last photo

and I think it's appropriate to be saying goodbye from a day where in the middle of the winter, we're sunbathing

baklava

pure joy

the real fireplace

my fav dessert

vitamins right from the garden

metrik ve arkadasi

last day in Brussels

I wake up and my terrace is covered in snow. I think it's time to fly south.

my new fireplace

detail india

night from my new terrace

feels like the nighthawks

Always thirsty

snow again

snowed under

on the way to Parma

coffee and cake break in Antwerp

sushi or what used to be sushi

mezes to live for

4 in the morning

The world is different at this time. Sometimes I think it's better not to sleep at all.

sunny brussels, an oxymoron

still a nomad even if an orderly one

you don't want to be in his shoes

monster pigeons of brussels

levrek

bonsai san

tree

japanese garden

civil work

same window

olive tree inside the house

hmmmm, cohibaaa

trinidad

la cueva de los peces

 

One of my favorite stops in Cuba, in the south of the island at Playa Larga just before Playa Giron where the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion started. I was determined to continue my scuba diving adventure, making up for lost time, 12 years to be precise. After my ear forced me to cease diving except for snorkelling, I needed a place like Cuba to convince me to give it one more try. Nothing happened, so I kept going deeper. Like having coffee with a friend after years of not seeing each other, I felt at ease and enjoyed it more and more. It was as if I hadn't stopped at all. I dissappeared below the surface and the sound of the bubbles coming out of the regulator were so familiar.

My best dive happened in a cave. Where most people could feel claustrophobic, I felt euphoric. It was as if I was swimming in the Grand Canyon, only both walls were much closer, I was 30m underwater and the the formations were amazing.

la muralla

 

The enormous rock painting titled prehistoria in the Vinales region.

maria la gorda

 

After 12 years, I start scuba diving again at this spot. Luckily, my ear cooperated and I kept on diving for the rest of the trip.

las terrazes

 

And the road trip begins.

casa particular

 

One of the best things about visiting Cuba was staying at Casa Particulares wherever I went. I was able to practice my Spanish all the time, ate home made food, got good tips on where to visit, and took photos of the families I stayed with.

back to the main island

the beach

iguana

pelicans

ahhhh....

plaza de la catedral

bienvenido en cuba!

madrid

For some reason this reminds me of das schloss and der prozess by kafka...

cold nights

yo man, back to brussels..

sangria on the nile

Farewell dinner on the Nile.

rice chimneys of egypt

Here I am back to Cairo again and what hits me it's been one year is the smell of rice clouds. Here in this country the fellaheen (farmers) burn the rice shells to get rid of them. What a great way to add variety to the same old traffic smog.

Yes it's been exactly one year from the time I first came to this country and I can't help but feel nostalgic. I miss that feeling of coming to a new country, the weather is beautiful, the language is so foreign and familiar at the same time, and I'm excited. I'm sitting on the balcony of my newly rented apartment drinking tea and writing. The next day I'm supposed to go sandboarding in the desert and did I say the weather was beautiful?

It's that time of the year when the farmers are burning the shells of the rice harvest.