A Journey of 1,000 Mint Teas: Reflections on Traveling Through Morocco

Have you ever loved a destination but couldn't figure out why, or a way to express your feelings? That's my dilemma with Morocco.

In August, I went with Intrepid Travel and crossed off a country that has long been on my bucket list. I rode a camel, drank all the mint tea I could find, got lost in medinas, and ate more couscous than I thought was humanly possible.

I loved the tour. Our guide Rashid was friendly, took us out to smoke shisha, introduced us to the locals, and was generally very helpful. I made friends with my tour mates and got along with my roommate. And Morocco itself – wow! I loved walking down the street and being barraged by the smell of 1000 diffrent spices, getting lost in the maze-like medinas with their endless nooks and crannies, the chaos of millions of people shuffling about with vendors vying for your attention, and the crimson red of the Sahara with its endless rolling dunes — they were all I wanted them to be! Sure, there were many overwhelming moments when I felt like a fish out of water and things didn't go my way but I relish those moments!

Travel is about feeling uncomfortable. It's one of the reasons I enjoyed Ukraine so much, where I was completely out of my element. The country challenged me and I loved it. I fawn over it every chance I get!

Morocco was everything I wanted it to be. It lived up to all my expectations, but for some reason, my experience has been hard to verbalize. Why can't I express how I feel about Morocco? It's been bothering me for months.

I've racked my brain thinking about it, pondered it on trains, and stared at a blinking cursor while trying to write about it.

Then, suddenly a few weeks ago, the reason hit me.

One constant in my travels — and I'm sure many of you might feel the same — is that of a touchstone, one defining point where the trip all comes together and acts as a prism for everything the journey represented. On my trip to Japan, it was befriending a local who wanted to learn English. In Costa Rica, it was getting lost in a jungle. In Ukraine, it was drinking vodka with locals who knew less English than I knew Russian (and I only know "cheers" and "hello"). On my first visit to Thailand, it was meeting those five people who changed my life. In Ios, it was being taken to a local community festival by my hostel owner.

My trips revolve around one memory that crystalizes the trip and puts everything into focus. Each of the moments ties together all my other memories of a place: the food, the smells, the sights, the people. It's the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the place and acts as the door to all other memories.

Despite the wonderful times I had and the amazing itinerary Intrepid put together, I've realized the reason I'm so ambivalent about Morocco is because I lack that touchstone. There's no "whoa" moment I can point to where I felt ultra-connected to the country, where everything came together.

But writing this article has made me realize that I have thousands of little moments — staring at the a million stars in the backness of the desert, wandering the empty ruins of Volubilis, discovering new foods with some amazing Australians on my tour, befriending the fish sellers and gorging on fresh seafood in Essaouira, getting lost in medinas, haggling over a chess set and laughing with the seller, and drinking about 1,000 pots of mint tea (OK, slight exaggeration, it was more likely 999).

So maybe you don't need that one special moment. Maybe I've relied on that touchstone as a crutch for too long.

Paul Theroux once said travel is only glamorous in retrospect. Maybe that's true, but in retrospect, you also appreciate travel a lot more. What I am sure about is that months later, I'm only now truly appreciating the time I spent in Morocco and just how unique it was.

*****

Editor's Note: I went to Morocco with Intrepid Travel on their Best of Morocco tour. It was part of my ongoing partnership with Intrepid Travel. They covered the cost of the tour, flight, and meals.

P.S. – If you're in NYC, I'm hosting a Halloween themed meet-up this Thursday at 7pm at Solas. You can click here for more event and RSVP information. (Though feel free to show up!)

P.P.S – Did you know we have a community forum? Come join close to 3,000 other travel addicts and share your own tips and tricks for travel!

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3 Ways to Prevent Car Break-ins

There are some common preventative measures you can do to reduce the chances of car break-ins. In this post we’ll discuss 3 of those ways, including: car alarms, hidden kill switches and keeping things out of sight.

