Things have changed a bit on the trip itinerary. Rather than spend the first days in Marrakech, we will be heading directly to the more remote areas of Morocco, including the Sahara Desert. What does that mean for me? It means I will be picked up at the airport and will immediately head 3-4 hours out-of-town after at least 17 hours in airports or on a plane with no chance to shower or clean up first. What else does it mean for me? It means packing just got trickier. Barbara, my travel agent and friend and co-traveler, has reminded me that we are only able to take a small bag on this 6-day trip to remote Morocco. A small bag. A. Small. Bag. …Thus my weekend of practice packing begins.
Also changed: the trip from Marrakech to Istanbul. The airlines cancelled the flight between Madrid and Istanbul. So after some fancy footwork, Barbara was able to book me on a more appealing flight which includes an overnight in Madrid! I’m happy about this as I’ve wanted to see this city and will be happy to spend a few hours exploring there as much as possible before taking off late the next morning for Istanbul. So all in all this is good news. Except for that part about a small bag…
See Jane Travel 
I’ll begin with a quote from Dr. Seuss’ Oh The Places You’ll Go, since it’s his birthday 🙂
“You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
I can’t wait to hear about this adventure! I may be traveling to Fiji in June, and if so, and am purposing to go with just a carry on.
Love you!
I love this quote! Thank you!! Fiji in June sounds wonderful! Mara must be having a blast… While I can’t do a carry-on, I am doing a pretty good job paring down my stuff for this trip! 🙂
Mara’s loving it … finally! She was pretty homesick for a couple of weeks, but she’s got her groove back. I’m so happy for her. Whether or not I am able to visit her, I’m so happy for her to have this experience. maraannphotos.tumblr.com
Do you think it might be easier to pack more lightly than Antarctica? Fewer and lighter weight clothes, I would assume.
Oh good! I’ll look up her photos! As for packing lightly: I think you’re right – – but this trip is made up of quite a few excursions like Sahara desert (camping-like), Marrakech (Muslim city dress), and Istanbul (more dressy due to things I’ll be doing). So while the clothing won’t be heavy like in Antarctica, it’s making it harder for me to figure out ahead of time what I want to wear in all these locations. And it’s not so much the clothes I worry about: it’s all the electronics I bring! Ha. We’ll see how it goes this weekend on the dry run! 🙂
The difference between a traveler and a tourist……”a small bag”.
Ha! Very true!