The Sign

I think I am reasonably practical and generally make decisions based on facts and figures and reasoned justification.  For me, the desire to own a riad in Marrakech is as much a carefully thought through, practical, financial and investment decision, as it is an adventure.  I've read loads of books, websites and blogs and talked to many people who own riads, to form my own opinion of the pros and cons before embarking on this project.  In addition, I do believe that 'gut instinct' can often be reliable if weighed and tested as the gut and brain are linked and sometimes the brain processes complicated options in a microsecond without us having to think things through.  Kind of like how birds know where to migrate to even though they have never been before.  My wife, Laura calls this her 'knower' when she just knows something in her 'knower'.  Since visiting Marrakech for the first time, she has liked the idea of having a house there, but she hasn't known in her 'knower' if it is the right thing for us.  Therefore, for her to be 100% enthusiastic about the project, she wanted a 'sign'.  Here it is!

On the wall in our room at Riad 107, written in Arabic, was the name 'Aya', meaning 'sign' or 'miracle'.  She'd been looking at the sign for a whole week, but not being able to read Arabic, didn't realise!