Adventures in learning lessons, the hard way

Morocco came and went as though in the blink of an eye. It is a truly amazing land. I am sorry to you, my readers, but I am unable to give an apt description. Not because i had my eyes closed - in fact I hardly slept all week - but because my superlatives just don't really do it justice. Not only do I love Morocco, but I feel as though it loves me back. It was easy and convenient. I managed on public transit and local food. It had a beautiful blend of culture from Arab, Berber, Europe, and Africa. The atlas mountains are stunning. With SNOW! And you can see them from the desert. The coast is beautiful and the little villages are pink (salmon or coral is probably more correct) and ochre and climb up from the sea among hills covered in scrub bushes and sparse grasses nibbled by the sheep.

My only regret is not filling my water bottle to the brim with tasty orange juice when I left.

So I travelled from Marrakech to Dakar, Senegal with a five-hour layover in Casablanca. Here things took a turn for the worse. Basically in two hours I had spent $49 (about 3 days worth of money for Morocco or 5 in Egypt). This included $10 for two taxi rides totalling about 3km!! ugh.

But worse was that I realized I had left my notebook on the plane. This is the notebook that has my everything right now. Notes and ideas; contact info for everyone I met on my travels; journal thoughts. And I had done so well at not losing things on this trip.

Then i wound up in an insanely expensive hotel (trapped by the need to sleep and the lack of available cheaper lodging. And in room 13 - just my luck...

I had a couple of other stresses pile up on me all at once and am extremely thankful to my friends and family who helped me get through it. One of my friends reminded me about something she heard: "So let me take a moment to remind myself for yet another time, that the journey IS the destination. The travel is the point." It really helped to center me and remind me that even the challenges are experiences to be lived. I stay present and I persevere.