First of all, to everyone celebrating: Merry Christmas! I hope you’re surrounded by warmth, good company, and festive cheer.
It’s been a while since my last post. Back then, I was still staying with Samira and her family. The day after I wrote that, Grace and I set off for Taghazout, a small beach town about 40 minutes from Agadir. Grace had just spent a week exploring the Sahara with two friends, who were wrapping up their trip with a few relaxing days at the beach. Naturally, we decided to join them.
My time with Samira’s family had been such a rich, eye-opening experience. I got to immerse myself in authentic Moroccan life, learning so much about their culture and religion. Samira and I had a a lot of interesting (and sometimes controversial) conversations about topics like marriage, intimacy, and equality. Our departure was sudden and chaotic—like most things with Grace—and once we arrived in Taghazout, I was hit with an unexpected emptiness. The family had left a deep impression on me, and it felt like leaving a piece of myself behind.
In Taghazout, we met up with Grace’s friends, Oli (Australian) and Elia (Italian). The contrast between Ben Sergao, Agadir, and Taghazout was striking. In Ben Sergao, I’d been the only foreigner—the talk of the town, but Taghazout was overflowing with tourists. I heard more English than any other language. Despite my wish to immerse myself in different cultures, it was nice to be among other travelers who understood me, both on a linguistically and emotionally.
Initially, Grace and I planned to travel along Morocco’s coast, but we ended up staying in Taghazout for nine days. We met a bunch of other travelers and suddenly found ourselves in a group of ten who we spent hours and hours at the beach with. The relaxing beach days felt like a mini vacation within my larger journey.
I tried to write a few times but found myself at a loss for words. The days were busy yet I didn’t know what to write about and had little energy left to be creative. The constant social interaction was draining me and I struggled with mood swings and insecurities. It made me realize how much I still have to learn about traveling solo and finding balance. There are so many different approaches to traveling, and I’m still figuring out what works best for me. This wasn’t exactly a new revelation, but the hours spent lying on the beach, music playing in the background, gave me endless time to think. Unfortunately, that overthinking brought a wave of anxiety crashing down on me.
Fortunately, I was surrounded by so many amazing people who eased my worries. Hearing everyone’s travel and life experiences provided me with new insights and knowledge that excites me even more for what’s next to come.
Since Christmas Eve, I’ve been home, and I booked my flight from Brussels back to Lisbon on the 4th. The next two to three weeks will be relatively quiet. First, I’m soaking up some time at home, and after that I’ll be staying at a beach house in Lisbon. Alexa, a friend I met there two months ago, invited me to spend a few days, and who am I to pass on such an opportunity?
As for what’s next… I’ve started sketching out some plans, but the truth is, I’m not ready to commit to anything yet. I know myself too well—I’ll probably change my mind a few more times before I land on what feels right. For now, I’m holding those ideas close to my chest.
One thing I do know is that I will try to focus more on my photography in the next couple of weeks. The travels I have in mind are based on visiting friends rather than adventures and volunteering. I’ve been dreaming about selling prints of my photos, too, so I’ll busy myself figuring out how to make that happen.
Whenever something blog-worthy happens, it’ll be here for you to read. Adventures have a way of sneaking up on me, even when I think I’m taking a break. So make sure to subscribe if you haven’t yet. That way you’ll be notified whenever there’s a new story up!
Thank you for baring with me and I wish you all a very happy new year!
-Cels
On my Instagram you can find a more visual representation of my trip to Morocco:
CelsAway 
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