Stairway to the Sky

In the summer of 2023, my husband’s sabbatical gave us the gift of ten weeks to travel as a family. We spent most of that time in France and Spain, but I was determined to carve out a few weeks in Morocco. I had been warned about traveling to North Africa in August, but those were the dates that worked for us—so after a few days in Marrakech and the surrounding desert, I routed us mainly along the coast. We surfed, explored seaside towns, and soaked up the vibrant energy that seems to infuse every part of this country. Morocco felt both completely new and oddly familiar. I loved the slower rhythm of our days: wandering through lively medinas, watching artisans at work, sipping mint tea, and letting ourselves get happily lost. Evenings were some of my favorite moments—listening to the call to prayer drift through the streets as everything glowed under the setting sun. It wasn’t all picture-perfect. We even ended up in a local hospital when our daughter got sick from the street meat (whi