The Night I Slept with a Princess

Arguably, the most enjoyable part of a trip is the planning for the trip itself. Generally, you've been working for months on end with only the occasional day off providing relief from the daily grind. The prospect of a whole week away from your boss while spending time in the wilderness, exploring a foreign land, relaxing at an all-inclusive resort, or catching up with infrequently seen loved ones, makes it hard to contain your excitement. You've planned the trip for months, and the time has finally come to enjoy the fruits of your planning labor. Then it rains. Your bags get lost. Everyone gets food poisoning. It becomes painfully obvious why those relatives are infrequently seen. Reality has let you down to the point you're disturbingly and somewhat sickeningly thankful to actually return to work. Expectation and Reality share an interesting relationship in that regard. When reality meets heightened expectations (see Tanzania safari), the fruits of your labor will never taste sweeter. When reality clashes with heightened expectations (see Morocco), you feel cheated and betrayed. Very rarely would you ever willingly put yourself in a situation where you would want reality to confirm lowered expectations. That just seems like a depressing waste of time. Which leaves the final relationship: an unimaginable reality stemming from lowered expectations. Or for the purposes of this blog entry: The Night I Slept with a Princess.

A Day in the Life: Serengeti

While I didn't give the name, "A Day in the Life" to other posts, I am probably going to start a segment of posts with such a title to give a little snapshot into what can happen in just 1 day as a backpacker. Not every day is glamorous, nor is every day at home. In the 4 days since the safari ended, I did very little but lie down in a bed in my hostel and just decompress. Arusha, Tanzania isn't exactly high on sights, so I didn't miss out on much in my laziness. The 2 weeks prior to my time here was full of adventure, including 4 days in the Serengeti. Here is what happened in one 24 hour time span during that trip.

Sand Blasted

I finally made it to the Sahara desert while in Morocco. It was a singular day on this worldly journey which I was highly anticipating. A camel ride in the desert terminating at a Berber campsite, we were to camp there for the night in a home made of dunes and an infinite number of twinkling stars. It was supposed to be an escape from the chaotic souks, a chance to exhale and reconnect with nature. But by the time I actually had a chance to exhale, all that came out of my mouth was Saharan sand.

The Long Overdue Latvia and Norway Pics

Fjords of Norway

It Took the Length of an American School Day to Upload These Pics. THIS IS AFRICA!

Well it took nearly 7 hours to upload these pics. Woke up around 3:30am to ensure slightly faster hostel internet speeds. Started the uploading process while reading the last few innings of the O's win over Toronto. Endured some loud Spaniards in our hostel dorm doing their worst impression of a couple trying to have a quiet whisper conversation while rustling around with plastic bags in their skivvies. Waited for others to eat their breakfast and leave the hostel so that upload speeds would again be faster, and here we are. Pictures of Lithuania and Morocco. Perhaps if I wake up early tomorrow I'll try to get some animal pics posted. Hope you enjoy.

Uzupis, Lithuania

Like Sands Through the Hourglass, So are the Days of our Lives

Ahhh soap operas. Early afternoon weekday appointment TV for the masses who live at home. A respite from reruns and judge shows. Story lines which seem to recycle every generation. I wonder what kind of conniving Victor has been up to lately? Not really my idea of Must See TV, but the opening line to that iconic soap opera is a fitting description of my time spent in Morocco.