My First trip to Africa!

I believe in living in a land of little water because life is drawn together. And I believe in the gathering of bones as a testament to spirits that have moved on. If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. Perhaps that is why every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide and so we are found.”

~Terry Tempest Williams

I love this quote by Terry Williams as I feeling came upon me hard and strong as soon we crossed the border from Spain into Morocco. The aridity, so present and palpable. The earth felt so alive, red and rich. The exuberant tints of red, orange, and yellow resembling our God-given blood, the iron that sustains life, yet bleeds joy and pain all at once. The grandiose display of life and lack there of… that synchroncity of the river that runs through it. The need that humans have to always need more yet there is so much life emerging between each rock, each morsel of sand, each dark cloud. I feel so incredibly lucky for the opportunity to have journeyed to Africa by land all the way from Paris. Seeing each texture and color and juxtaposition of so many forces in many ways changed my perspective helped me envision a forgotten time of another life, another world. I have always felt deeply connected to the African continent and this time around, I visited only the northern tip: the northern and southern regions of Morocco, yet a true feeling of remembrance came upon me. As I traveled throughout the different regions, just like is the case for many countries there is a vast difference of culture, language and all around disposition. In Marrakech everyones speaks French and in Chefchaouen Spanish is the language that rules. I feel fortunate to speak both fluently although Spanish is my native tongue so it was fun for the opportunity to speak Spanish in Africa.

Endless cycles of life feeding on life. Warm smiles looking for a home, a place to hide!