Please join us on our next adventure as we head off to Africa to explore the country of Morocco, or more accurately named “The Kingdom of Morocco”.

The route we will be taking on our journey around Morocco

We will explore Volubilis, which was once an outpost of the Roman Empire, join a Fez family for a home-cooked meal, meet the women of the Argan Oil Company to learn how they extract that sought after oil from this nut. 

I’m looking forward to camping under the stars in the Sahara as well as exploring an ancient desert village on the old caravan route, seeing the craziness of Marrakesh with its acrobats, performers and snake charmers, and checking out the fish mongers in the seaside town of Essaouira.

Map of the North part of Africa. Morocco and Western Sahara is shown in red

A few facts about Morocco:

1. Morocco is located in the NW corner of Africa and is dominated by the Atlas Mountains, which separate the fertile coastal regions from the harsh Sahara.
2. It sits on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and is just 8 miles (13 km) from Europe, across the Strait of Gibraltar. On the eastern boundary is Algeria and to the south Western Sahara (this territory is still being disputed) and Mauritania.
3. The population of the country is just over 33 million.
4. Morocco covers 446,550 sq km of land, slightly larger than California, and slightly smaller than Spain.
5. The majority of the people are Muslim (Islamic).
6. There are only three kingdoms on the African continent – Morocco, Lesotho and Swaziland.
7. The currency is the Moroccan Dirham which is running about 10 Dirham to 1 USD.
8. The capital city is Rabat, which is where our tour will begin. The other major cities include Fez, Casablanca, and Marrakech.
9. The official languages are Arabic and Berber.
10. It is considered impolite to handle food with the left hand and to say no to meat if it is offered at a meal.
11. They are the largest processor and exporter of sardines in the world.
12. Traditionally the liver, not the heart, is considered to be the symbol of love in Morocco.
13. Morocco was the first nation to sign a treaty with the United States in 1787.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful for the opportunity to return to Morocco. In 2009, we spent a week in Spain and while there took the ferry across the short gap of the Mediterranean Sea at the Straight of Gibraltar and explored the maze of the Tangiers market place. It was so colorful, vibrant and brought up visions of the Arabian Nights. I have wanted to return ever since then to explore beyond this coastal town.

We hope you will join us…