Ember Travels

As the Christmas season draws near, there seems to be a lot of chatter about the holy city, Bethlehem. However, not many people realize that Bethlehem is in the middle of the West Bank, one of American media's favorite taboo places. I find it ironic that the place that is arguably most important to the Christian religion is in the middle of an intermittent war zone with a community being town between two nations and it's citizens held captive. Yet we sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" every Sunday and the words never resonate. To many of us Bethlehem is just some far off ancient land that is nothing more than a city in a song. The West does not look favorably toward Palestine. On the U.S. Government travel website it says something along the lines of, "we highly discourage travel into Palestine, however, if you do decide to go against our recommendations and something bad happens to you in Gaza, we're not coming to the rescue." The message for the West Ba...

“If you’re not Jewish, why on Earth would you travel to Israel?” seemed to be the question I received most frequently during my week-long visit to the Holy Land. I couldn’t tell anyone the real answer, “well, I used to watch this TV show called House Hunters International, and from the way Tel Aviv was portrayed on television, it looked like a wicked cool city to check out.” No, I would sound like the classic uneducated television-crazed American that everyone wants to ignore. Other than the fact that I was terrified yet secretly obsessed  with the Middle East, and, Israel was probably the only country I could visit without getting my head chopped off, I came up with an alibi, “I’m really interested in the Israeli/Palestinian situation and want to learn more about Middle East politics.” The more I recited my “gold star” answer the more I began to believe it and lose interest in Tel Aviv’s poppin’ night life. I came into the country really knowing ...

As you all are preparing for the Christmas season, I am embarking on a new part of my journey...returning home for Christmastime in the Rockies! Being away from my family for Christmas didn't seem right, so I made the decision to take a small break in my travels and experience that faraway land called "home" once again (such a strange concept for me after three months). If all goes well, I will be catching a flight tonight and  arriving in the United States on the 21st. Not to worry, the travels are not over! I just need a week or two to regroup, visit with family and friends and process the past three months. After that, I'm off to Asia! Stay tuned for many more adventures... In the meantime, I just spent two amazing weeks in Israel, Palestine and Jordan. I met inspirational people, had great adventures and spent hours discussing Middle Eastern politics with numerous locals. I am leaving much more knowledgeable but also more frustrated and with a million new question...

I walk down the street with my 20 pound backpack strapped to my shoulders, obediently following the map in my hands, but it keeps leading me astray. Apparently, street names don't translate properly from Hebrew to English and this is not the first time I have been left direction-less in Tel Aviv. Despite my minor detour and slight irritation with the failure of my normal GPS engrained brain, this isn't the worst place to be lost. Established in the early 1900s, Tel Aviv is anything but antique. This city boasts streets cluttered with swanky clubs and student filled coffee houses and is well known for its perpetual nightlife and fine dining. Through my bout of disorientation I am still thoroughly enjoying the scenery and making a mental list of cute cafes and hummus stands to return to during my stay in the city. I finally make it to my host, Itay's apartment. Although we have never met, Itay welcomes me with open arms and gives me just enough time to dismantle my backpack b...

After what seemed like a month in morocco, I was welcomed back into the western world by my dear friend Ruud! Warm showers, English speakers, fair prices, wine and even a few Christmas trees...all my favorite things! Not to mention a reunion with one of my newly met travel buddies. Ruud somehow keeps popping up throughout my adventures; the beginning in Croatia, a few weeks later in Amsterdam and the conclusion of my Europe travels in Spain.  It was good to see a familiar face and even better to return to a culture I loved and understood. Ruud and I spent a day in Malaga around the beach and observing Christmas festivities then headed to Granada for some tapas testing. Granada seems to be famous in the Spanish world for it's quaint college town and free tapas. That's right, each time you order a drink the waiter throws in a complimentary plate of tapas! Being into food and free things, this was the perfect place for me. Each night we would meander into town around ten P.M.  in...

After a week and a half of touring almost all of central Morocco, Sam and I were ready for a break. We wanted a calm place where we could spend a few days relaxing and soaking in the culture so we decided on Jimmy Hendrix's favorite African seaside town, Essaouira. From the Cascades d'Ouzoud, we wanted to try hitchhiking part of the way there.  Just a few yards after leaving our hotel  we got picked up by a van full of Moroccans heading to their work at a construction site. We rode bouncing around in the back of the van for about an hour as the Arabs in the front seat had a lively discussion playfully yelling at and teasing each other. After parting ways, or roads,  we were left alongside a street lined with a dozen or so Moroccan teenagers anxiously awaiting a ride in the same direction. The competition was fierce, they spoke Arabic and were willing to pay for a ride; two traits we were lacking. I guess somehow we were able to play the "legitimate looking ...

