If you have every moved countries…

Or if you are thinking about moving countries…

Or if you want to know what it’s LIKE to move countries…

then this week’s newsletter is for you!

As many of you know, I moved to Peru in August 2024.

For some people the change seemed very abrupt.

For others, they knew I had fallen in love with Peru the first time I stepped foot onto the Motherland back in 2012.

I had known for a long time that Peru was where I wanted to end up.

Despite that, the acclimatisation to actually living here has not always been easy.

Keep reading to find out why.

THE DREADED CURVE OF CHANGE

Having moved to Barcelona 11 years earlier, when I was 25, I thought moving countries again would be a piece of cake.

But as it turned out, the Curve of Change is a cruel mistress.

And I was no exception.

The first month was the typical honeymoon period.

Finally, I was in my favourite place in the whole wide world.

Living with my best friend whom I had fallen in love with.

I couldn´t get enough of the cute little mud houses.

I was completely obsessed with all the coloured textiles decorating the streets.

There were cute alpacas with hats on everywhere!

The sun rose every day at 05:30.

It really was a dream come true.

Until we moved into our first home together.

REALITY STRIKES

Nilton found us a cute little flat on the edge of the sleepy little town where he works as a primary school teacher.

When I saw the picture, I loved it instantly.

Lots of natural light.

Beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

What was not to like?!

When we arrived, it was already dark.

The owner met us to let us in.

I entered, full of excitement to finally have our own place…

But to my disappointment…

The apartment was FILTHY.

There were urine stains in the toilets.

There was dust everywhere.

There were dirty sheets on the bed.

There were holes in the roof and BARE BULBS.

(who actually chooses to have a bare bulb in their home?!)

I was disappointed.

Knowing how Peru can be…we had specifically asked the landlady to ensure the flat was clean before we moved in.

“Yes of course” she has replied.

“Yes of course” actually meaning “No way Hoozay.”

I have noticed this is a thing in Peru.

People feel very uncomfortable saying no.

So they just say yes to everything.

Even when it’s a lie.

If you want to read more about this yes-means-no epidemic, check out my last article about the experience I had getting my peruvian driving.

My first thought seeing the dirty flat was “I can’t live here”.

I was caught between processing my own emotions and not wanting to offend the landlady.

Luckily for me, Nilton is a DOER.

(I don’t call him my Andean Alpaca for nothing!)

He organised us to go and get clean sheets and towels.

We couldn’t do anything about the filth and dust though.

The next morning was very uncomforatble.

Waking up in a new place, which doesn´t feel like home, and not being able to unpack anything yet because the place was filthy…

Despite the discomfort, deep down I knew everything was going to be OK.

I knew that short term discomfort was worth the long-term pleasure of living in a land that was once only a distant dream.

So I sucked it up (as best I could, permitting myself a fair amount of huffing and puffing throughout the day).

Over the next few weeks I started to get things in order.

This meant buying key things for the flat and finding a routine to support us as we established a new life together in Peru.

As the weeks turned into months, I started to feel at home in our flat.

I sourced cosy lighting, lovely warm carpets…and I was enjoying walking in the mountains every morning.

We even looked around other houses with a view to moving…but none of them lived up to the space and homeliness we felt in our little flat.

I have learnt that the curve of change is a real thing, and I am no exception from that rule.

Stage 1 – honeymoon period

Stage 2 – frustration and doubt

Stage 3 – acceptance

Stage 4 – clarity and belonging

NO ONE KNOWS YOU

One of the hardest things for me about moving to a new country has been starting from 0.

Expecially in terms of community.

Luckily for me, I already knew people here from my regular travels over the years to The Sacred Valley.

But I’m not going to lie.

It’s tough when not many people know who you are.

In Barcelona, I am part of a large community.

I am fortunate enough to be invited to play at many events.

My presence is actively DESIRED.

Suddenly, to be in a new place, where communities are already firmly established… does take some getting used to.

In Europe my voice is welcomed and celebrated.

In Peru, people walk out when I sing because it’s not “indigenous” enough.

And this is certainly …a streamline of operations.

And to be honest, a welcome one.

Because it shows me where I wanted to invest my time, love and energy.

As is the way of alignment, when one door closes, another door opens.

And when I got clear where I want to invest my energy, a whole new world opened up!

I was being invited to games nights with cool, fun people from all over the world!

