Africa

Photo of the Week: Souk

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IMG_2527Marrakech, Morocco

This picture was taken inside the biggest souk in Marrakech, off of Jemaa el Fna square.  The market is a massive labyrinth with many crisscrossing walkways, each filled with stalls selling everything from leather goods, to rugs, to spices, to almost anything you can think of.

I picked this picture because the other day we met up with some friends for brunch and got to reminiscing about our ‘super duper fun’ trip to Morocco. Did you picked up on my sarcasm there with the air quotes and the italic fonts?  Seriously though, it was a memorable trip, but for all the wrong reasons. Basically Murphy’s Law was at play, where anything that could go wrong, went wrong for us. The weather was awful the whole time with continuous rain and freezing temperatures…in Morocco! We almost got stranded in the Atlas mountains because of a freak snow storm…in Morocco! We had to cancel part of our trip because we couldn’t drive over the mountain.  Then to top it all off, we almost got carbon monoxide poisoning in one of our hotels.

The sad part was, we’d all heard so many great things about Morocco and could not wait to go on this two week long trip! Our experience did not live up to the expectation and we pretty much had cabin fever after a week and could not wait to return home. One day I would want to go back to trek into the Sahara desert and camp overnight under the stars; something we weren’t able to do. Hopefully it’ll erase all the bad memories from the first trip.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Year in Review – 2014

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2014 Map

It’s that time of year again. The end of December is when everyone looks back over their year and makes lists. So far be it for us to not follow the trend.

2014 was one hell of a year for us. In addition to starting this blog, we still found some time to travel around the world while working full time. We were on the road almost once a month in 11 separate trips. We finally got to cross off Australia and Peru from our bucket list, which were over 2 years in planning. We’ve even literally flown around the world – flying only eastward to Australia through Abu Dhabi and then eastward home through Los Angeles. We also visited our 6th continent – only one more to go! The more we see on our travels, the more we wanted to see.

Some of the more impressive stats include: over 91,000 miles flown, on 42 individual flight segments. 7 countries, 5 continents. We spent over 26 hours flying in first class, 70 hours in business, and countless hours in coach.  12 of those flights were over 8 hours long, and 5 of those 12 were more than 12 hours – thats a lot of long-haul flying.  Even with all that however, we fell short of of the re-qualification threshold for American Airlines Executive Platinum status – 100k miles. It looks like next year we’ll have to settle for being just Platinum. This means no more unlimited domestic upgrades, and no 8 SWUs for international flights, but we still get lounge access and priority seating/boarding, etc. We also have a stash of points built up this year we’ll work on using up in 2015.

Our trips in 2014 included:

This past year we specifically planned more travel than normal in order to maximize the benefits of our status. This resulted in a lot of busy weekends and running around packing, unpacking, and repacking. In fact, it felt like we spent most of 2014 living out of our suitcase. All this travel definitely took its toll on our bodies.  Between the long-haul flights, meals in airport lounges, time changes, jet lag, busy weekends, and packed schedules to fit as much in as possible on our trips we both feel a bit worn down.  Even though we loved every minute of of our whirlwind year, we’re also looking forward to some R&R time at home this winter. For 2015, we have a lot of ideas of where we want to go, but nothing concrete planned. We are excited to start planning our next adventure around the world (any suggestions?).  It’ll be hard to top 2014, but we can’t wait to see what 2015 brings. We wish everyone a safe and happy new year!

Photos of the Week: Grotto

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IMG_0919Tangier, Morocco

Tangier is a city located on the North African coast near the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic.  About a 15 minute drive from this northern city of Morocco is the popular Caves of Hercules.  The grotto has two openings, one on land and one out to the sea. Entering from the land opening, you descend into a cavernous area with multiple rooms and alcoves. The caves were expanded considerably over the years by Berber tribes. The opening facing out to the ocean looks like the head of a man.  When that same opening is viewed from the sea, it looks like a map of Africa. It is part of the local legend that Hercules stayed here and slept in this cave.

This sleepy seaside town is a great pit stop to grab lunch and admire the grotto. Inside, locals have set up stalls and are selling souvenirs. Outside by the waterfront, there are multiple shops and restaurants.  Make sure you don’t plan your trip around Ramadan, when the attraction is shut down for a few weeks.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Photo of the Week: Symmetry

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IMG_0533Casablanca, Morocco

I didn’t know what to expect when I visited Casablanca.  Based on the movies I’ve seen and books I’ve read, I expected a vibrant city full of marketplaces and interesting things, but what I saw was a dilapidated city, way past it’s prime.  Streets and sidewalks were broken down and every corner was filled with piles of rubble and garbage.  However, just when I was about to write off the whole city, we went and visited Hassan II Mosque, one of the most beautiful places in Casablanca.

It is one of the largest mosques in Morocco as well as Africa and 7th largest in the world.  The white marble structure rises above the Atlantic Ocean in this forgotten city. Contrasting with the rest of the city, everything here was clean and shiny, the facade glowed under the morning light. Inside, people spoke in hushed tones in deference to the religious significance of the mosque. There was a sense of serenity and quietness that settled over the area.  

This picture captured the elaborate doorway facing out to the Atlantic ocean inside the prayer hall.  The sunlight filtered through the titanium wrought door and reflected on the marble floor creating an interesting symmetry. Even though this photo was taken in color, the light and shadow resulted in a black and white effect.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Photo of the Week: Mosaic

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IMG_9148

Volubilis, Morocco

This photo was taken at Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Morocco.  This ancient Roman city is located a short distance from the bustling city of Fes.  Scattered throughout the ruins you will find many well preserved mosaics.  This particular mosaic depicts the goddess Diana bathing with her attendants. Growing up I was fascinated with Greek/Roman mythology, so having the opportunity to see the myths come alive in these colorful mosaics was priceless.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Cheap Flight Alert: Toronto to Kilimanjaro

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I just saw that KLM is having an airfare sale from Toronto, Canada to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania for $1,000 per person, round trip including taxes.  If you are not from Toronto like me, you can probably find a cheap and flight your overall cost will still be lower than a regular priced ticket.  Climbing Kilimanjaro has not always been on my bucket list because 20,000 feet above sea level seems very intimidating.  Now, fresh off my success with the Inca Trek, I feel like I can conquer the highest peak in Africa as well.  Continue reading →