Connecting Routes: The Presents in the Present
GUINEA - SENEGAL - QATAR
As I hit a new travel milestone and as we welcome what could be a watershed New Year, I wanted to pause. I’m blessed to not only have the volume of voyages, but also, of the type, quality, diversity, depth and spread of adventures.
It behooves me therefore to pay tribute to the threads that weave together the random beauty I’ve seen at discrete destinations into a larger and more linked landscape - highlighting tacit touchpoints together in a way that showcases the rich tapestry of Life’s flow.
So launches “Connecting Routes” ~ a space to spotlight a common theme in my travels that offers snapshots from one place to another, like the tantalizing tease of a tasting menu or a shortlist of your next dream vacation!
Top Three Places that offered Presents in the Present
Sometimes, we have fun retrospectively. Looking back on a trip, wistfully or with a clarity that comes with time and comparison, a past joyride can seem larger than its original dimensions, like the side view mirror on our cars. But when Life puts a bow on what it bestows, in that moment, we know it’s clutch - we can feel the present that we’re in the midst of unwrapping, unleashing and experiencing unfettered.
Guinea: The gift of having the scenery, schedule and space to be surrounded in serenity springboarded my senses to step-it-up-a-notch. Here, I could look, listen and feel fully in the now. Sunsets were a showstopper every night and the scene post sundown was also snazzy.
Senegal: Fairytales are made of NYE like these! I went from rags to riches overnight, only because a stranger orchestrated an eyebrow-lifting outfit tailored for me and befitting a celebration that welcomed in a New Year. This was the teraanga that made me fall in love with the people and picturesque spots of Senegal. Scanning the starlight sky, looking out from the lighthouse onto the Ocean, the moonlight made it seem like a fantasy reality. Atop a cliff, I danced and dined, surrounded by folks who had become like family in just a few hours … no doubt, this was the place to feel the perfection of this present while I reveled in it.
Qatar: A country that’s often dwarfed, the consciousness, creativity and contemporary lens of this land invited and inspired me to reflect. Folks seem surprised at the smatterings of offerings here. From culture, fashion, theology and time honoured to fusion to future ready architecture, Doha delights day after day, tempting the traveler to make sense of the interplay of opulence, natural beauty, ties to tradition, stewardship and how the past and future can make our present even more plentiful.
May this be the year, month, day, minute, micromoment in which we enable ourselves to receive the presents of our present,
Great experience written beautifully!!