Car Alarms

Car alarms are not the point here. What I recommend is that you have a little blinking light that’s highly visible on your dashboard somewhere. Anytime we saw a little blinking light, we’d move on because it looked like a car alarm and that wasn’t worth the trouble to us. You can buy a little blinking light at automotive stores that you affix to your dashboard with Velcro – they’re like little fake car alarms, and they work. If it looks like a car alarm and blinks like a car alarm, then we’d always pass on that car. Source: BlueCollarWorkman.com

Hidden Kill Switches

Usually the greatest challenge for a car thief is getting your car started without the key. To the thief’s advantage, however, is the fact that he knows he’s working with your ignition. But if he also needs to be looking for a connector hidden under the passenger’s seat, he’s that much less likely to get it started. This one doesn’t come cheap, but it may be well worth the investment someday. Source: Jalopnik.com

Keeping Things Out of Sight

Don’t leave any bait out for thieves; stow your electronics and accessories well out of sight-or better yet, bring it with you. The evidence alone might be enough to pique the interest of thieves, so hide that too, including power plugs, telltale iPod adapters, or nav-system windshield suction-cup mounts, and even put the cigarette lighter back in place. Source: CNN.com

If you want to learn more about car security system, please give us a call or contact us here.

Contact:

Mr. Locksmith Calgary
555 Maidstone Drive NE
Calgary, Alberta T2A 4B6
Canada
Phone: (403) 800-9185

The post 3 Ways to Prevent Car Break-ins appeared first on Mr Locksmith Calgary.

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3 Ways to Prevent Car Break-ins

There are some common preventative measures you can do to reduce the chances of car break-ins. In this post we'll discuss 3 of those ways, including: car alarms, hidden kill switches and keeping things out of sight.

Car Alarms

Car alarms are not the point here. What I recommend is that you have a little blinking light that's highly visible on your dashboard somewhere. Anytime we saw a little blinking light, we'd move on because it looked like a car alarm and that wasn't worth the trouble to us. You can buy a little blinking light at automotive stores that you affix to your dashboard with Velcro – they're like little fake car alarms, and they work. If it looks like a car alarm and blinks like a car alarm, then we'd always pass on that car. Source: BlueCollarWorkman.com

Hidden Kill Switches

Usually the greatest challenge for a car thief is getting your car started without the key. To the thief's advantage, however, is the fact that he knows he's working with your ignition. But if he also needs to be looking for a connector hidden under the passenger's seat, he's that much less likely to get it started. This one doesn't come cheap, but it may be well worth the investment someday. Source: Jalopnik.com

Keeping Things Out of Sight

Don't leave any bait out for thieves; stow your electronics and accessories well out of sight-or better yet, bring it with you. The evidence alone might be enough to pique the interest of thieves, so hide that too, including power plugs, telltale iPod adapters, or nav-system windshield suction-cup mounts, and even put the cigarette lighter back in place. Source: CNN.com

If you want to learn more about car security system, please give us a call or contact us here.

Contact:

Mr. Locksmith Calgary
555 Maidstone Drive NE
Calgary, Alberta T2A 4B6
Canada
Phone: (403) 800-9185

The post 3 Ways to Prevent Car Break-ins appeared first on Mr Locksmith Calgary.

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Buttock Implants – What you need to know about the rise of the derriere

It’s no question that the media’s current obsession with a curvier derriere has more women thinking about buttock augmentation procedures. Over the past 10 years, buttock augmentation has become increasingly popular. This procedure reshapes and enhances the gluteal area for an uplifted and youthful buttock profile. Buttock implants can be for women and men who […]

The post Buttock Implants – What you need to know about the rise of the derriere appeared first on Fairview Plastic Surgery Centre.

from Fairview Plastic Surgery Centre http://ift.tt/1NYwlT1

Buttock Implants – What you need to know about the rise of the derriere

It's no question that the media's current obsession with a curvier derriere has more women thinking about buttock augmentation procedures. Over the past 10 years, buttock augmentation has become increasingly popular. This procedure reshapes and enhances the gluteal area for an uplifted and youthful buttock profile. Buttock implants can be for women and men who […]

The post Buttock Implants – What you need to know about the rise of the derriere appeared first on Fairview Plastic Surgery Centre.

