I was fortunate to get to explore Morocco’s hidden gems recently with a company by the name of Water by Nature. The owner and guide, Hamish McMaster, has water running through his veins.  I was impressed with the passion he has for adventure on the water, and for sharing that passion with others, like myself. Our adventure would include white water rafting down the Ahansel River, through the Atlas Mountains, to Bin El Ouidane Lake in the middle of Morocco.

My trip began with e side trip to Essaouira for 2 days. I had met a lovely British couple who were kind enough to offer their company while exploring the medina and the fishing harbor. We had a wonderful meal outdoors, with the sound of ocean waves accompanying the moonlight on an open deck. I couldn’t tell you what we ate, but the scene and ambiance I remember perfectly.

On our final day we found ourselves in a torrential downpour, the likes of which I had not experienced in ages. It was fun to run through town with our luggage, dodging in and out of doorways to duck for cover. Once we hit the car we had a four hour drive back to Marrakech, where we met the rest of our group for the week.

The group was an interesting mix of people: a father and son combo from the Midwest, a 75 year old couple from Orange County, CA, a pair of friends who meet once a year to do some sort of river rafting excursion, a mother and daughter combo from London, the lovely British couple I mentioned (whose children presented this trip as a surprise to their parents to celebrate their father’s 60th birthday), and myself.

We met the rest of our guides: Stacey from California, Steve from the UK, Mikey from Zimbabwe, Mustafa from Morocco, and Eli from the US. We were all led by our fearless leader, the infamous Hamish McMaster, who has been running the Ahansel River for the past 2 decades.

The drive out to the river was spectacular. I had no idea that Morocco had this kind of landscape: mountains with snow-capped peaks, and river valleys surrounded by trees and lakes. The place we stopped for an outdoor picnic lunch was drop-dead gorgeous. After lunch, a few of us brave ones decided to continue the rest of the road trip on TOP of the vehicle. We had to bundle up and my fingers were frozen, but I still managed to get a few spectacular scenic shots from above. Being up on top, with the wind in my face, whizzing past mountains covered in snow, and driving through small Muslim villages was quite the experience. They certainly won’t let you do that in the US!

Safety is always first on the river, followed closely by having a lot of fun! Most of us were novice river rafters, so we all needed some instruction. We learned about the swiftness of the river, exacerbated by Morocco’s long, snowy winter, and the recent rainfall. This river was FAST. Once we hit the water, we would be on our way, with not much time to regroup until we hit camp. What a thrill it is to be cruising down a river, actively following the commands of our trusted guides, with the beautiful countryside flying past us. We were in deep off-the-beaten path territory. In fact, there were NO paths. Only the river provided access to this special region.

We landed at first camp, learned how to put up our tents, and relished in what would become a nightly ritual: being offered beers or cocktails while pitching tents and drying off for the day. I also took this opportunity to soak in the surroundings, take notes on the day’s activities, read, and chat with my fellow rafting tribe. Dinners were created by fire and stove that would rival any restaurant in town: lasagna, nachos, fire-baked personal pizzas, cheese and charcuterie platters with wine, and hearty breakfasts that would fuel us for the day’s adventures. The desserts were amazing! My favorite was strawberries covered in chocolate, served with fresh cream (beaten by the guides for 45 minutes by hand!). In the evenings we would sit around the campfire getting to know each other and telling stories into the wee hours, until one by one, we faded off to sleep in our tents under the stars.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like mornings. However, when I’m camping amidst such beauty, I was able to wake up every day happy. This might astonish some of my close friends and family (who have been witness to the wrath of Gill in the morning), but it’s true! Coffee was waiting, breakfast followed shortly thereafter, and then it was back into the wet suit for the next day’s journey by river.

At a few of the stops we were able to hike up into the mountains, meeting some of the local Berber people along the way. One stop brought us to the top of the ridge, to visit a working Kasbah. It was so interesting to observe this nomadic lifestyle and communal living.

One of my favorite interactions occurred when I accidentally ran into a man walking with his donkey. I had just been taking pictures of this crazy homemade bridge when this man arrived. He said “Hello” in Berber (which I had learned) and I repeated it. I also tried to introduce myself, but not sure how that went over. I motioned to my camera to see if he’d be willing to let me shoot some images, and he didn’t seem to mind. I watched as he took out an axe and worked the rocks to break it into smaller pieces, in order to fix the bridge. It was all so simple, yet surreal. I kept thinking, “Who am I to be here in this man’s world…a total stranger to his land and ways?” I also felt very honored, and so thankful for these amazing travel opportunities that come my way and really open my mind. Because of all these feelings, this is one of my favorite photographs from the trip.

We spent 5 days on the Ahansel River in total. The final day took us through the narrowest of gorges, and then broke out into beautiful turquoise colored waters.

We finished our journey with lunch on a floating barge that brought us back to land. Another four hours, and we were back to the hustle and bustle of Marrakech, just in time for a late dinner in the Jamaa-el-Fna market square. Then, it was goodbye, see you on Facebook, email me your photos, etc.

This was a trip I will always remember. In fact, I might have left a little bit of myself along the banks of this river. I hope to be back someday.

As they say in Morocco: Inshallah.

Adventure On,

Kristen

When I’m on the road, I often use my computer to help me navigate my new surroundings, and to plan for my immediate and future travel needs. I’ve been testing out my new Ideapad with Windows 8, and of course, the first thing I do is load it up with a bunch of travel apps!  Here’s a list of my favorite (Free!) Windows 8 apps for travelers:

The Travel app is both inspirational AND practical. It lets you explore over 2,000 destination via images and panoramas. You can search for flights, look up weather, read in-depth articles and more. The Travel app is also great for the armchair travelers, as you can virtually see some of the world’s finest landmarks in 360 degrees! Pretty cool.

