Made it to foreign soil. Specifically, Spain and Morocco. (Spain was more of a drive-through destination, but made it there nevertheless. I have passport stamps and everything.)
Saw some beautiful places, met some beautiful people, and learned some hard lessons.
Being a tourist is easy--being a traveler is much harder. And while I knew this before I left, I didn't realize its full meaning until I was thrust again into the pull and sway of the intersection between my expectations and a foreign culture.
Navigating my way physically, logistically, and emotionally without losing my mind (or sense of self or the basic foundation upon which I had based my world view) turned out to be quite the trick.
Feeling too exhausted to sketch or write in my journal, I took to making lists about the journey.
The short, bulleted format of a list seemed much more doable--no poignant prose required. And so, today, I give to you a new list, created over my lunch break, while I looked through the 834 photos I personally took during the four-week journey, and whittled them down to a favorite eight.
List Number One: My favorite 8 photos
1. Women enter the souks through a main Bab; Marrakech
2. The derb (alleyway) outside our riad (guesthouse); Marrakech
3. Ali Ben Yousseff Medersa; Marrakech
4. Sunset over the Saharan desert; two days' walk outside of M'Hamid
5. one of our camels snacking on a acacia tree; one day's walk outside M'Hamid
6. A cat snoozes on rugs for sale in Essouaria
7. Legzira Beach; midway between Sidi Ifni and Mirleft
