Brúarfoss translates to “bridge falls,” and I’m not sure if that has anything to do with the pedestrian bridge that crosses them, but the bridge is the perfect place to view the falls. We saw quite a few waterfalls in Iceland, and I’ve seen many, many waterfalls elsewhere, but I truly think Brúarfoss is my favorite one.
Category: Blog
Chefchaouen: the “blue pearl” of Morocco
Chefchaouen is a relatively small town nestled in the Rif mountains in the northern part of Morocco. The Medina is up on a hill, overlooking the rest of the city. The streets twist and wind up and down through the markets, an endless maze of rugs, blankets, leather products, art and clothing. The best part is that everything is various shades of blue.
Village life in Senegal
Though we spent most of our time in larger cities like Dakar and Saint Louis, we did have the opportunity to visit some smaller villages. Life there is very different from life in the city, and I loved getting to meet and talk to the people there. They have such an open, friendly, community-oriented philosophy of life, and were incredibly welcoming to us. In fact, it surprised me how willing they were to let us into their lives.
One day in Fes
Fes, in a few words, is a sprawling, twisting labyrinth. Especially in the medina. We hired a guide to take us around, since we knew that even locals often get lost in the narrow maze-like passageways. We spent most of the day in the medina, starting with the Andalusian side and making our way over to the markets and the tanning quartier.
Some more notable things that happened during my stay in Dakar
We went downtown on Friday afternoon to see the grand prayer at the mosque there. The streets were so crowded, the closest we could get was two blocks away from the mosque. The streets had been transformed into an extension of the mosque, with hundreds and hundreds of people laying out mats and rugs in the middle of the street itself to pray. We stood behind them and watched. It gave me chills to see the unity and faith of the people there. All across the city, thousands of men and women were praying at the same time to the same God. Of course, as soon as the prayer ended, the street went back to its previous state of commerce and chaos, but for a moment everything was quiet and still.
Lac Rose
We rode past a bunch of microgardens, where the villagers had developed a way to cultivate herbs and some vegetables in the middle of the desert. We passed a desert oasis, complete with palm trees and fresh water. We rode all the way to the beach, which was one of the most beautiful, serene, pure, clean beaches I’ve ever seen. The sand was smooth and white, the water clear and soothing. The setting sun and the ocean mist coated everything with a soft gold halo.