It was very windy as we broke camp this morning in preparation to head to the nearby city of Rethymnon for a few days of rest. While stuffing our tent into its drybag, I spied a ladybug scurrying across the patch of earth we'd camped on. My immediate reaction was to drop everything to grab the camera. In doing so, I nearly let our tent blow away into the ocean far below. Yikes!

Crouched on the ground, watching this tiny insect, I couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship with it. Like me, he or she will likely plod along for most of the day, covering almost no distance at all:

During the course of the journey, he or she will approach giant obstacles:

…and dutifully climb over them, only to begin the process anew on the other side:

As I was snapping these photos, I felt keenly aware of my duality, being both large and powerful, and of minuscule insignificance. Then, I had a moment of pause, wondering if anyone was hovering over me, documenting my comparatively slow progress through the universe or metaverse or whatever the hell this is.

As I took my eyes away from the viewfinder of our camera, I snapped out of my daze, rejoining the world. It was time to continue our own adventure! After being crushed into a thorn bush by her bike last night, Tara eagerly accepted when I offered to push for her.

While I hauled our bikes through a mess of brambles to the road, I asked Tara to grab our camera and document the obstacles we had to contend with to start our day.