To float or not to float?

Lately, tourist havens here have been empty.  We were probably the only souls there at the resort off the Red Sea coast.  It was a little creepy being the only ones greeted by 10 servers at the breakfast buffet.  Lots of awkward smiles that's for sure!  We had the beach all to ourselves.  Not even a lifeguard in sight on site, which made me a little nervous given that my swimming skills are as good as my cooking.  Although sometimes I magically cook up a miracle on a good day.  I will make sure I write up a post when that happens, but don't hold me to it. Don't worry, I'll save you, Ali said to me as he pulled out the GoPro excitedly from my purse.  His words convinced me, somehow, even though we (both) knew that his swimming skills lag behind mine (I love you!!).   And so, we let loose, for the first time in a long time, swimming...umm, more like, SINKING, laughing, care-free, hand-in-hand under the hot mediterranean sun.

b.

Hello morning sun, nice to meet you at last!

  I felt like a bag of stones, no, ROCKS, lay on top of me as I woke to the familiar sound of guitar-playing beeps ringing so annoyingly from my phone.  Please, just 5 more minutes, I thought.  The dangerous 5 more minutes.  The 5 more minutes that turn into 10, that turn into another hour, that cause havoc in the morning when you wake up and realize that you are already late for work!   It was 3:30 am.  No office to rush to, yet an extremely important event was about to unfold that very morning.  It took all the power that I had in me to get my unconscious self up and out of bed before dozing back into that seductive la-la land we call sleep.  Ali called the reception desk of the Ain Al Sokhna resort we so spontaneously decided to invade that weekend to get a drive down to the beach, 200 metres away.  Ya, that's how we roll over here.  No one answered though, as expected.  Ugh, you mean I'm going to have to walk all those 200 metres on foot?  Ali smiled at me patiently and reassuringly said that it'll all be worth it.  And oh, how it was worth it. Every gruelling step of the way!  Watching the sun effortlessly rise against the glorious horizon was such a majestic site.  At that moment, I was suddenly aware of what was happening.  Every morning, the sun greets me so kindly and warmly, asking me where I've been for the past few hours.   Today, I reciprocate by patiently waiting and reflecting upon the wonders of darkness until I can finally be the first to greet the light.

b.

A Casablancan moment

I had all these ideas of how we would spend our layover in beautiful Casablanca.  Maybe an authentic Moroccan lunch by the corniche, or a walk along the exquisite sandy beaches of the great Atlantic, a couple of quick excursions to the marketplace.  I was so excited to spend the day exploring! But no.  We passed out for 5 straight hours at the hotel.  It felt good though.  Wrong, but so good!  I was so upset when I realized that I had slept away our entire afternoon.  I had planned it all so well.  But of course, as much as you plan, there are always greater plans in stock for you.  You've got to go with the flow sometimes, and accept whatever happens with an open heart.  I left my sour mood in the hotel, with a little (more like a lot!) motivation from Ali, and we spent our one hour escapade living in the moment, exhilarated, carefree and happy with the blessed present.

Welcome to abcreatives!

Why hello there.  It's official!  We finally stopped dragging our feet in sand and decided to just go with it.  Welcome welcome to our space!  A space for us to share with you our thoughts, ideas, and of course, our photos.  'Cause we got lots of them.  Please feel free to comment on our posts, we won't bite.  The more discussion, the merrier! Have a wonderful time :)

ali & batoul

[ab]