I was welcomed to sing at other people’s kirtans.

And I made a really gorgeous English friend who I love dearly and we just fucking vibe together! She does really cool work supporting people to stop drinking. You can check her out here.

CONCLUSION

Moving to a new country is not easy.

And it’s not supposed to be.

Otherwise everyone would do it.

To build anything, you need to pass through the ups and downs, remembering your WHY and trusting in the calling of your heart.

I’ve learnt that living in alignment doesn´t always feel easy…but it definitely feels right!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter!

I am very happy to share that I am coming back to Europe for 2 months next week! I’ll be back from 2nd July – 4th September.2025

If you would like to join an event, ceremony or retreat while I’m back in Barcelona, then message me to find out what’s going on.

I hope to see you soon!

Love from Abbey xxx

The post The hardest thing about moving to a new country first appeared on Abbey Sykes.

The post The hardest thing about moving to a new country appeared first on Abbey Sykes.

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a newsletter.

That’s why I thought I’d hop on to share a little about what’s been going on for me in the last 10 months since I moved to Peru.

If you haven’t heard why I chose to leave behind my happy life of 11 years in Barcelona, you can check out that article here.

And in the meantime, I’ve been very busy getting settled in this brand new country. This has involved getting my driving licence and residency, amongst other fun and frolicks.

I wanted to share some of these adventures with you.

So get comfortable, because for the next 4, minutes I’m going to explain the VERY REAL trials and tribulations of obtaining a driving license in Peru.

RULES OF THE ROAD

I am not new to the international driving license scene.

Having passed my test in the UK in 2006, I transferred to a Spanish driving license when I moved to Barcelona in 2013.

11 years later I was starting all over again in a new country.

But this time what I experienced BAFFLED ME.

When my partner Nilton took me to the driving school, I was given homework of learning 200 rules for the road.

Learning the rules was easy enough.

What was a shock was the fact that many of the rules actually made NO SENSE!

For example, this rule about using your full beams at night:

“at night-time, it is obligatory to use your full beams AT ALL TIMES, turning them down just before passing an oncoming car”

JUST BEFORE PASSING AN ONCOMING CAR?!?!? WHAT ABOUT THE LEADUP TO PASSING THE OTHER CAR WHERE YOU ARE BLINDING THEM AND THEY CAN´T SEE A THING?!?!

If we compare this to the same version of the rule in the UK…the stark contrast becomes apparent:

“You should only use full beam headlights on unlit stretches of road at night. When meeting oncoming traffic, or following another vehicle, you must turn off full beam headlights as they can often be dazzling and may cause accidents.”

The result? In Peru peple drive behind you at night with their full beams on max, completely blinding you from all your rear view mirrors.

Not only that, but many casually forget to turn down their full beams as they pass you. This means that for sensitive eyes like mine, for a few seconds your sight is obliterated and you have to shield your eyes with your hands.

I actually find it PHYSICALLY PAINFUL to drive at night time IN Peru because of the unnecessary amount of light on the road.

I have even considered wearing sunglasses to drive around at night…

Luckily, my ascendant is in Aries…and I have learnt that if I flash (many times repeatedly) the unwitting cars who choose to blind me, 80% get it and turn their main beams down…

…. but for the remaining 20% who choose not to obey, they get a nice dose of my main beams in return, delivered straight into their eyeballs.

There’s nothing like a bit of “eye for an eye” to give them a taste of their own medicine.

MWA HA HA.

Anyway, I digress.

Coming back to the driving test.

When I was speaking with the lady who would help me get my driving licence, something stuck out from the first moment.

I don’t know if it was a red flag or a green flag.

But it was a flag.

And I felt at the same time grateful and horrified that this was an option.

I considered myself a good little European girl who had always done things by the book (…well…that was until I discovered plant medicine in 2020, and then went full against the system, refusing to get the COVID vaccine and faking my own medical certificates)…

…but apart from that I had already done things “right”.

So when she suggested I pay a bribe of 100USD to GUARANTEE that I would pass my test, I shocked myself with my reaction.

“I’ll definitely be taking that option, thank you very much”.

Since I applied to take my test the month after I arrived, I still hadn’t received my Peruvian residency (a tale for a different moment!)

Assuming this might be an issue, we were very clear to double check that it WOULD be possible to get my driving license using my British Passport.