FlightAware

Live flight tracking from FlightAware allows you to track real-time airline status and flights, airport delays, and nearby flights currently overhead. This is great for those kind friends and family who volunteer to pick me up at the airport!

XE Currency

Easily convert every world currency! The XE Currency app features a currency converter with up-to-the-minute rates and also stores your latest update, so it works even when the Internet doesn’t (which is key for me).

GuidePal

Locate the hidden gems, popular local hotspots, and the must-see classics of an area. All of the recommendations on GuidePal are written by locals who love their city and enjoy showcasing their hometown gems.

Kayak

Another all-time favorite for me is the Kayak app, which allows you to search for the best fares, whether it’s round trip, multi-destination, or one-way. My dad first introduced me to Kayak years ago, and it’s been my go-to source for getting a sense of how much a ticket is going to cost. Once you select a route you like, you are then sent directly to the airline’s site to book your ticket. It’s also great for booking hotels!

What travel apps do you use? Am I missing some good ones? Please use the comments section to tell me your favorites!

Adventure on in “app-land”,

Kristen

Caravan via dromedaries in the Sahara Desert – Morocco

Here’s a photograph I took while on a walk to my secret special place near Dublin. I’ll never tell you where it is, but I WILL encourage you to get yourself “home” to Ireland and find your own special place!

2013 marks a year of welcomes, as “The Gathering” invites friends and family from around the world to visit and join in the many organized festivities happening throughput Ireland’s cities, towns, and villages.

To hear more about inspiring gatherings, or to even start your own, please visit: www.thegatheringireland.com

As for me, I’ll be celebrating St Patrick’s Day in Chicago with my family and friends, many of us whom are former world champion Irish dancers. If encouraged enough, we might just kick out a few jigs and reels!

But, not to worry! I’ll be heading up my own “Gathering” when I visit my newly-born God son in Dublin in April. I’ll also be back to Ireland in October for a “Gathering” of travel bloggers who will be attending the Travel Bloggers Exchange (TBEX). I’m definitely feeling the “Luck of the Irish”! May it be with you, too.

And now for an Irish blessing:

“May you be in Heaven a half hour before the devil knows your dead.”

Slainte!

Kristen

For this week’s Photo Friday, I’m happy to include this photo entitled “It’s In The Eyes”. This photograph was a Nominee at the 6th Annual Photography Masters Cup in the category entitled Children of the World.

The backstory: This photo was taken on Benguerra Island, off the coast of Mozambique. The children in the village are collectively taken care of by the women in the tribe, as the men usually have many wives. The girl in the photos with the beautiful eyes was very shy at first, but after I spent some time with her family, she opened up. One of her sister’s is an albino, and this tribe has only just recently accepted albinos into society. Before that, they were considered a bad omen, or “devil child” and were basically left to die. I love this picture because of the way the light light captures the eyes of these children, and shows that their curiosity of me is equal to my curiosity of them.

I’m thrilled to have one of my images nominated by the Photography Masters Cup for the third consecutive year. It is an honor to be recognized by such an esteemed jury and to be included amongst some of the finest photographers in the world. Thank you!

For other great images from the Masters Cup Awards, check out The Masters Cup Color Awards.

Adventure on!

Adventure on with hearts wide open,

Gill

To say I’m xcited to be joining RED Sustainable Travel’s trip to see gray whales and black sea turtles on a secluded island in Magdalena Bay is an understatement! Stay tuned for more updates and photos (and if you’re interested in joining me on one of these special trips, let me know as I’ll be leading a photography tour to this region in the Fall)!

Photo by: Easy opps

Adventure On,

GILL

This past year I was a speaker at a travel conference in Mexico, had photo exhibits in several US cities, was on the Storytelling Team for the Adventure Travel World Summit, and also conducted my first round of photo safari classes in Seattle. Stay tuned for more (I could be coming to a city near you)!

I’m currently on my first assignment of the New Year in Bulgaria, working on a joint photography project with the Minister of Tourism and the tour operator Oddyseia-IN, documenting Bulgaria’s ethnic diversity and minority populations. I’m so happy to be back in this gorgeous, friendly country!

Hope you’re new year is off to a good start and full of adventure!

Kristen

Adventure on,

Kristen

I’m happy to be a part of Passports with Purpose for a fifth consecutive year, and the goal for 2012 is to raise $100,000.00 to build water wells in Haiti with water.org. A pretty lofty goal? Indeed. And, you can help make it happen. Yes, YOU!

Eddie Bauer First Ascent has generously donated this First Ascent 18K Soft Shell Jacket, and you can win it by bidding on it for just $10.00. That’s the equivalent of 2 coffees plus tips. You CAN do this!

The First Ascent 18K Soft Shell Jacket comes in several colors, in both Men’s and Women’s, and has a retail value of $249. To bid on this jacket AND help raise money for a good cause this holiday season, please click here: http://passportswithpurpose.org/donate/

Adventure On, and let’s go build those wells!

Kristen

Thank you, 2012 Sponsors:

• Platinum: http://www.Expedia.com
  
• Gold: http://www.tripit.com
  
• Silver: http://www.tbexcon.com/
  
• Bronzehttp://www.homeaway.com/
• http://www.travellerspoint.com/
• http://www.hostelbookers.com/, 
• http://www.gowithoh.com/