#12 MOROCCO

I visited Morocco in 2003 when one fateful day, I decided I'd rather take a week off from college and run away to the Sahara rather than attend classes in snowy Schenectady, New York. It was an exotic destination to a part of the world I'd never been to and was like nothing I'd experienced before.

I met up with Zoran in Amsterdam and then we flew KLM together to Casablanca and traveled overland to Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Fez, and Chefchaouen. We camped among red sand dunes in the Sahara and crossed the snow-covered Atlas mountains. Along the way, we picked up a guide, Ibrahim, to take us on some of the off-road travel, and with him, we had a great time. But when we were alone, walking through the medinas of the Fez and Marrakech, people often would grab and shout and harass us endlessly. In fact, one little boy in the streets of Fez told me an insult so crude, involving my mother and the men in his village, that I still haven't forgotten the little brat until today!

Back in the day, when I was young and had bad hair :) 2003

The red sand dunes of the Sahara, 2003

The nature in Morocco is beautiful, and the food is delicious, so I didn't even hesitate to bring back olives and fresh cheese for my college friends to try. But it was rough travel, and I've not been back since. I suppose it also didn't help that I got sick along the way and spent a fair amount of time vomiting among the sand dunes. I must've been a weak and inexperienced traveler back then because that never happens to me now! #knockonwood

Rockin' the casbah! 2003

Chefchaouen, maybe? It's been a while since I looked at these photos... 2003

I don't even remember this, but I have the photo, so I must've been there... 2003