Roundup time!

Hi from Alaska guys, I’m finally home! After over 100 days on the road through several countries, a couple of break-away territories, a few dead ends, food poisoning, gropings, road trips, and more- I’m home. So to cut to it, I’ll tell you about what I did this month.

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Click here to check out the expedition I will co-lead with Inertia Network taking us for a glimpse of the High Pamir life in Tajikistan’s Gorno Badaskhan Oblast, China’s bustling Silk Road hubs of Kashgar and Tashkurgan, and onto the Karakoram Highway to Pakistan’s stunning Hunza Valley and more gems in remote Gilgit-Baltistan.

Cyprus

I the first couple days of the month in Cyprus before heading off to Morocco. We explored the beautiful and nearly tourist-free Karpas Peninsula, I promise I’ll write about it one day soon!

Golden Beach, Cyprus, TRNC, Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, Karpas, Karpaz, Karpaz Peninsula, Karpas Peninsula
The most crowded stretch of Golden Beach on the Karpaz Peninsula

Morocco

We didn’t get off to the best start- Marrakech easily became my least favorite place, causing me to write the Women’s Survival Guide to Marrakech. I figured the least I could do is prep you for the sexual harassment and scams you’ll likely have hurled your way in the Marrakech Medina.

Things quickly began looking up when we rented a car and drove south to explore Morocco’s South Atlantic Coast and Antiatlas Mountains. Sidi Ifni and Legzira Beach were highlights of our time spent down that direction. The village of Tafroute in the Antiatlas was an easy favorite in the rocky interior. We felt that Southern Morocco was the most authentic part of our travels in the country by far.

Next up we took a 3-day Merzouga tour to spend the night in the Sahara Desert. Making stops in Ait Ben Haddou, The Atlas Mountains, Tinghir, and Todgha Gorge on our way down to the desert. Of course, stargazing under the milky way with camels was the highlight!

After finishing up the tour we went back to Marrakech to try to like the city- exploring the Bahia Palace and Ben Youssef Madrasa. Both the Palace and Madrasa were a sweet relief from the craziness in the Medina, but taking refuge in Riad Chams Marrakech and Les Jardins Le Riad Laarouss were clear highlights.

Alaska

And finally, the day came, I got on a plane and headed home for the first time in nearly 4 months. It’s one of the first times I’ve ever been kinda excited to go home, really. But I can’t complain too much- I was able to visit Europe and Asia on this trip and of course make it down to Africa, meaning I have visited all 7 continents in 2017.

Antarctica made 7 for 7 earlier this year, but Africa made all 7 in under one year. I’ll likely never be able to do that again in my life (and I’m not sure I’d want to again). Anyways, sorry for the tangent… back to Alaska. I have done literally nothing in the two weeks I’ve been home… well, adventure-wise. And I am not at all upset by that. I have, however, been working on new content from this trip and editing a stack of photos.

What to expect in December?

My first post of the month will be a travel guide to the Bartang Highway in Tajikistan! I quickly realized with how many searches land visitors on my blog looking for Bartang Valley information, that there isn’t one.

There is not one single guide to the Bartang Highway out there on the internet. There are a few accounts of bicycles and 4×4 trips up it, but that’s it. So I put one altogether to share with all of you researching and planning trips to Tajikistan.

Another post you’ll see next month will be my best tips to help anyone planning a 3-day Merzouga tour into the Sahara Desert trip go off without hitch (I figured these all out the hard way, so you don’t have to). I’m hoping to get more out on Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Cyprus in the near-ish future.

Posts from November:

Here’s what I managed to write

See you in December!

…and happy all the holidays

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Start shopping plans over at battleface, my go-to travel insurance choice, or over at World Nomads.

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