Laying Low in Marrakesh
I had hoped for an enjoyable and relatively uneventful two-day return drive from El Khorbat back to Marrakesh. And it would have been just that, if not for a dumb … Read more
Morocco
One Night in Ksar El Khorbat
After our Merzouga city accommodations didn’t pan out as expected, we suddenly found ourselves on the hunt for a place to stay for the night after our Sahara Desert camp … Read more
Red Dunes of Erg Chebbi & Sahara Desert Camp
Erg Chebbi is one of those wild and crazy places you see in pictures and movies and dream about going as a kid—you just don’t know it’s Erg Chebbi. The … Read more
Merzouga on the Edge of the Sahara
The drive from Todra Gorge to Merzouga was blissfully uneventful—save for the tiny little detail of getting our first glimpse of the Sahara Desert up close. This stretch of the … Read more
Dades to Todra Gorge (Tinghir & Auberge Le Festival)
Following a big day of hiking yesterday, a restful night’s sleep, and another delicious Moroccan breakfast, we couldn’t help but linger in Dades Valley just a little bit longer than … Read more
Tisdrin Hairpin Road & Monkey Fingers Loop
Dades Valley (also called Dades Gorges) is really a stunning little corner of Morocco. And the weather is wonderful. Here in March, we left rainy Marrakesh behind on the other … Read more
Skoura to Dades Gorges (Kasbah Amridil)
The morning sun is intense here at 4,000 feet on the southern side of the High Atlas Mountains. It darts up over the horizon and blasts through the semi-sheer fabric … Read more
Ounila Valley to Skoura Oasis (via Ouarzazate)
We’ve got a short drive of about an hour to our next overnight stop today. We’ll spend the morning exploring a bit more of Morocco’s famous Aït Benhaddou mud village. … Read more
The Captivating Mud Village of Aït Benhaddou
Today, we got to explore a fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s been on my list since we arrived in Morocco in early January. Aït Benhaddou is a striking 17th-century … Read more
Crossing the High Atlas Mountains to the Ounila Valley
Yesterday, we set off on an 11-day road trip following the ancient trans-Saharan caravan route from Marrakesh to Timbuktu. The plan is to head over the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains … Read more
8 Days in Marrakesh
When we arrived in Mirleft for the kids’ Worldschool Hub, that was as far as Lori and I had gotten in our travel planning. Not only had we left our … Read more
Mirleft Hub Week #4: Ramadan & Goodbye
Ramadan Mubarak! (Blessed Ramadan). That was the greeting around town on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. For our fellow non-Muslim readers out there, Ramadan is the … Read more
Mirleft Hub Week #3: Busy Days & Sunshine
Just before we arrived, Mirleft received an extraordinary amount of rainfall, turning the usually-Mars-like landscape into a sea of green, then yellow thanks to an explosion of wildflowers. Then, a … Read more
Mirleft Hub Week #2: French Fort & Dhuhr
Perched above the village of Mirleft are two prominent 20th-century military structures. On the top of the hill is ruined Fort Tidli, which is believed to have been constructed in … Read more
Mirleft Week #1: Our First Worldschool Hub
Mirleft is a small, unassuming coastal town in southern Morocco known for its beaches, surfing, and ruins of a French fort overlooking town. Roughly 7,000 people live in the area, … Read more
Riding on the Marrakesh Express
We’ve spent the majority of our first month in Morocco exploring the northern tip of the country. We’re excited to finally get over the Atlas Mountains to the arid south … Read more
Seeing AND Smelling Fez’s 12th-century Chouara Tannery
Our second week was forecast to bring sunshine. Instead, we got a big storm and more rain. It made for more lowkey stay in Fez than we had planned (we … Read more
Dar Sghira: Staying in a 400-Year-Old Fez Riad
For years, I’ve wanted to stay in a traditional Riad in the Marrakesh Medina. When I started researching accommodation for our Morocco trip, I quickly realized a Riad stay was … Read more
Fez Medina: World’s Largest Pedestrian-Only City
Before coming to Morocco, I had three places in mind to visit: Marrakesh, Tangier, and the Sahara (if we could somehow swing it). With the holidays and Sevilla sightseeing, I … Read more
Rock the Kasbah
It’s been bitterly cold at night up here in the Rif Mountains lately. The past couple of days we’ve even had some rain. So, when we awoke this morning and … Read more
The Blue City of Chefchaouen
Today, we’re looking at a 2.5 hour bus ride up to the Rif Mountains and our destination, the “Blue City” of Chefchaouen (pronounced: shuhf-SHUH-when). The sun is out and it … Read more
Tangier and the Kingdom of Morocco
Due to bad weather, a journey that was expected to take about three hours from Sevilla, Spain to Tangier, Morocco turned into an overnight stop in Tarifa (on Lori’s birthday, … Read more