My favorite international trip to date was a five week journey through Morocco. I began my visit in Marrakech and spent several days walking through the Medina, the historic part of the city. It would be an understatement to say that the Medina was just a fascinating place. In the various street markets, I was inundated with the aromas of various spices and vendors selling food that I had never seen before and haven’t seen since. There were magicians performing in the streets, snake charmers, monkeys that would jump on your shoulders for a picture, and people trying to sell everything from typical Moroccan attire to handmade rugs to chickens.
I rode a camel through the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert to an oasis where we camped with a local Berber tribe. My evening with these nomads was full of barbecued spiced meats for dinner and playing music with bongos and other types of percussion instruments. We awoke at dawn to watch the sunrise over the dunes, which were like mountains of pink sand that were so fine it felt like silk as I ran my hands through it.
From the desert, I took a bus to Fez, where I celebrated Christmas by dining at a phenomenal Moroccan restaurant. I might not remember the exact menu, but I remember the exact feeling of a culinary scene so rich that I think I would fly back just to eat there for a few days….
I visited many other amazing places like Rabat (the capital), several ancient kasbahs in the mountains and desert, and Essaouira – my favorite part of my favorite trip. Essaouira, a small coastal town, has transformed over the centuries from a pirate haven to a hippie haven and now, to a kite surfing haven. It attracts visitors who enjoy following in the footsteps of legendary musicians who once performed or visited there. I don’t know whose footsteps I followed when I spent a whole day exploring an abandoned Portuguese fortress from the early 1500’s, but the whole trip was one of the coolest experiences I had — devouring the various cuisines, socializing with multiple cultures, and sleeping everywhere from luxurious resorts to Bedouin tents. It’s something I hope to find with every trip. Unique experiences that can seem like a dream, but are very, very real.
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