Once upon a time, I was an aspiring bohemian living out my backpack for several years as I worked and travelled. I wasn't interested in the rat-race, professional titles, or money, and thought I could escape it all forever.
Part of that journey took me to Morocco for several months, where I made it to the Western Saharan desert. Hard to believe this was 16 years ago, but I still have a small container of sand from that visit. I had never seen the stars shine so brightly, so much so you could see the Milky Way across the night sky. I wept as I sat in the desert my first night, so grateful that a working-class kid from East Salinas was following his dreams.
There's a small part of this Alvaro that still lives on inside me. May the journey continue.
- Alvaro Marquez