“Yesssssss, no problemmmmm”, the lady assured us confidently.

I have since learnt that the words “yes” and “no problem” actually mean “NO” and “HUGE PROBLEM” in Peru.

I handed over my money and went to do my psycho-somatic test.

This involved answering some multi-choice questions to determine how much alcohol I drank on a weekly basis and finishing the test in 45 minutes but not being allowed to leave until the designated 3 hours had passed.

Oh, and being come onto by the doctor.

But I passed! 🙂

After 3 hours I joyfully went back to the driving office, test papers in hand. We went to the ministery of traffic around the corner to hand in the documents.

When I gave my papers to the lady in the office, she looked at me quizically.

“Why are you handing me these? You can’t make this application with a foreign passport.”

There are no words.

To say that I felt a bit “put out” would have been an understatement.

Back to the driving office we went.

The lady was quick to tell us we couldn’t get our money back but she’d give us discount once I’d got my residency.

How kind.

Welcome to Peru!

This is one example of the many adventures I have had since moving to Peru.

Despite nothing working as I expect, I love living here.

Some things can be very frustrating and take a million hours longer than they would in Europe.

Yet I am happy here and have the certainty that this is where I want to be.

I’ve learnt that living in alignment doesn’t always feel easy…but it definitely feels right!

NEWS

Having said that, I am VERY exciting to be returning to Europe on 1st July for two whole months.

Nilton will be joining from the end of July.

I will see my family, catch up with friends, and we will also be hosting some ceremonies in Barcelona in August. If you fancy joining, we have some spots left from 5th – 8th August so get in touch.

I’ll also be hosting a SUPER MEGA HEART SINGING CIRCLE with my dear sister Imogen on 4th July in Shanti Vida. If you fancy joining get in touch!

I hope to see you all in person soon!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter.

Love from Abbey xxx

The post The trials and tribulations of driving in Peru first appeared on Abbey Sykes.

The post The trials and tribulations of driving in Peru appeared first on Abbey Sykes.

After 11 years of living in Barcelona, I decided to follow my heart and move to the place I love most in the world.

And what a bloody move it’s been!

Inititally I came for 3 weeks to test out the waters.

(If you haven´t read the backstory about why I was leaving my vibrant life in Barcelona behind, check out my last newsletter here)

Although I came for love, I am staying for much more than that.

I know deep down that this is where I am meant to be.

And even so…there are MANY things that don’t work out here.

For me.

From my life perspective.

M-A-N-Y!

I have gone from having life under control in Europe, to being thrown in at the deep end into customs and traditions that are not my own.

I have gone from having my day-to-day run like a well-oiled machine, to being out of oil and needing to take a quick crash course in Mechanics!

But that’s all part of the journey, right?

In this newsletter I’m going to give you some concrete examples of situations I´ve experienced that don’t make sense to my European mind.

I will also share 3 lessons I’ve learnt that I hope will support you if you ever decide to move to Peru.

MOVING INTO OUR NEW FLAT

My partner, Nilton, and I have been living in our flat together for 4 weeks.

Naturally, when we moved into our flat together, we were excited.

The flat is in Lamay, nestled into the foot of the mountains, surrounded by trees and tranquility.

Stepping out of the flat it like going back in time 300 years – hardly any one in the streets, higgeldy piggeldy mud houses & unpaved streets.

In particular I was delighted to move into a flat that was one tenth of the price I pay for my house in Barcelona.

We agreed with the owner the moving date.

We packed our stuff.

And, being European, I expected everything to go smoothly.

SILLY ME!

Arriving at the flat, I instantly noticed it hadn’t been cleaned.

My excitement dissolved into annoyance and disgust.

The oven was covered in oil splats, the bathroom sinks were caked in toothpaste marks and there were urine stains in the toilets.

But worst of all…THERE WERE DIRTY SHEETS ON THE BED!

It was already evening time and so there was no way we could get a cleaner to come out.

Luckily for us, the owner saw my distress and brought us some fresh sheets.

Still, moving into a dirty flat was one of low lights of my time in Peru so far.

I was really in shock!

I own a flat in Barcelona and rent it out. I would never ever DREAM of renting it to someone without having cleaned it first.

It makes me embarrassed to even think about.

Which is why it was such a shock for me.

Cleanliness is one of my values.

