After the 5-hour scenic route through and around the High Atlas mountains and discovering the universal truth that, even here in Morocco, people on the bus go up and down (and I think the wheels on the bus go round and round, too) I arrived in the dark in Ouarzazate (WAH-za-zat)… richer and heavier, with my two new friends in tow, German/French DJ Morgan, and French Beauty/Social Worker Nina.

We grabbed a cab, unloaded and reloaded at a hotel in the center of town, and headed out for dinner and the music festival we heard some people talking about back at the bus station… I already love Morgan’s can-do, must-do, let’s do attitude, spontaneous, and impulsive seat-of-the-pants…

Being out in the world with no entangled, constricting, handcuffed expectations or rigid itinerary, means I’m in surreal time and in constant freefalling flight. Every day is wide open and filled with unpredictable endings. Plans change 9 different ways before I reach the next intended destination. Living and breathing in the moment, being okay with sitting in quiet solitude for hours in a cafe, meeting and drinking-in complete strangers, having a constant curiosity and inquisitiveness about each person or thing I unexpectedly encounter…. it’s swimming in a steady stream of rapids or wind storm, and not caring where you’re blown to… it’s more fun to feel the wind and be surprised with each new ending… it’s jazz… and poker… and blindfolded painting…