I woke to a mosquito net trying to crawl its way on to my face like the bugs it's meant to keep off. I say woke up but, in reality, I was already awake. Awake from a night of fitful sleep as bugs tried their best, and succeeded, to get to me.
By our last night we had finally learned our lesson and didn't keep the door open after dark with the lights on - silly us - but on that first night we wanted the cool desert night air before we went to sleep. What resulted was my back becoming a feeding ground for what turned out to be sand flies. They should tell you there are bugs when you travel (she says I jest)! Later in the trip I would learn that sand flies can contain parasites and that parts of Morocco (that we happened to visit) have an endemic issue and a public health concern involving these flies. I guess I should have been wearing bug spray.
However, regardless of the bugs and mosquito nets and extremely tired eyes, there is nothing quite like seizing that lack of sleep and enjoying a full sunrise. I love a sunset but there is something about the softness of the morning light growing in warmth that wakes you up peacefully. A sunset glow wouldn't work at sunrise: it's too aggressive. It's as if God knew that nature itself needed a gentle nudging into the day - a good cup of coffee before the day begins. The sun, nature's coffee.