So if a situation arises which goes against that value, I get upset.

But CLEANLINESS is not a value for everyone.

This was an important lesson for me.

#LESSON 1: NEVER ASSUME, ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK.

NO HOT WATER

Since I arrived in Peru the lack of hot water has been following me around like…a broken boiler.

Now I am an Impacter, and at one point in my life cold showers were my bread and butter.

BUT NOT ANYMORE, YOU HEAR ME?!

Cold showers are cool when I choose them. I get to show people what a warrior I am.

But when cold water is forced upon me, it’s a different story.

I move from Warrior mode to grumpy little princess.

Now I´ve been visitng Peru regularly since 2021. And in that time I only remember having a handful of hot showers.

Which is why, when I moved into my first house in Rinconada, there was only tepid water, I didn’t say anything. I just got on with it.

Until the water went from tepid to cold.

And I needed to wash my hair.

When I messaged the landlady, she was very quick to explain how she had never had problems with the hot water in that house. She went on to justify how they had just changed the gas bottle.

You can imagine my delight at the insinuation that I must be mistaken about the water not being hot.

At this point I pulled out the big guns.

I called upon my European assertiveness and invited her to come and test it for herself.

It was fixed the next day.

Great! Cold water solved.

Or so I thought…

Was the universe really going to let me get away that easily?…

Of course not.

When we arrived at our new flat, the water was cold.

When we enquired, we found out that the water was heated by solar panels.

Not ideal, especially when the rainy season is nearly upon us.

Solar panels meant there was only hot water between 1000 and 1400 – which doesn´t work for us early risers.

At this point I didnt need to get all European because my partner stepped in and insisted that we get a heating system that works.

And the result? We got a brand new electric shower.

#LESSON 2: BE ASSERTIVE & ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT

RENTING A CAR

I knew very early on that I would need a car.

The public transport system in the Valley is…interesting to say the least.

The “collectivos” (minibuses) are very regular during the day time. But they stop around 20:30 at night.

I have been stranded in Pisac because of this on more than one occasion.

Now don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that there is regular public transport here. It means people can get around, see their families & go to work.

But there are things I see & experience which make me uncomfortable.

My main concerns with Peruvian public transport are based on the disregard of common rules we have grown up with in Europe

❌Many drivers are on their phones as they drive

❌They drive much faster than the speed limit.

❌There is often standing room only

AND…

❌They will suddenly slow right down to go over a hump in the road.

Which is OK if you have a seat…

…but if you are not lucky enough to get a seat, then you may suddenly be thrown from one side of the bus to the other.

It’s not ideal.

You want to know what else isn’t ideal?

The cost of car rental in the Valley!

In Barcelona I am renting my car out while I’m away for 150€/month.

Here, the minimum price you can find is 600USD/month.

And that’s after negotiating a few days down from 1100USD/month.

You can imagine why I was reticent to hire a car.

I wanted to buy one, but as I don’t yet have my residency or Peruvian driving license, I didn’t want to risk it.

But when the trauma of taking public transport outweighs the trauma of expensive car hire, you get clear on your priorities.

I was all ready to pay the 600USD/month.

We agreed the price.

We arranged when and where to meet.

And then my partner’s friend offered to rent me his car for 375USD/month.

I jumped at the chance and quickly thanked the other guy but told him I wouldn’t be needing his car.

He wasn’t very happy.

So that bridge was burnt.

But, as I told him, I would be mad not to accept the cheaper offer.

Or that’s what I thought.

Until I actually rented the car, that was.

There were a string of events that left me questioning the meaning of the word integrity.

The day we agreed to pick up the car, we had to travel to Urubamba which is around 45 minutes by public transport.

As we were en route to Urubamba we rang Nilton’s friend to confirm the meeting place…and there was no answer.

Nor was there any answer over the next few hours… or any time during the next 2 days.

He just went dead on us.

And this was a supposed friend!

My initial thought was to go back to the original guy offering his car for 600USD.

And then I remembered that option no longer existed.

That bridge had been burnt.

So I resigned myself to having no car.

And as is the way with the universe when you let things go, Nilton’s friend reached out on Monday as if nothing had happened.

And wanted us to go and pick up the car.

If that scenario had played out in Europe, I would have been like “no way hozay”.

But when you are a long way from home, and options are scarce, you take what you can get.

Yuujuu!