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Shimming 6 Pin American Padlock | Mr. Locksmith Video

Shimming 6 Pin American Padlock | Mr. Locksmith Video

For further information go to http://ift.tt/1Gw81Fo

How to Shim a Padlock: Padlocks with spring operated latches can be shimmed using an external object in the latch mechanism of the padlock. Almost all the padlocks can be shimmed, if you know the right way to do it. Although padlock makers claim that their locks do not let invasion occur, but today we will tell you how to master shimming of a padlock, even the ones who claim to provide the best mechanism. You no longer have to worry about losing keys. Although there are a lot of shims available in the market, you can easily make one for yourself by cutting a small piece of aluminum can, or simply the soft drink can.

Things You Must Know to Shim a Lock

Before you try shimming a padlock, you need to understand few things about the padlocks and their mechanisms, to be able to shim them.

Padlocks consist of springs, which insert a downward pressure on the pins. When you enter a key into the lock, the springs are pushed upwards and the lock opens.

These springs are in direct contact with the driver pins, which need to be raised to open the padlock.

The part of the lock you place the key into is called the plug.

The pins which come in contact with the directly are the key pins.

There is a dividing line between the plug and the surrounding cylinder named as a shear line. When you enter a key, the driver pins are raised to this shear line and the lock opens.

Let's Shim a 6 Pin Padlock

A 6 pin padlock is probably the toughest to shim. You have to pass through 6 tough barriers to shim it. Today we are talking about shimming a 6 pin American padlock, which you can call the worst when it comes to shimming.

It has mushroom pins on the top, and slightly different driver pins, which cause bumpy resistance and make it difficult to shim it.

Take a shim and insert it from the back, opposite to the latch. You will have to exert some pressure to make the shim through.

Start pushing it as far you can. The shim will hang up in the mushroom pins several times. Pull the shim slightly backwards and then enter the shim again with a little more force.

Repeat the process of pushing the shim and making it through the dumpy resistance till you cross the last pin. Once you shim all the pins, rotate the shim and boom. There you go, your padlock is shimmed.

The post Shimming 6 Pin American Padlock | Mr. Locksmith Video appeared first on Mr Locksmith Calgary.

from Mr Locksmith Calgary http://ift.tt/1GZzTMP

Shimming 6 Pin American Padlock | Mr. Locksmith Video

Shimming 6 Pin American Padlock | Mr. Locksmith Video

For further information go to http://ift.tt/1Gw81Fo

How to Shim a Padlock: Padlocks with spring operated latches can be shimmed using an external object in the latch mechanism of the padlock. Almost all the padlocks can be shimmed, if you know the right way to do it. Although padlock makers claim that their locks do not let invasion occur, but today we will tell you how to master shimming of a padlock, even the ones who claim to provide the best mechanism. You no longer have to worry about losing keys. Although there are a lot of shims available in the market, you can easily make one for yourself by cutting a small piece of aluminum can, or simply the soft drink can.

Things You Must Know to Shim a Lock

Before you try shimming a padlock, you need to understand few things about the padlocks and their mechanisms, to be able to shim them.

Padlocks consist of springs, which insert a downward pressure on the pins. When you enter a key into the lock, the springs are pushed upwards and the lock opens.

These springs are in direct contact with the driver pins, which need to be raised to open the padlock.

The part of the lock you place the key into is called the plug.

The pins which come in contact with the directly are the key pins.

There is a dividing line between the plug and the surrounding cylinder named as a shear line. When you enter a key, the driver pins are raised to this shear line and the lock opens.

Let’s Shim a 6 Pin Padlock

A 6 pin padlock is probably the toughest to shim. You have to pass through 6 tough barriers to shim it. Today we are talking about shimming a 6 pin American padlock, which you can call the worst when it comes to shimming.

It has mushroom pins on the top, and slightly different driver pins, which cause bumpy resistance and make it difficult to shim it.

Take a shim and insert it from the back, opposite to the latch. You will have to exert some pressure to make the shim through.

Start pushing it as far you can. The shim will hang up in the mushroom pins several times. Pull the shim slightly backwards and then enter the shim again with a little more force.

Repeat the process of pushing the shim and making it through the dumpy resistance till you cross the last pin. Once you shim all the pins, rotate the shim and boom. There you go, your padlock is shimmed.

The post Shimming 6 Pin American Padlock | Mr. Locksmith Video appeared first on Mr Locksmith Calgary.

from Mr Locksmith Calgary http://ift.tt/1GZzTMP