Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home

Friday, October 4

I’ve been home from my latest adventures for 5 days now.  Time enough to start to feel human again, having caught up on my sleep, done oodles of laundry, reconnected with family, and started to get back in the habit of putting toilet paper in the toilet again after a month of trying to remember to put it in the little garbage pail provided. Haha, you can count on me to talk about all aspects of travel.

Every trip is a learning experience, but my head almost exploded on this one. So much to absorb, from the sensory overload of Fes, to the compelling stories we heard from those affected by the conflict in Israel, to the history and awe of Petra in Jordan.

People often ask me what my favourite country is, or part of the trip, but I’ve tried hard not to compare these three countries to each other, but rather consider each of them as they came. Increasingly as I travel, it’s actually the people I meet along the way that I find the most interesting and memorable. G Adventures does a great job of providing fabulous CEOs (Chief Experience Officers) and especially on the National Geographic joint ventures, the locals we have been able to interact with adds so much dimension to the experience.

We lucked out with all three of the groups with whom we travelled. There were no whiners, no one chronically late, and no one who monopolized the conversations. There were only 10 of us in Morocco, and 15 in each of Israel and Jordan. We were frequently reminded we were glad to be on a small group tour, rather than the huge groups of 35 – 50 we saw trying to make their way through the crowded streets of Fes or Jerusalem.

Visiting Morocco for two weeks (and 2996 km on our trusty bus) gave us the opportunity to see some of the many sides of the country that our guide often called “country of contrasts”. From the ancient medinas and handicrafts in Fes; to the beautiful countryside of the High Atlas Mountains; to the laid back beach lifestyle of Essaouira; to the night clubs of Marrakesh; to the modern shopping centres of Marrakesh and Casablanca; to the traditional villages where Muslim women were covered head to toe walking along side visitors who didn’t always respect the modesty dress code; and from the poor villagers contrasted with the expensive villas in the Tarflout area sitting empty save for the summer vacation time. Even the flavours of Morocco provided contrasts – through dishes with combinations of sweet and savoury, to the simplicity of fresh fruit for dessert contrasted with the complex spices of tajine dishes. From the red earth of the Air Mansour Gorge, with its stunning green palm trees to the desert regions, to the vistas along the Atlantic, and the mountain ranges of the Atlas Mountains, even the landscapes provided that contrast.

Although we spent only a week in Israel, we seemed to have tromped all over every square inch of Jerusalem, and yet I know that’s not the case. It’s impossible to cover anything but the highlights in a 7 day trip in a country with so much history both ancient and current. Here especially it was the interaction with people, both planned and spontaneous that I will especially remember. Images of the third generation book store owner in Old Jerusalem fighting for his Palestinian citizenship, a young mother fighting for proper treatment and schooling for challenged youth in a Palestinian Refugee camp in the West Bank and an older man originally from Montreal seeking peace from antisemitism by moving to Jerusalem to pursue religious studies will stay with me for a long time. The images of Holocaust survivors talking about their experiences in videos in the Holocaust Museum brought tears to my eyes, as did the simple reading of names of children who died in the concentration camps in the darkness of their museum. It wasn’t all serious, and there were many fun times; wine tasting in the Golan Heights; bobbing in the Dead Sea; the spontaneous group singing of the Walls of Jericho in Jericho; and naturally one of my favourite experiences, sailing on the Sea of Galilee and dancing to Hava Negela.

I knew going in that I was going to find a month a long time to be away, and I was right. It was hard to maintain the energy and interest in the last week, but thanks to the fun itinerary and amazing country of Jordan (seeing Petra was the genesis of this trip after all) I think I kept it going. And in fact, our most physically challenging day was at Petra in the last week, and we made it. The other physical activity aside from the ever-present walking, was snorkelling in Aqaba and it was so much fun. The hotels were definitely a little less comfortable than the ones in Israel and Morocco, and the guide did not provide as much information as the the other two but I’m still glad we decided to take the classic tour version that included the snorkelling. Our desert stay in Jordan was more comfortable than the one in Morocco because it was cooler and the beds were much more comfortable, but the camel ride in Morocco was definitely one of the highlights.  Oops, now I’m doing what I said I wouldn’t and comparing experiences between countries.

I keep remembering different experiences and I could go on forever with this blog, but I’ll stop now.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the adventure with me. If there is anything you’d like to suggest for future blogs I’m all ears. Help me make it better next time.

I’ll spend the next few months, enjoying time with our little man, Benny, hitting the gym to stay strong for future travel and planning the next adventure.  Watch for the tell tale pic of a pedicure.

Just a bit of housekeeping, I’ve gone back in and added pictures to the posts I did during the last 10 days or so when we didn’t have sufficient wifi bandwidth to post them. If you want to take another look the additions begin at September 20th.