Finally I had a car.

So the drama ended there, right?

Of course not.

That was only the beginning.

The next morning I went to the gym, happy as Larry with my new rental car.

I had a great workout, got back in my car to drive home, put the key in the ignition and….the engine wouldn’t start.

I rang the guy to ask if this was a regular occurrence.

He replied “yes, you just need to open the bonnet and move the terminal so it connects.”….as if it was completely normal part of starting the car.

Luckily some kind man at the gym helped me.

And more importantly, the owner of the car came to change the terminal that day.

Fortunately since then the engine has worked fine.

But as we would learn the next day- the engine was the least of our problems!

A bigger issue would be actually getting in the car.

For the last 3 days, the car key doesn’t work.

It enters the keyhole, and turns…but… the door doesn’t open.

You can imagine my frustration just yesterday when I was all ready to go to the gym at 8am.

I’d had my protein powder, I was feeling fired up for a work out, I get to my car and….the door won’t open.

Needless to say, I didn’t get to the gym yesterday.

(But I did have a lot of time to start writing this newsletter!).

For now, we have resorted to not locking the car in case I can’t get back in.

It seems to be the best solution for now.

And lucky we live in very quiet village with hardly anyone around.

And hopefully the desire for it not to be stolen is inspiration for the owner to get a key that works to us, right?

#LESSON 3: WHEN OPTIONS ARE SCARCE, TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET

SO…WHY AM I STAYING?

Despite all of these exciting events happening over the last few weeks, I am not disheartened.

I know what it’s like to build a life again from scratch.

That’s what I did when I moved to Barcelona from the UK in 2013.

You can read about that here.

It was harder back then.

When you don’t know yourself and where you’re headed, it’s easy to be blown around in the wind. It´s easy to accept situations that dont make you happy.

But this time it’s easier.

I have moved to Peru with my own ecosystem of Coaching & Singing Circles that I have been building over the last 4 years.

With the ecosystem integrated within me, it’s been easy to replicate it here.

The best way I can describe it is this:

I feel I have been picked up by the grab-a-teddy machine and dropped into another place where everything still works.

It’s just different a landscape and different people.

But my morning gym sessions, biweekly Singing Circles, Coaching, & Ceremonies are all the same.

There’s even a recording studio where I can record my next songs!

But I can’t deny that there’s an added something special in my life.

I’m in love ❤️

I’m with someone who treats me like a Queen.

Now I understand why God didn’t allow me to settle.

And that’s beautiful.

CONCLUSION

And this brings us to the end of this week’s newsletter.

Even though there are many things that don´t work, I am happy here.

Waking up and seeing the mountains gives me such a sense of inner peace.

Living in a place without distractions enables me to focus on building my business.

And even so, people recognise me here. Every week someone comes up to me saying “you’re the girl that makes those funny videos”.

For me that´s a sign that I’m in the right place!

But the biggest sign is that I feel happy, joyful and at peace.

I hope you enjoyed reading this week’s newsletter.

Love from Abbey xxx

p.s. – listen to my latest release YOUR VOICE here, available now on Spotify & all other major platforms

The post Why I’m staying in Peru – for good! first appeared on Abbey Sykes.

The post Why I’m staying in Peru – for good! appeared first on Abbey Sykes.

So why would I leave it all?

The answer is LOVE.

But, for logic’s sake, let’s start at the beginning.

THE BEGINNING

For those who have known me for…any amount of time…you will know that I have a long-standing love affair with Peru.

I first set feet in the Motherland when I was 23 years old.

My boyfriend at the time didn’t want to join me.

But that wasn´t going to stop me!

I went alone, and it changed the course of my life.

I look back on the first time I climbed Macchu Piccu as a spiritual experience.

I didn’t even consider myself spiritual at the time.

But there was something magical about waking up at 3 in the morning and leaving the small town of Aguas Calientes on foot to climb the Inca-sized steps leading up the mountain.

When I returned back to England, I was a changed woman.

✅I broke up with my partner.

✅I decided to leave England.

✅I interviewed for a job in Barcelona and was successful.

That was 11 years ago. The rest is history.

SPAIN

I moved to Barcelona in summer 2013.

The first year I was mesmorised by the city.

It was like Never Ever Land.

But very soon after, my health, relationships and career started failing. Read about that *HERE*

That is what led me to the healing path.

