"I want you to go out into the world and enjoy yourself sweetheart."
That's what my mom Merrily told me a few weeks before she went to the spirit world. When everything calmed down, I remembered her giving me a blessing to take a trip. "Where in the world should I go" I thought as I walked on the beach in Santa Monica. A few days later, my answer came. My friend Vanessa, who was on a Fulbright fellowship in Tangier, Morocco, invited me to visit her for two weeks in January 2008. A couple weeks later, my plane touched down in Tangier just inland of the Strait of Gibraltar. My first images of Morocco were enthralling and I loved exploring the city of Tangier.
A few days into my trip, my friend brought me to the beautiful El Minzah Hotel where we sipped mint tea and ate a delicious lunch by the pool. It was pure bliss as we sat under the palm trees, overlooking the ocean. It was here that I met my future husband Zouhir, a manager at the hotel. We spoke for a while and then he invited me to coffee later that afternoon. He seemed very polite and lovely so I agreed to meet him. Well, that coffee led to many breakfasts, lunches, dinners and finally a day trip along the northern coast of Morocco. Zouhir took me to Tetuoan, a beautiful white hillside city one hour from Tangier and then on to many seaside towns ending in Marina Smir. It was a whole new Morocco when I was with him. It was his country and his language, which made all the difference in the world. As my two week trip came to an end, Zouhir and I decided we would talk on Skype when I got home to California.
Our 2 hour daily conversations led to 5 more trips to Morocco in the next year and a half.
We traveled all over Morocco exploring the cities of Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Tetuoan, Chefchaouen, Ifrane, Fez, Marrakech, Ourika Valley, El Jadida, Agadir, Taghazout and many small towns in between. Long story short - we were married in July 2009 overlooking the ocean in California. I believe that my mom led me to meet my husband. I had never thought of going to Morocco before. It was because she gave me that blessing, that I decided to go on that first trip.
Zouhir and I are now enjoying life together in Santa Monica. When we decided to visit his family and friends this September, I thought it would be wonderful to bring a group of Americans to Morocco, where I would lead an Infuse Your Spirit Retreat. It's been such fun to plan our 8 day adventure! In the next post, I'll share what we'll be doing on the retreat and why we chose Marrakech as our home base.
Sending positive energy your way,
Jayme
