I’m finally getting around to sharing images and stories from our international adventure last fall!
The Setup:
In the summer of 2023, JC, the kids, and I spent some time in Colorado—a few days with my brother in Colorado Springs, and then a few days with my former coworker/good friend Emily and her partner, Kendall, in Longmont. After that trip, they reached out and said they had enjoyed having us there, and wondered if we might want to go on a vacation together.
After kicking around a few different possibilities, we finally settled on Morocco.
There wasn’t much reason for this, but it fit our desires:
- We wanted to go somewhere very different from anywhere we had been before (my family had never been to Africa, to a majority-Muslim country, to a place where we couldn’t even read the language)
- We didn’t want to be on a plane for like a whole day (which ruled out Asia)
- Sure would be nice if we knew someone there
Fourteen years ago, we met Sadik, who lives in Marrakesh. He was visiting the US for a year, as a Fulbright scholar. They sent him to Elkins, WV, for some reason. We met him through friends there, and he ended up staying with us for a week or so over Christmas break. We’ve kept in touch ever since, and he has often asked when we were going to come to Morocco. When I finally told him this summer that we were coming, he thought I was joking!
Our original plan was to stay in Fes for half the time and Marrakesh for half the time, and plan day trips out from those bases. Sadik told us we really should have a guide, and so he connected us with Hmad, a friend he’s known since high school. Hmad works as a driver and a guide, and he planned a full and intense—and WONDERFUL—itinerary for us. We saw so much more than we would possibly have seen without him. If you’re thinking about going to Morocco, seriously, connect with this guy, and tell him I sent you.
And Lisbon?
Lisbon has never been exactly on my bucket list. I hadn’t really thought about Portugal much at all. But nearly all of the flights from the eastern US to Morocco have a layover in Lisbon, and since we were going to go through there anyway, we decided to tack a couple of Lisbon days on either end.
I ended up really enjoying Lisbon. Silas said it was his favorite part of the trip. Having a couple days after Morocco to kind of relax in a European city, where at least I could read signs, was a good transition.
Itinerary:
- November 19: Overnight flight to Lisbon
- November 23: Flight to Tangier
- November 24: Tangier, Caves of Hercules, Chefchaouen
- November 25: Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Fes
- November 26: Fes, Bhalil, Sefrou, Ifrane, Midelt
- November 27: Midelt, Erfoud, Hassilabied
- November 28: Khamlia, Merzouga, Dunes d’Erg Chebbi
- November 29: Ksar Lbour, Ait Sedrate
- November 30: Ouled Arbia, Aït Benhaddou, High Atlas Mountains, Marrakesh
- December 1: Marrakesh
- December 2: Lisbon
- December 4: Home
The plan now:
I’m not exactly going to go in order, because some things I want to share thematically. I’m going to show all the Lisbon things together, even though we were there two separate times, and then the Morocco adventure sort-of in order, but broken up by some themed posts.
In the face of all the horrible stuff going on, revisiting this magical adventure is bringing me a lot of joy.
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