Getting to Santa Fe, New Mexico, requires effort and commitment. I was both committed and willing to make an effort, once I had made the decision to go to the Garden School Class of 78/79 Reunion. Because of difficult family circumstances, I hadn’t kept in touch with most of my classmates and I wanted to put that right. To connect again properly.
But why Santa Fe? Why not Kuala Lumpur, where we were at school, or even, for example, New York which would have been more accessible for many of our cohort?
This is where it gets interesting. Our classmate Sue and her husband Georges run Santa Fe Mountain Adventures, a company providing cultural excursions and outdoor adventures in Northern New Mexico. This was going to be the focus for our weekend. Sue and Georges would provide an itinerary and arrange activities so that we would not be simply meeting up, but doing and experiencing things together.
We arrived in ones and twos, by road and air, over a couple of days. We came from New York, Washington State, Tulsa, Kansas City, California, Spain and London (that was me). I arrived at Albuquerque’s Sunport Airport late on the Thursday night – later than intended because my flight had been cancelled at the last minute – and had already seen photos on WhatsApp of the first dinner:
Sue was kind enough to come and collect me which was wonderful after a long and stressful journey with very little sleep. Thanks again Sue! I was sharing a hotel room with Charlotte, having met up with her last year in Tulsa, and crept in, unsuccessfully trying not to wake her.
Bright and early on Friday we gathered at Santa Fe Mountain Adventures HQ (mercifully just across the road from the hotel where some of us were staying) for our first excursion. Sue had explained that we wouldn’t be doing anything too strenuous as we weren’t acclimatised to the altitude (over 7,000 feet above sea level – compare with the summit of Ben Nevis in Scotland which is just under 4,500 feet!). We were headed to the Tsankawi Trail which is part of the Bandelier National Monument, in the mini bus with Georges at the wheel. This took most of us straight back to our school outings.
When I saw Sandy, she looked so little changed that I was speechless. We both had tears in our eyes. I met her husband Chris, caught up with Rajiv who was in the year below us and became acquainted with his wife Kirstin. Pradeep, who used to sit at a desk one row back to my left, introduced me to his wife Maggie. Richard, also in the year below us, arrived with Carol. Having said our hellos, remarking on how people looked just the same, we piled into the mini bus. Switching my attention from the fascinating Breaking Bad scenery to catching up with old mates and back again, I found the trip to Bandelier went by quickly. We were all soon deep in conversation with the class mate sitting nearest us, but there was also plenty of calling from front to back and back to front of the bus. We tried to recall various school trips in as much detail as possible, jigsaw pieces of memory flooding back from decades past. Together, we pooled our jigsaw fragments to make whole stories. Memories became clearer. So we were often engaged in several conversations at a time as well as trying not to miss a moment of dramatic mountain and desert landscape.
We arrived at the Tsankawi Trail, gathered around the outside of the bus and Sue checked that we had remembered hats and sun lotion, and reminded us to drink water frequently. We needed to mitigate the effects of very low humidity as well as altitude. We set off through the rocky landscape, chatting in twos and threes, changing companions frequently and easily so that we each began to catch up with everyone. Georges explained points about the geography and geology, entertaining us with engaging and relevant stories. We rested frequently because of the altitude. I’m reasonably fit and was surprised to find myself puffing much sooner than I normally would.
It was a fascinating place to walk in. There is space on a scale that made me gasp. Georges explained which films had been made in the area, taking advantage of the lack of roads and power lines. Here we are, enjoying a rest and posing in front of a huge drop and vast space where nothing was happening except rock, sparse vegetation and unseen fauna. I found the space and openness as restful as I always do when I visit the sea or mountains, but here there was a particular quality of vastness and generous sunshine. And on top of this, our easy camaraderie. I could not have chosen better walking companions for this trip!
At lunchtime we returned to Santa Fe and enjoyed a rooftop lunch.
Santa Fe is a fascinating place, easy to see on foot and awash with art and local crafts. Of course there are many, many shops, quite a few of which Charlotte and I visited during our free time. Sharing a room meant there was plenty of time for lots of catching up and the perfect opportunity to forget for a few days that we were adults – 50-something mothers, even – and revert to school trip mode. That afternoon, Naoky arrived and our group was complete.
