Monday Musings

Merry Christmas! 

We are back from a miraculous trip to Morocco, North Africa and trying to catch up on sleep and recover from a cold we caught during our last days there.

Home is absent a tree, lights, any seasonal adornments whatsoever.  And I don't care.  It has been a pleasure to be out of the states during the month of December.  The absence of Christmas decorations, carols and sugary sweet desserts has been a great relief.  There was a moment, in our hotel in Marakech, where I detected Christmas carols on the outdoor PA system by the swimming pool.  Ack!  I shut my window quickly and installed my ear plugs.

The vacation is a bit of a blur, as we traveled to many cities as well as the High Atlas Mountains and the Saraha desert.  In the cities we were given tours of the old towns, or medinas, which are as crowded, hectic and hair raising as you could imagine.  I will never, ever again think of any big city in the U.S. as anything but orderly.  Not a lover of crowds at all, this medinas challenged me to stay alert, present and calm despite the motor scooters and donkeys brushing by my body in a 5 foot wide street crowded with shoppers and the hawkers of goods.  Aggressive salesmen who wouldn't take no for an answer.  Some women, too, but mostly men trying to make a living selling cheap silver ware and trinkets.  Everybody's gotta eat.

We are going through our many photographs, and I'm happy to say this was a good photographic trip for me.  Our fellow travelers on the tour were also delightful and interesting to talk with and get to know.

One of the highlights was our camel ride in the Sahara desert, despite three days of subsequent saddle soreness.  

More on the trip later.  I just want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous 2018!