Good morning from the heart of the Medina in Marrakech!

Our BA club flight over was pleasant on BA’s newest A320N. Breezed through the airport and into our Riad within 30 of landing.

The weather here has been fairly cool and wet. Not made planning easy. It’s been an interesting experience for sure, but the Souks are not really my thing. Wife loves them and loves spending the Dirhams I queued 45 minutes to withdraw only 10 metres or so away from a snake charmer and his collection of cobras.

I’ve loved the old buildings here and the food has been good, but the constant wave of people trying to get your attention or money is overwhelming for me. I would come back, but would seek a place outside the Medina and away from the souks and the motorbikes racing through the crowds.

Today we fly to Madrid, where the forecast is rain. We had a place booked on Gran Via, but seeing the weather is likely to make going out too much a bit of a chore, I switched us to a big hotel near airport which has a covered pool, gym and lounge. We will still head out into Madrid, but I thought 40000 Marriott points for 2 nights was a better idea than 440 euros for two nights in an Aloft. Madrid hotels are so expensive these days.

then… on Sunday we return to Mexico, ending our 3 month trip. Going to be strange to be back, but it’s time…

Have had plenty of reflection time while away and some long chats with my wife. We return as different people for sure, with a new perspective on the world. I will now spend a few months finishing off my thesis before looking towards 2027 with a fresh set of eyes and looking for a new challenge, professionally. I will keep running my business, but have decided that once the Dr title is in the bag, I want to dedicate half my time to some kind of new venture, whatever that may be. Perhaps an NGO, perhaps some think tank work, or maybe even dipping back into university teaching and building something new there. Might even try and do something with nature.

It is an exciting time as after grinding hard for the last 10 years or so, I'm in the fortunate position to have the time and resources to pick my next steps… I kind of already knew it, but it took this 3 month adventure to really make me realize just what point of life we are at.

Just like in the old teen movies, American Pie, “gentlemen, here’s to the next step”

happy Friday to you all