It’s probably becoming apparent that this trip has a recurring theme: food. Malaysia is known for its delicious and varied cuisines, and although none of us live there now, we had all grown up there. And we all seemed to have retained an interest in food, and rather adventurous palates as well! That evening we ate a Southern Indian food I had not encountered before – dosa. I expected to love it and I did! Here is yet another restaurant photo with lots of smiles:
The next day we went hiking again, this time at Plaza Blanca, Abiquiu. This is Georgia O’Keefe country. Sue and Georges told us stories about the artist and we visited part of the set from the film City Slickers:
Walking through the rocky landscape, catching up still more with everyone and getting to know spouses, was as enjoyable as the day before. In fact, at one point I was chatting so happily that I didn’t notice the cactus I brushed against. Suddenly, my leg was like a pin cushion. Charlotte pulled the spines out one by one and there was no lasting harm done!
Just as this landscape inspired Georgia O’Keefe to paint, it provided countless stunning photo opportunities for us. Here we all are posing between two steep walls of rock:
We ate lunch at a diner on the way back, and after another wander around Santa Fe, including a visit to the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, we got ready for another delicious dinner.
This time we ate, I think I remember, Mexican food, and several but not all of us indulged in Prickly Pear Margaritas. These drinks were quite something to behold:
By this time, as you can see, we were all rather relaxed and there was no sense that we had been apart for so many years. Rajiv, here sitting on my right, ordered some roasted jalapenos and passed them round. Not only am I very fond of chillies but I am proud of my ability to eat really spicy food. I said to Rajiv as I prepared to help myself, ‘shall I eat the seeds?’ He said, ‘if you like,’ without any hint of caution. So I took a big bite of one of the chillies and crunched. Well, it was the hottest chilli I have ever eaten! I managed to eat it without watering eyes and waited for the heat to subside. The heat did die down but then, unexpectedly, it returned in another wave. Then another and another. For about ten minutes after swallowing it my mouth was enduring waves of intense heat. I tried to be nonchalant but I did admit that it was quite spicy. Rajiv and chillies one, Harriet nil!
If Friday and Saturday, the landscape, the conversation and all the food, were special, then Sunday was extra special. We all gathered at Sue and Georges’ house and cooked together. Or rather, Sandy, Charlotte and Rajiv were in charge of cooking and the rest of us shopped, chopped, managed the satay cooker and did the dishes. Working together in this way was a profound experience and eating together in the shady yard was the best meal of the trip, and that is saying a lot!
A lot of thought was put into the group photo shoot in Sue and Georges’ yard. We were coached by Pradeep in posing for photos and there was much hilarity. Here is one of the results:
After lunch, we sat in the house and talked about our school days. This was a really special time. We all agreed that the culture at Garden School had been really special. There were no cliques and no-one really mis-treated anyone else. As Pradeep pointed out, there were a few fights and arguments, but I don’t remember groups of people ganging up on anyone or any deliberate nastiness. It was only later, as I grew older, that I realised how unusual this was for a school full of teenagers. I really don’t think I appreciated it enough at the time.
Sadly, this was the point at which some of us began to make tracks. People had to be at work on Monday. There were tears and hugs. It was hard to say goodbye. Plans to ‘do it all again’ in Spain in two years’ time helped a little.
The next morning Charlotte set off early for her road trip back to Tulsa and, having said goodbye to Sandy and Chris, I spent a lovely couple of hours with Sue. She took me for a walk along Canyon Road, one of Santa Fe’s best known tourist attractions. Almost all buildings in Santa Fe are made of adobe and because of the lovely weather (300 days of sunshine a year) there are many outdoor artworks. We walked, looked at the installations and mingled with them as you can see here:
After a hectic three days, and before a long trip home, it was lovely to take a leisurely walk and enjoy a quiet chat. Also I appreciated the opportunity to explore yet another aspect of Santa Fe and to see what tourists spend time on if they don’t have a group of wonderful friends to catch up with like we did!
I was sad to leave. I think we all were. But we had managed to pack so much into those few short days and for me, at least, it was a life-changing experience. I was born in the UK and am officially British but although I have lived in the UK all my adult life I have never really fitted in. In one long weekend, however, I discovered that elusive sense of belonging. Our school days were unique and had a significant impact on the people we are today. There are some things that only we understand about each other.
So I flew home again, delighted I had made the effort to go and grateful that the others had, as well. And I took with me the knowledge that there is somewhere I truly belong. It is not a place but a group of people.
Photos: I am not sure I took any of the photographs used in this post. We shared photos online afterwards and I have chosen from that pool. Thanks to those who took them!
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