Looking back over some older posts, I see that I pretty much lived up to my 2008 travel plans.
I rode to Winnipeg and had a great time there. I have to admit (to my shame) that I had no few preconceptions about Canadians, most of which were shattered and laid to waste before me. Canada remains one of the two places to which I would emigrate should the US get any deeper in crap like the Patriot Act.
I made it down to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail, though I didn't ride due to my injury and flood worries. What an incredible time. I can't remember the last time I partied so hard for so long and remembered every moment of it all. It certainly put a bulk of my time as a sailor to shame!
The Burning Man remains on my list for some year to come. It goes on the "someday" page.
This year, I've already started researching Morocco. Whether you realize that they're Moroccan cities or not, you've heard of them: Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakech for example.
Did you know that Morocco was the very first country to recognize the Independence of the United States from England? There's even a museum in Tangier to commemorate it.
From World War I until after WWII Morocco was an International Zone. Basically, the victors of the World Wars established Morocco as a nation without a nation - complete extraterritoriality under international law. It was a unique time and several artists of the time traveled there for the experience. William S. Borroughs, Tennessee Williams, and Henri Matisse to name a few.
Morocco is an Arabic speaking nation, so I'll be taking some lessons before the travel date comes. I'm thinking Rosetta Stone will be a good start.
For those of you looking up everything on Morocco, you'll find that there is a terror alert there. There was a bombing aimed at Westerners in Marrakech. I'll have to look that up online, but I believe that this is the only "terror" activity of note. From what I've read, though the country may be predominantly Islamic (99%), it has a history of tolerance. I'm not worried.
So I'm looking forward to this and hope that I meet this coming year's travel goal. Wish me luck!
Comments