October 19, 2024

Tour of CHEFCHAOUEN, MOROCCO

Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 by the Berbers. It's a little over a 2 hours drive inland from Tangiers. A territory surrounded by the Rif Mountains, where the Moors and Jews expelled from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs, took refuge. it is believed the City was painted blue by the Jews fleeing Hitler in 1930. A couple other theories exist, but regards several other countries have copied the idea. The women are the ones who paint it with a white lime wash that has a blue pigment (made from a local plants leaves) mixed in. The women don't use ladders, so there are some interesting breaks in where the color starts and stops. This BLUE CITY of MOROCCO became popular, after a Red Bull commercial filmed there in 2001, showing motor bikes racing up and down the blue streets. We encountered many motor bikes as we climbed up and down the steps throughout the city, crazy on these narrow walkways.


Thirteen of us went by way of Mercedes Mini Bus, for this day tour. The drive there was broken up by a stop for a traditional Moroccan breakfast - mint tea, pancakes & bread and dipping sauces - the ground almond one was delicious. Then we were met by our guide Mohamed, who was recently married, and he walked us through all 5 sections of the city. Oldest to newest. He filled us in on all the wedding details - it's a 3 day affair and he is doing is doctorate studies on the history of the Blue City. So was extremely interesting. 

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  • Main Entry into walled city

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We spent about 3 hours touring and then a brief break for shopping before we had to dead back to Ship to sail out at 6 pm.

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KUANTAN, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • October 12, 2026
Just the other day a friend asked me if I got enough down time while living this lifestyle. My answer was "you have to make it !" In the beginning, it was go, go, go, every port. We had lots of FOMO ( fear of missing out ) and we tried to cram in as much as possible at every port. Sea days, were our only down time and there were never enough. It was a tad exhausting. Now two years into this life, I can say there are some ports that just don't call me and I opt to get other things done. Kuantan, Malaysia was one of the Ports. I never got off the ship, either day we were here. I intended to this morning, but we had storms with loud thunder late into the night and then was awoken by a crew alarm around 6:45am. My energy was low, there were shuttle issues, town was an hour ride away and there is alot of air pollution, ( due to neighboring Indonesia burning organic materials, in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season ). So I bagged my plans and continued working on my never ending TO DO LIST!

Sad Passing of ODYSSEY Shipmate

By Pat Patrick • October 11, 2026
During our two years of sailing we have had several Shipmates come and go for a variety of reasons. Their health, has sadly been the reason for many departures. Cindy Harvey , would have loved to have lived out her days here on the Odyssey and even bought a second cabin and had an adjoining door added, to have a care provider, stay with her full time. However, Cindy's limited mobility, pain and confinement got to be too much - so she left us a few months ago. She went to an assisted living facility, on the coast of Oregon, to be near her family. Tragically she fell, was trying to recover, slipped into a coma and sadly passed away this week.

SANCTUARY OF TRUTH MUSEUM, CHONBURI, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • October 8, 2026
The Sanctuary of Truth Museum is the world's largest hand carved wooden castle, located on the coast of Pattaya, Chonburi Province, Thailand . Conceived in 1981 by Thai visionary Khun Lek Viriyaphun the structure is built entirely from 4 types of wood - Teak, Mai Daeng, Mai Takien & Mai Panchaat and put together using Thai nailless wood joinery - mainly dovetails, carrying poles and tongue & groove. We started the tour in the workshop where the artisan, mainly woman, were hard at work. Since conception, the Museum has been an active construction site, thus we all wore hardhats! The artisans continue handcarving sculptures and columns, daily and will most likely continue for years to come.