December 29, 2018 · San Francisco, CA, United States
Lisbon, Portugal
As the year ends and a new one begins, I have crossed over in flight a place I last crossovered by sea. Historically an amazing place. A place where the continent we all came from, nearly touches the continent from which the world was reconnected. A place where these two lands are separated by sea and ocean. A sea of Ancient history leading to an Ocean of explorations.
When I last crossed this bit of water, I was on a simple mission, to see the last bits of Western Europe not experienced by me, as I would then go quietly into retirement. But as it can happen with travel, discoveries were made. I found in Morocco, if I put a story to photo, it inspired me. That when I did cross to the Iberian Peninsula, and then to my mother’s land of Hibernia, it was not geography, history or architecture, that inspired me, but the people and cultures I met on the way. For what makes the world unique is not only its beauty, but the beauty of those who share the air we all breathe, the movements of the skies we pass along as the day goes by, and the preciousness of life only limited by time and how we use and share it, within the limit of our time.
With these discoveries, I have found myself back to where the realizations began, 42 months and 57 countries later, I have now flown back to my crossroads. In a world that went from flat to round at the moment Magellan crossed the straight named for him, as he crossed from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Making around the world travel possible.
It is nice to be at a crossroad that no matter the direction taken, it will lead to good things. For my crossroads, are not about what I do but what I experience and who I will experience them with. I have left with many of those I have met on my way, gifts that can be tools or toys. Those who use them as tools will be engaged with me and a chance to improve lives. Those who choose to use them as toys, will be able to experience life, in a way not possible before.
There is no loss here, just choice.
Propelled to go from place to place, as I experience life in the context of others as they live today, herewith are my photos at the crossroads of civilization. Watch as the flight over the crossroads of humanity begins in the rainbowed clouds of Morocco, flying over history’s meeting points and landing in the lights of Lisbon. (Note: The third photo is a GIF and has flickering, if this is not good on your eyes, the stills can be looked at instead.)
A special thank you for my friends at Airtreks, who help to make my travels not only possible but dynamic.
