Hotel Casa Khaldi Is The Worst Hotel, Ever
Hotel Casa Khaldi Worst Hotel Chefchaouen. The trip did not get off to a good start. CTM, a well-known bus line in Morocco was sold out. I turned to TripAdvisor and found Morocco Trek Safaris who offered a transfer, door-to-door transfer in four hours, from Fez to Chefchaouen for triple the price. Unfortunately, a higher price does not translate to a better service, in fact, the ride took nearly six hours and the bus refused to drop me off at my hotel. I expressed my disappointment to Morocco Trek Safaris but their response was an uninspiring “its only reasonable to be so late because there are other people on the bus”. Odd justification I thought. A company that provides transfers was not comfortable with transporting more than one person. Talk about the bar being set low. I dragged my bag to Hotel Casa Khaldi which was located next to the Medina. This was a compact hotel with only a dozen rooms or so, with a welcoming courtyard designed in a pleasing traditional Moroccan style. The [...]
Adam Hickman … striving to travel to every country before he turns 40
Adam Hickman … striving to travel to every country before he turns 40 Adam has traveled to 114 countries On today’s episode, I welcome Adam Hickman to Counting Countries. Adam is on a mission to visit every country before he turns 40 and moving to the UAE opened up many travel opportunities. . Before I introduce Adam, a quick reminder that Counting Countries is now partnered with Patreon. Patreon is a platform that allows patrons, that’s you, to support creators, and that is me creating Counting Countries. I have been extremely fortunate to be be able to create this podcast and be able to meet so many interesting and compelling travelers, but I have also spent a tremendous amount of time and some money creating this podcast. So for example, some benefits are extended interviews. Some Patrons are able to listen to an exclusive Counting Countries Extra with former guests Sal Lavallo or Lexie Alford. And a reminder, Counting Countries is offering its first group tour to Bhutan on November 7th. This is a great agenda [...]
Cape Verde – 137th Country
Cape Verde – 137th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Cape Verde is my 137th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Cabo Verde is a series of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean. The islands were uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and then colonized the islands. The islands importance increased as the slave trade grew, but today this nation of 500,000 is dependent on tourism, investment, and the service industry. The island peacefully won its independence from Portugal in 1974. Today, Cape Verde is considered one of the most stable and democratic nations in Africa. A direct flight from Lisbon brought me to the capital of Cape Verde, Praia. I also met up with fellow 193er chaser, Pong from Thailand for lunch as our trip overlapped. I spent three nights on this island with a visit to the UNESCO Cidade Velha (old city). [...]
Morocco – 136th Country
Morocco – 136th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Morocco is my 136th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Islam and Arabic swept into Morocco in the 7th century in this North African state, which borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In 788 AD, Idris I convinced local Berber tribes to break with the Caliphate in Baghdad, and he is considered the founder of Moroccan state. Morocco, in the early 20th century, was carved up by both France and Spain. And Morocco then gained its independence in 1955. Since 1999, King Mohammed VI has ruled Morocco as a constitutional monarchy. This nation is populated by 35 million souls with approximately 99% practicing Islam. Morocco has been on my travel list for years, and I finally arrived via a land crossing from Mauritania to Morocco in 2019. I spent my first two nights in Dakhla, the second [...]
Mauritania – 135th Country
Mauritania – 135th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Mauritania is my 135th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Mauritania traces its history to a Berber kingdom from the 3rd century BC. Mauritania is located on the Atlantic Ocean south of Morocco in the north west of Africa. Approximately 90% of Mauritania can be found within the confines of the Sahara desert. Mauritania is another former French colony that won its independence in 1960. Less than 5 million people make their home in Africa’s 11th largest nation. This nation that straddles the African and the Arab world is nearly 100% Muslim. I arrived in darkness to Mauritania’s capital of Nouakchott, spending one night there. The next day my driver picked me up for a seven-day drive in the Sahara. I spent the first night at tented camp in a small village, the next two nights in the ancient Saharan [...]
Trekking For Gorillas In Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Trekking Gorillas Kahuzi-Biega National Park. “Sporadic but severe outbreaks of violence targeting civilians, including killing, rape, kidnapping, and pillaging, continue” … “A significant number of both confirmed and probable cases of Ebola have been reported”. These are some of the travel advisories for the Democratic Republic of Congo. Not exactly reassuring. Not what you would want printed on the travel brochure. I get a tad nervous when I am warned about pillaging or Ebola. It sounds a bit medieval. But, DRC is a giant country. In fact, the 11th largest country in the world with 80 million people. So is it realistic to paint the entire country with a singular generalization? I have a home in Chicago, which has a reputation for violence and murder. Yet, in my neighborhood I have never witnessed any criminality in 20 years. But, there are some neighborhoods on the south side which I would not visit for safety concerns. For the intrepid traveler, some use the “back door” of visiting Virunga National Park. You may cross via land into the DRC [...]
