeting them. Even as I embrace my former community, I hope I can continue to grow my circle of international friends and to find ways to keep using my Spanish when we get to Tacoma.

People who have left the U.S. bring up gun violence, the homeless crisis and our messy U.S. political situation as reasons we should not return. Nowhere is perfect though, and after careful consideration, we are choosing to return and embrace life in a community that was incredibly good to us for over two decades. No doubt there will be obstacles to overcome but we are ready. Even the salmon return home in spite of having to swim upstream, face predators and human anglers.

One other important change that allows us to return this year is that I am turning 65 in November. Living in Spain allowed Rocky to retire early and for us to afford low-cost but top-notch health care. Now that we are both “of an age” it will be more affordable for us to return. Some call Americans who leave the country because they can’t afford private health insurance and are too young to qualify for Medicare, “medical refugees.” Never did I imagine looking forward to getting on Medicare!

Miriam Adeney, PhD. Washington State University, an anthropologist and author said, “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.”

May our journey back to Tacoma, WA this fall be easier than that of the Chinook swimming upstream!  Whether we are reunited in the PNW or whether I am leaving you behind in Spain, know that you have a piece of my heart and I will always cherish the time we had together.

From the author:

Curious about our upcoming retreats? There is still time to join us in Puglia, Italy and on the Spanish Camino this spring! More info 

Do you live in Gijon or nearby? We met so many friends by taking classes from Cristina Sanchez Blanco. She recently opened a new language school here called Versa. If you are new to the area and want to learn Spanish and meet new people, I highly recommend Versa!