By now, all of the participants will have arrived safely home. The last days of the Y-TOP Gathering 2017 were busy; full of movement and surprises (both positive and less positive ones). With this final summary of how the last days were, we would like to give the participants a last remembrance of our goodbyes, and to give those who weren’t with us a last impression of this Gathering. It sure was quite a journey.
The hostel, which had been our home for the previous 9 days, was cleaned entirely (every country being responsible for a different part) on the morning of day 10. It went surprisingly fast, taking into consideration the possible fatigue after the Party (which was a blast) the night before. It was also difficult to say goodbye to our home, our dearly formed ecology of the last days, and we were assured by Lino and Sandra (the greatest hostel staff ever) that we were the best group they had ever received.
After a little ceremony, we set off towards Coimbra (an old university town) for a little day trip on our way. In order to somewhat give meaning to the trip, but also let everyone wander freely, we gave everyone a string. The idea was to tie a knot every time one saw something new, and two knots when one saw a friend in a new light. After some hours in the city, and many new knots had been made, we continued towards our new home for the next, and last, 2 days: a camping place in the forest close to the beach.