Happy March y’all! Warmer weather is ahead and a summer of travel will soon be upon us.
I’m coming to you live from the charming Moroccan town of Tetouan where I’ve managed to snag an amazing apartment for $19 a night and slow down the pace of my hectic first few months of another year on the road. Morocco’s been a destination of contrasts, with the chaos of some cities exceeding any form of sensory overload I’ve ever experienced, but also allowing me to find little pockets of peace and serenity throughout the country. It’s also been interesting not having the constant call of a night out dominating my travels, as alcohol is hard to come by and the nightclubs where I like to spend most of my time have been even fewer and far between. Surprisingly, I don’t mind. Am I growing up? We’ll see what happens when I take the ferry to Spain next week.
Anywho, I’ve got some announcements for you all!
Also, this is my first newsletter! I wanted it to be a weekly newsletter but that seemed like a big commitment so let’s start with a month.
First order of business, group trips!
My early summer schedule of group trips has been out for a while, but in case you missed it, I’ll be leading two group expeditions to Pakistan and one island-hopping trip through my home country of the Philippines!
As usual, the Pakistan trip has filled up very quickly, although we have had a cancellation on each trip, meaning there is a spot available for the taking on both the June 14 – 27th expedition and the June 30th – July 13th expedition! I rave about Pakistan, and most of you that follow me already know how much I love this country. It is an adventure unlike any other, and despite doing this trip year after year, it is always the thing I look most forward to. If you haven’t had a chance to look into it yet, here are all the details for this one-of-a-kind expedition.
Up for something a little more relaxing? I’ve been itching to expand my group trips to South East Asia for a while, and I figured, no better place to start than my home country! From May 19th to 28th, we will be island-hopping in what I truly believe are the most beautiful beaches in the world. We start in lively Manila before we fly down to Palawan and its crystal clear blue waters, white sandy beaches, and otherworldly landscapes. Palawan, Coron, Port Barton, and a couple of nights on our own private island spent with a local Filipino family are some of the highlights of the trip.
For all the details on the trip, including cost and itinerary, click here! The deadline to sign up is fast-approaching, as we’ll have to book everyone’s domestic flights from Manila to Palawan soon, so hurry up! Don’t miss out on the dreamy islands of the Philippines.
As of right now, that’s all I have confirmed in terms of group trips, but I’m thinking some fall and winter adventures in Latin America would be pretty nice, hey? Perhaps a weeklong getaway in Oaxaca for Dia de Los Muertos? Another hiking trip in Northern Peru? Just throwing ideas out there, but let me know what other group adventures you all would be keen on!
New On The Blog
If you haven’t been keeping up with the blog, that’s fine, because neither have I! Since arriving in Morocco over a month ago, I’ve only managed to slowly churn out a handful of posts, but they aren’t to be missed if Morocco is on your bucket list.
First up, a travel guide to Marrakech. Morocco’s main travel hub is a destination for cultural immersion at its finest. Within the walls of medina, history has frozen in time. Wandering through the souks, exploring the palaces, and taking a multitude of day trips to the nearby natural wonders is a must while in this city.
Looking for something a little less chaotic? Essaouira is a charming coastal town with a historic old city where you truly feel like you are retracing the steps of Santiago in The Alchemist. For budget backpackers, surfers, and digital nomads alike, this destination will win you over.
And because it takes so long for me to write these comprehensive travel guides, I’ve lumped all of my favorite destinations in Morocco into one blog post as well. As I’m wrapping up my six-week long adventure through the country, these were the travel destinations that stood out to me the most. Well, all of them stood out to me in some way or another, but I put my honest thoughts on each one because maybe while I didn’t personally love Casablanca or Meknes, you might.
Stay tuned for more from Morocco, as well as some other destinations that I’ve finally finished writing about after letting them sit in my drafts for years, like the best destinations to visit in Guatemala! My ADHD dictates what I feel like writing about and how motivated I am to finish those posts, but I appreciate y’all following along and putting up with that 🙂
Other Updates and Resources
So the cool thing about Morocco is that for the first time since I started this travel blog seven years ago, I’ve got a sponsor! They basically gave me money to go wherever I wanted and full creative freedom to make a few videos for them, so those will be rolling out soon on my Tik Tok page. There will be a mix of my usual quick-minute travel guides and some new content that I’m trying out, so stay tuned for those. I’m getting close to 350,000 followers on there, if any of you want to help me reach that milestone!
Overall, things have been pretty solid to kick off the year, aside from some sketchy hostels and a few bouts of food poisoning. I can’t stay away from those overflowing 50 cent sandwiches they serve all over Morocco. It’s okay, it’ll train my stomach for Pakistan.
For now, that’s about all I’ve got.
Safe travels, my friends 🙂