It started down the typical route

⭐️psychotherapy

⭐️diagnosis of food intolerances

⭐️diagnosis of autoimmune disease

And that’s when I started looking for real answers.

**Enter Ayahuasca**

MY AYAHUASCA EXPERIENCE

When I sat in my first ceremony in January 2020 it all started to make sense.

The plant came from Peru. It was literally Pacha Mama speaking directly with me.

I understood why I had had such a connection with Peru back in 2012.

I understood my life had been altered by that first visit to Peru.

It had altered the course of my life and put me on the right path so that I could heal.

AND I HEALED SO MUCH!

In the next year I would go on to leave my soul-destroying 9-5, learn the guitar and start writing music.

And in that first, life-altering weekend I met Nilton.

He had come to play music in ceremony.

He served me my first rapé.

We had a special connection from the beginning.

But it was purely platonic.

We became friends.

The next year, when I hopped on a plane and returned to Peru, I hung out with him as well as my other friends in the Sacred Valley.

He showed me some cool spots and I felt very comfortable with him.

Whenever he was in Spain we would hang out, and the same when I was in Peru.

He is a very good musician and I have always loved learning from him. He taught me a lot of the songs we share together in circle.

I remember the thought crossing through my mind when I was last in Peru in summer 2022 “I could never be with Nilton because of XYZ”.

My mind came up with a million reasons why we could never be together.

Because:

❌ he was shorter than me

❌ he was older than me

❌ he lived in Peru

❌ he had kids

I thought what my mind was telling me was THE TRUTH. I didn’t realise that it was showing me all the blockages my mind had to work so I could receive love. So I could open up to the idea of being with someone who ACTUALLY RESPECTS ME.

It’s hard though when we’ve been sold the disney idea of what our prince would look like. What my MIND thought I wanted was something along the lines of:

✅tall

✅European

✅bilingual

But where did that land me?

Toxic relationship after toxic relationship.

That’s what happens when you look with your eyes, not with your heart.

When I got back from Peru in 2022 I missed Nilton so much. But I was busy with my centre Anahata and so I settled back into Barcelona life.

However, upon my return to Europe I did put on my visionboard “put the financial structure in place to move to Peru by 2024”.

I tried to fish out a picture for this newsletter but after an hour scrolling through my phone, I gave up. You’ll have to make do with the mental image.

Once day Nilton sent me a message telling me that he had developed feelings for me while I was in Peru… but I didn’t feel the same.

I shared that with him and he understood and never mentioned it again.

It didn’t affect our friendship. We continued senidng each other messages, voice messages and videos of each other playing music.

It’s not that I forgot about Peru. But I had other pressing matters to attend to, like Anahata.

My friend Benjo told me that one day everything would align for me to go there.

I prayed it would be so. But didn’t really believe it.

I was also starting to worry that I would never meet anyone.

And besides, I had VERY particular needs.

Where on EARTH would I meet someone who:

⭐️was mature & had a trajectory of inner work under his belt?

⭐️might be prepared to move to The Sacred Valley one day

⭐️played music?

⭐️enjoyed a good Ayahuasca ceremony like I did

⭐️was grounded with a stable job

⭐️was respected in his community

⭐️didn’t need anything from me

⭐️had integrity, kindness, presence & devotion

It seemed the odds were stacked against me.

I remember a friend once suggested maybe I already knew who I was going to fall in love with.

I literally went through all my guy friends one by one.

I was like, “nope, nope, nope, DEFINITELY nope…”

But in February this year 2 things happened which opened up a door on my path and put me in touch with my deepest desires.

THE POWER OF SHARING

In February I was playing some music at my beloved Makwee Women’s Retreat.

In the intention setting, I took a risk and decided to leave behind the shield of protection I often wear as a facilitator. I chose to share how I was feeling, warts and all.

I stood up and expressed my frustation that I hadn’t met partner yet. I remember feeling embarrassed to share that I was feeling this way…but I had to be honest. I said out loud “I’m doing all the work on myself so… “where the fuck is he?!”

Having the courage to express that was very rewarding because sisters kept coming up to me all weekend saying “he´s on his way. You´re going to meet him very soon.”

And I started to believe it.

The same month, I had a transcendental experience in the forest that changed everything

RELEASE

In February I was feeling very pre-menstrual.

I was stressed, angry and frustrated.