After the Todra Gorge and the Sahara trek, Sam and I were really into the Morocco nature scene. We loved getting off the main tourist paths and exploring local villages and parks, especially in such a diverse country. The Cascades d'Ouzoud seemed like the perfect place to visit. They are the second highest waterfall in Africa measuring 110 meters (360 feet), and were also listed as a "must see" in numerous travel guides. Thinking it would be fun to get a taste of true Moroccan culture and meet some locals, we decided to take the local bus to the falls. Big mistake. When we purchased the tickets (which we had to bargain for...this should have been red flag number one) the attendant told us the bus would leave around noon, despite the listed 11:30 A.M. departure on the ticket. The bus didn't actually leave until 1 P.M. and then it took 45 minutes to get out of the station because it kept stopping every 30 feet or so for some random person along the street flagging it do...

From 40 cent bowls of lentil soup to fresh bread filled with smoking meat, Morocco had some of the best cusine I have experienced during my travels. Actually, the Moroccan food scene isn't that diverse. I think the main attraction is that everything is cooked fresh and deliciously cheap! Sam and I have invented a daily routine scheduled around meals. Finding the greatest local dive cafe in each city we visit has become our hobby. I have arrived at the conclusion that there are only six foods in Morocco: 1. Soup-either lentil or pea 2. Omelet 3. Tagine (a mix of vegetables and meat cooked in a cone shaped pot on the stove) 4. Crepes 5. Couscous 6. Mint tea with heaps of sugar We eat a crepe drenched in honey nearly every morning followed by a mid morning cookie, then find a suitable hole-in-the-wall soup kitchen or tagine shop for lunch and maybe couscous for dinner, while always drinking mint tea throughout the day. Life isn't half bad  considering our daily food budget runs ab...

When planning our Morocco trip, Sam and I were feeling a bit lazy, so we opened a Lonely Planet book, turned to the "top ten natural wonders of Morocco" page and picked out wonders number one and two to visit. We figured that Lonely Planet never disappoints, and getting out of the big cities and traveling through small towns would surely guarantee interesting adventures and good stories. Luckily wonder number two, the Todra Gorge was halfway between Merzouga and Marrakech, allowing us to conveniently break up a twelve hour bus journey. When the bus pulled into Tingier (the town near the gorge) we new we had made the right decision. The town lay in a palm tree oasis lined valley just below an expanse of red desert with snow capped peaks as a backdrop. I never thought it was possible for one landscape to have all three palm trees, desert and snowy mountains. Incredible! Upon arrival, we were instantly greeted by Abdul who offered his tour guide services. We chatted for a bit an...

Hello Everyone, or shabat shallom from my end of the world! I finally made it to Tel Aviv after a plane ticket messup and a few stressful days stuck in Barcelona and am happy to be celebrating three months of traveling! The past four weeks have been a crazy journey through Spain and Morocco. I have experienced some of the most intense and rewarding moments of my trip; hitchhiking in Morocco, Thanksgiving dinner, riding camels in the Sahara, nearly getting mugged by a monkey, and reuniting with good friends and making new ones. Overall, it has opened my eyes to cultures and lifestyles vastly different from my own, and made me ponder my own beliefs and culture. After spending last weekend in Malaga with my Dutch friend Ruud, I had a flight booked to Barcelona then from Barcelona to Tel Aviv that same night. I had been planning on traveling through Israel for a while and had spent a lot of time researching the area and creating a rough itinerary of what I would see. Because of my mom'...

After a short visit in Fes, Sam and I were pretty anxious to get down to the Sahara and do what all great tourists must do in the desert...ride a camel! A few months ago I somehow got the idea of riding a camel in Morocco locked in my brain. I knew that at some point I  had  to make it happen or my trip would not be complete. Luckily, camels are Sam's favorite animal, so it didn't take much convincing to get him on board with the plan. We took an 11 hour overnight bus from Fes to Merzouga. Half way through the ride we were pleasantly greeted by our Czech friend Raddik who we met at the hostel in Fes. He had been spending a few days in another city and coincidentally ended up catching the same bus as us! We chatted for a bit before falling into a deep bus slumber.  At six in the morning, the lights in the bus flashed on and we came to a halt. The bus driver yelled, "Merzouga, everyone off." Being abruptly awoken from my sleep I was a bit disoriented, but I became...