Photo: Atlas

Weary from waking early, 16 days of steadfast stomachaches and diarrhea, trekking in twice-repaired second-hand Swedish city boots up a narrow road through the Atlas mountains for an indeterminate amount of time, distance, and elevation; with everything I own on my shoulders and fierce cold wind pushing against each step; and, at last, hitching a lift with an antiquated van used for transporting Berber shepherds, groceries, and goats: from behind the windshield, as we trickle down into a slow, puttering descent, my swollen eyes that can barely stay open see this as the view.