“Inhaaaaaaale……..exhale”

Alongside this soothing reminder to breathe are the sounds of waves breaking in the distance, the rustle of a warm evening breeze in the palm trees and the gentle chorus of birdsong as the lowering sun reminds them that it’s time to head for their nests. Our group is from the Virgin ‘South India Cycle’ Adventure and we are taking part in a Tibetan singing bowl soundbath and meditation as a final group activity before we all head off in different directions.

We’ve had an extraordinary and unique journey through Kerala, spending six days on extremely heavy local bikes with no gears and virtually no brakes, cycling from the Western Ghats through busy towns and beautiful backwaters to our final destination of an orphanage near the beach town of Marari. To witness the children riding off on their bikes which, along with a sizeable sum raised from our fundraising, was our charitable gift to them, was an emotional moment that none of us will ever forget and gave us all a real purpose to our time in India. It was a privilege to be shown around their homes in this beautifully run orphanage (Hope Community Village – but more on that in another blog) and be entertained by singing and dancing that they had clearly spent a huge amount of time perfecting. It was a wonderfully happy occasion, rounded off by a frenetic football match, but before long it was time to leave. We had grown surprisingly attached to our bikes over the week which is not what we thought when we took our first tentative pedal on them and certainly not when we were pushing the beasts up those endless hills on our first full day! However, it felt good to leave our bikes in such grateful hands and any sadness was soon forgotten, as we travelled back to the hotel in a convoy of tuk-tuks with each one seemingly hell bent on arriving at the hotel first. At one point, we found ourselves in the middle of three tuk-tuks overtaking a car……all on a collision course with a lorry coming the other way! But these tuktuk drivers have been navigating these roads all their life and they somehow manage to swerve the danger and deliver us intact to our hotel. Once there, we enjoy a well earned cocktail before all diving into the warm Indian sea, everyone still in full cycling gear…..what a wonderful way to celebrate the end of our challenging buy very meaningful cycle ride.

After a true Virgin-style evening of dinner, drinks, speeches and dancing followed by a day to recover from the excesses of the night and the muscle stiffness resulting from the previous few days, the Tibetan bowl meditation was a truly wonderful way to feel in tune with this wonderful country and our bodies. Joseph, the yoga guru, patiently took us through the meditation and we were all able to feel the healing effects of the reverberations from the bowls as he placed them on our chests. There was a moment for us all to feel so incredibly grateful for all that we had experienced and the beauty of this wonderful country. May the peace and calm stay with me as I return to my busy, frenetic life; I hope I shall never forget the peace and feeling of being connected at this dreamy spot on the shores of the Arabian Sea. And I certainly hope to remember to breathe so deeply…..exhaaaaaaale.

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Kerala’s advantageous position on the west cost of India was in full evidence tonight, as I witnessed the most beautiful sunset. I was honoured to be the only western person on the beach and enjoyed watching boys playing football, families splashing in the water and a fisherman spreading his nets.

Catching a fish using a weighted net appeared to be a complex art and after a few laborious attempts, a rich haul of two little fish (mullets) was delivered to the beach. My host, Joseph, bought them and in no time they were fried up and accompanied a delicious homemade fish curry. If my tastebuds are as satisfied as this on my first big meal in India, this should prove to be a gastronomic odyssey!

I’m lying down with the sound of Tibetan singing bowls making music in my ears and feeling their vibrations deep through my body. This is the way that the Indian people have discovered to align one’s “chakras” and I am learning all about them tonight. Who thought that a simple brass bowl could have such a wonderful effect? I have only been in the Veda Wellnes Centre in Kochi, Kerala, for less than an hour but already Joseph, the owner, is succeeding in helping remove the tiredness that comes from being on the move for almost 24 hours. I can’t complain – the first flight to Delhi was spent in Upper Class thanks to our wonderful staff travel concessions – what a superb start to my Indian adventure!

My time in Kerala is going to be taken up primarily by a cycling challenge through the Ghat foothills (they say foothills, but it all looked pretty mountainous from the aircraft window!!). I am joining a group of 30 fellow Virgin adventurers to take part in this and we have all raised money for Hope Community Village orphanage where we will be presenting the bikes we have ridden to the children. More about the bikes later – suffice to say at this stage that I have bought a padded seat cover with me and am anticipating some hard work on those hills without any gears! After the biking adventure, I probably should have booked some more R&R but it’s straight into rafting and trekking to explore Kerala’s wonderful countryside.

Anyway, back to the singing bowls. Once Joseph has finished aligning my chakras, his strong hands massage the healing oil deep into my travel-worn muscles. I come out floating and am immediately presented with a delicious veggie curry and dahl – my taste buds tell me that food is going to be a highlight of this trip!

Any worry I had about falling to sleep this evening was misplaced (I have only just returned from a work trip to St Lucia so my body clock is in almost the opposite time zone) – I sleep like a baby. Perhaps I need to find a Joseph wherever I go to help me get over jetlag?!

I am an Airline Captain with Virgin Atlantic and am currently flying the Airbus A330, although over the past 25 years it’s been the “queen of the skies”, the 747. Along with loving the actual flying part of my job, I find myself in all sorts of wonderful places around the world when I’m at “work”. It is always my mission to discover as much as possible about these places and the local culture. Also, I enjoy spending my holidays on experiencing all sorts of adventures in far-flung destinations……hence the blog!
I am the proud mum to two fabulous children who are now making their own way in the world at University. So, it’s now time for me to make the most of my amazing travel concessions and take off for more explorations in between my work trips (and sometimes during a work trip too!).
Not only am I passionate about travel, I’m also very aware of what we are doing to our planet and am interested in sustainable tourism together with education about climate change. I am well aware of the hypocrisy of being an airline pilot and trying to reduce my carbon footprint, but my holidays are all taken using ‘standby’ seats. I believe in change from within, so have been part of Virgin’s biofuel trial and am finding ways for the airline to reduce our use of plastics.
My other great passion in life is sport …..sailing, skiing, tennis, squash, golf, windsurfing and cycling. Kitesurfing hasn’t quite made the list yet, but that’s this year’s goal!
So, that’s a bit about me – I hope you enjoy reading about my upcoming adventures😁👩‍✈️😁👍

Welcome to my travel blog! First of all, let me introduce myself……I’m a Captain of an Airbus A330 with Virgin Atlantic and the proud mum of two gorgeous children. I have always loved exploring the world when I’m on holiday or on work trips, but with my youngest heading off to University, now feels the right time to have some more global adventures! I have started this blog as a way to keep a personal record of my travels and I intend to document some of the beautiful places I see when I’m at work along with tales of expeditions to far-flung places. I hope that you enjoy reading it and getting an insight into the life of an Airline pilot!