A few days in Marrakech

During the weeks leading up to our visit to Morocco, I experienced the usual dilemma that precedes all of our travels. To be better prepared for the journey ahead, do I immerse myself in learning about the country, its culture, what to see, what to do? Or should the forces of chance and luck and…

A few days in Essaouira

If someone ever decided to devise a course to acquaint the unsuspecting visitor with the general chaos and sensory overload of the Moroccan Medina experience, they will be wasting their time. It is available – for free – every day in Essaouira (pronounced: Essa-weera). The first-time guest to Morocco will not have the frame of…

Getting an Oia-ful

I think it’s fair to say that you don’t often see your soon-to-be vacation home in one of the Microsoft Bing daily wallpaper photos. The image was achingly beautiful. A recently-departed sun continued to cast a magical light on the scene, painting the horizon with thin layers of golden stripes. Three small white boats, resting…

Quilotoa Loop: Blocked – 15 March 2022

Due to a road collapse and a landslide, the Quilotoa Loop is currently subject to a significant and perilous detour just north of Lago Quilotoa – and is completely blocked to traffic north of Chugchilán. Road Collapse near Lago Quilotoa Approximately 1km north of Lago Quilotoa the first road closure has a detour that, after…

Back on the road to elsewhere

  I have travelled this road thousands of times. I know all of its many and varied potholes, simultaneously acknowledging their growth and avoiding contact with them in the manner of a disinterested parent. I know the intersection where the traffic always slows to a crawl and where, fifty yards later, it accelerates again as…

As quiet as an airport

I hadn’t seen you for a long time. I suspect we both knew that this first encounter after such a long break was going to be a little awkward. Looking back on it now, and even though we’ve known each other for decades, it was naïve to think we would just be able to slip…