I felt called to wonder into the forest near my house.

By now I knew better than to ignore my instinct.

I took a left turn and turned onto a path I’d never set foot on.

After a few winding minutes it opened up to a beautiful green valley.

I sat there in the stillness and contemplated my life.

I felt Mother Nature holding me with her all-embracing love.

I was humbled by her presence and all-knowingness.

And there in the forest, I burst into tears and cried and cried and cried.

And the clarity and the peace that came through in that moment were that not only did I want to find my partner . But I also wanted to have a baby.

Up until that moment I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a mum.

But the clarity came through loud and strong.

On my way home the song Release came through, word for word.

You can listen to it *here*

It will be released on Spotify in the next months.

THE MAGIC OF MANIFESTATION

Life continued. I got on with my day to day.

I didn’t think anything else of it.

And the next month, Nilton came over from Peru.

My friend Desi who knows us both said to be before he arrived “babe, wouldn’t it be amazing if you and Nilton got together”.

I feel bad but I literally shuddered and said “no way.”

He was my friend – it was weird for me to think of him in any other way.

Even so, it was always so easy with him. He was respectful, kind, curious and never tried anything with me. That’s why I felt so safe with him.

And the conversation with him just FLOWED. We could talk about everything and anything.

We went to Ibiza with some dear friends for a magical ceremony by Es vedrá, our other friend Jamie flew in from Peru and we travelled around Catalunya.

And the whole time I felt myself wanting to be closer…

and closer…

…and closer

to Nilton.

His presence…his integrity…his curiosity in me…his HUMILITY!

I started noticing what beautiful long eyelashes he had.

I loved the sound of his voice.

I couldn’t wait for everyone to leave so it would just me him driving along, talking, laughing, reminiscing.

And I felt a deep sadness that he would be leaving soon and I wouldn´t see him for a long time.

I started imagining what it would be like to kiss him.

And on his final night, I felt my heart open fully to him.

BUT…

there was an obstacle.

My shyness.

How does one say “I have developed feelings for you and I need to tell you?”

Well apparently, just like that.

But my shyness got the better of me and I waited until he was in Madrid boarding his flight back to Peru to tell him.

His response was so beautiful.

“You have made me the happiest man alive. You know that I have had feelings for you for a long time.”

Since then we´ve been speaking every day, two, three times a day.

And things are going well.

I don’t feel the fiery sparks of youthful passion. My experience with those is that they burn out pretty quickly.

What I do feel a strong, stable inner fire that burns consistently.

And that makes me feel very FULL inside.

Which means that now we can pivot back to the title of this story.

TODAY, SATURDAY 10TH AUGUST, I AM MOVING TO PERU FOR 3 MONTHS.

Originally I had booked my flights for 3 weeks. But when I realised that this love story could actually have a future, I took the reigns of my life and decided to FIND OUT FOR REAL.

And everything has aligned, just as Benjo said it would:

🦙I will work from Peru.

🦙Pakandé is going to lead our Singing Circles while I´m away

🦙I´ve rented out my room to a dear friend

🦙I´ve even rented out my car

❤️I am going to a place that I have loved for 12 years.

❤️I have beautiful friends out there who I´m looking forward to spending more time with.

❤️My dear Nilton is out there waiting for me.

And I’m leaving on a high.

I heard once it’s better to run towards something than to run away from something.

And that´s exaclty how I feel.

Had I moved years ago I would definitely have been running away from my failing centre Anahata. I needed to build myself up again in order to be riding the wave of life.

And now that I am, I will only accept situations & relationships which are good, if not BETTER than what I currently have.

(which is pretty damn great and I feel very lucky).

And let’s be VERY realistic about this.

I don’t know if it´s going ot work out.

I am excited and nervous and happy and scared all rolled into one.

But I have a chance at love. In a place that I love. Surrounded by people that I love.

It’s true it may not work out.

We never know what life has in store for us.

But as my dad says, you have to task a risk in order to find out.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of my newsletter.

Stay tuned to hear how I get on in Peru!

Love from Abbey

ps – Listen to my new song Embrace Your Shadow here.

The post Why I’m leaving my happy life in Barcelona to move to Peru for 3 months first appeared on Abbey Sykes.

The post Why I’m leaving my happy life in Barcelona to move to Peru for 3 months appeared first on Abbey Sykes.