Hasta La Vista, Cuba...

Medina Polizzi

Coco Polizzi, a Rabat-born Italian architect, has created La Medina d'Agadir, an idealised Berber village, built using traditional techniques and materials, with workshops for 30 independent artisans. An amazing place to visit while in Agadir.

I didn't tell you?

I was in Morocco for the last 3 weeks.

Chasing after a baby who loves water

Watching the best sunsets ever

Picking bottle caps instead of shells on the beach

Taking naps by the sea

Contemplating sand and sea

Taking pictures of palm trees

2050 km (1274 miles) later

I'm back home and don't remember the last time I was so happy to be here. I came back sick, tired and deceived and cannot believe it could be so different this year. Last summer was like a dream! I wouldn't say this time was a nightmare (even if I had the weirdest of them nearly every night during my vacations) but it sure wasn't pleasant.

There's good in everything, they say, and I know the good in this is I really appreciate being home and don't feel that urge to 'go away' anymore. It will probably not last forever but for now I'm satisfied with what I have and thank Allah for showing me that the best place to be can be home.

Au Revoir!

Will be leaving in a couple of days... Ocean, breeze, waves, sand, seaglass, pebbles, mountains, and a very dear friend are waiting for me.

Here's a preview of what I'll see! More photos when I come back.

Au revoir et à bientôt incha'Allah!

Days of Joy

Here you see my house for the last 5 days. My tiny house. One bed, one chair, one table. One woodstove, with a fire that I have to constantly look after. All I needed to rest, reflect, pray, meditate.

The woods, a little creek, birds.

And the silence. Oh. The silence.

Outside. Then inside.

Moments of pure joy.

I fell in love

I travelled before. To far away lands and magical places. So many times before, my breath was taken away. I saw beaches of white sand and Windex water. I've been to islands of paradise with lush vegetation.  Still, I never felt like staying there forever. Crowd, heat, noise, there was always something to remind me that perfection is not of this world. Love was fading away with time.

My love story with this part of the world (which is, surprisingly, in my own country) is different. Mont-Louis is not the most beautiful place I've seen. It's windy, sometimes cold. But I never felt like this before anywhere on Earth. I went to the top of wild mountains. I picked stones for hours on different shores. I met wonderful people. I ate fresh fish and field strawberries. I drank my coffee with maple syrup everyday. I watched the sun go down in pink and purple skies. I saw trillions of stars, shooting and shining ones. I woke up at the base of misty mountains. I felt my heart beat. I lived. Simply, in another world, without tv, without computer, without money, without the superfluous. Time stopped. Stress stopped. Heart opened. Soul lifted.

I cried all the way back. My life will never be the same. I lived life. As, I know now, I always wanted to live. A small house, by the sea, a workshop, a garden. Mountains, ocean, wind. Inner peace. 

I have a dream.

One day, I'll reach it. Incha'Allah.

Days off

Photo credit: Perry Mastrovito

Going to breathe the fresh air of Gaspésie, meet some old friends (one of them I haven't seem for over 15 years!) and try out our new camping equipment... Weather is very bad so I don't know how long I might stay. But I'm going to see the ocean, to pick some beach pebbles and to take 10,000 photos so... life is beautiful!

See ya friends!

I know, I know...

...I forgot to say goodbye before I left for Morocco. I guess I was just too busy being depressed, compting days and packing.

But the good news are: I'm back, I'm doing very good and I have plenty of things to talk about. New stuff I made, nice photos to share, great purchases on Etsy, and so on. Be prepared for a bright and colorful Zamzam summer! Incha'Allah wa taala :).

Meanwhile, if you want to see some of my too many photos of Morocco, you can have a look at my Flickr page.