I woke up this morning a bit sad that the tour had now ended but I'm glad I stayed another night before flying out to Paris. Prior to coming on this trip, the plan was to use this extra day to take a day trip over to Ait Benhaddou. However, I made such good friends with some of the people on this tour that I instead chose to spend the day hanging out with them. Looking out the window this morning, the weather did not look good. The skies were looking quite ominous and appeared ready to drench Marrakesh at any moment. Troy and Melanie were not staying at the hotel tonight but were instead transferring to a riad in the middle of the medina. The plan for the morning was for them to drop off ... read more

This morning we left the blue town to spend the day in the seaside town of Tangier. We caught the local bus which was an interesting experience as there was some fascinating characters on board. I unfortunately got stuck sitting next to a woman who appeared to be having motion sickness and was throwing up into a plastic bag. When others vomit it, usually triggers a reaction in me that causes me to vomit as well. Thankfully, her friend in a nearby seat agreed to switch seats with me and I didn't have to hear any more vomiting. We arrived in Tangier at lunch time and I was a little impressed at all the modern looking residential buildings. I was beginning to wonder why Tangier had such a bad repuation for seediness and danger. We all ... read more

We left Fez aboard a public bus heading to the town of Chefchaouen. Called Chaoen for short, Chefchaouen is arguably Morocco's most beautiful city. It is set in the heart of Morocco's Rif Mountains and is well known for it's blue colored homes in it's medina. Abdul also gave us a little surprising heads up in regards to the availability of marijuana in Chefchaouen. He told us not to be surprised if we were offered some marijuana as the surrounding hills are known to be a hotbed for marijuana production. The bus ride was just a few hours as we drove through some very beautiful and verdant countryside. The weather took a turn for the worse upon arrival into Chefchaouen. What had been a slight drizzle throughout much of the bus ride had now turned into ... read more

From Moulay Idriss, we all took taxis to the nearby Roman ruins at Volubilis. Set in a fertile plain, Volubilis is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is considered to be a well preservered example of a Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Roman Empire. Abdul orgainzed for us to have a guided tour of the ruins. However, I usually tune out guides on guided tours and this tour was no exception. I was content with just walking around and checking things out at my own leisure and making up my own stories in my mind of what the various ruins were. My favorite part of the ruins were of course the brothel but also the many beautifully designed mosaics weathered from exposure to the elements for almost 2,000 years. After spending the morning ... read more

Morocco had long been one of my dream destinations. It has such an exotic aura to it and with my fascination with all things Islamic, I jumped at the chance of going when I found a tour company offering a trip at such a reasonable price. I booked the Northern Morocco Adventure tour with Intrepid travel, a company that focuses on responsible tourism. As usual, my travel partner Shea would be coming along on this epic adventure. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. A few weeks prior to our scheduled departure, her father fell gravely ill and wasn't given very much time left to live. Shea was very much conflicted with her strong desire to go on this trip but also with the importance of spending every last moment she could with her ailing father. ... read more