Mark and I got married! Although Mark and I need pots and pans, dishes and duvets, we decided not to register for all that stuff. It’s just stuff – where’s the fun in that? Instead we asked for contributions towards our Moroccan honeymoon. And that’s just what we got! This post is to take us back to our good ol’ blogging/wandering days and to say thank you to everyone who supported our Moroccan honeymoon. It was unforgettable.

Morocco Take II did not disappoint. We weren’t sure how it would hold up. Our memories held up Morocco as a magical place, filled with wonder and adventure. Would it still be the same after all the other wondrous places we visited post-Morocco? Would Marrakech still be our number one destination? Well I’m here to tell you it did not disappoint. It was as good as we remembered it. It made for our idea of a perfect honeymoon. Here, let me tell you about it:

We flew Air Transat direct from Ottawa to London. Waited a few hours and hopped on another plane, BA to Marrakech. (Wait, what’s that? We flew? What about slow travel/clean air/wandering/etc? Alas, now that we’re back to living the North American lifestyle, flying was our best option. We simply could not get afford the time as much as we would have liked to.) Mark pre-arranged to have a car meet us at the airport. The driver was there waiting for us with a ‘Rosen’ sign. Easy peasy lemon squeezy – we were off to Riad Carina – my most favourite place in the world.

It was exactly as we’d remembered it. Even the reserved hosts and hostesses we remembered. First thing we did was head up to the rooftop terrace with a Biere Speciale to basque in the sun after a long journey and greet our old friends – the storks. With the wedding whirlwind behind us, we weren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves. A fantastic feeling. we had a moment. We sat on that rooftop for a very long time. Until our tummies started to grumble whence we proceeded to dinner at La Tangia. Two tagines – a chicken with preserved lemon and olives and a lamb with prunes. Delectable. We were entertained by three belly dancers. Two very talented younger ones and one old ugly one balancing candles on her head. A nice evening indeed.

We had five nights in Marrakech. Most were spent relaxing at our Riad, eating at various restaurants around the city and getting completely pampered at Les Bains de Marrakech. We went for ‘touristy’ hammams this time. Quelle difference. They don’t scrub you anywhere near as hard which makes for a very pleasant experience and leaves most of your skin intact. We also had massages which were by far and away the best massages I’ve ever had. Complete relaxation. Complete awesomeness. We had to go twice. Just had to. Mark would have gone every single day if I’d let him.

Marrakech is a wonderful place, but it wears on you after a few days. I’d say 3 or 4 nights is the most you’d want to spend in this city. Considering we’d already been and done all the touristy things, after night 5 we were very ready to leave. Next stop: La Pause.

La Pause was our splurge. We’ve wanted to go ever since I stumbled across their website a couple years ago. It’s a tiny resort built around a private desert oasis less than an hours drive from Marrakech. We would never have dreamed about staying at La Pause when we were in Morocco before. It’s not cheap. But this was our honeymoon. We were here to do all the things we wish we could have done before. And to do them in style. Ya! So we hired another private car to take us there. An SUV is required. Our driver turned off the main road and into what was essentially just desert –no road to speak of. He just drove, as though he had some homing beacon or were using the earth’s magnetic field to natigate us to our oasis. He must have been there before. We drove past a couple other oases with tiny villages tucked around them before we reached ours. Just a few trees and grass sprouting from a ravine that had a wee trickle of water running through it. Again, a lot of hype – would it meet our expectations?

Again, the answer is yes. It just so happened that we were the only ones staying at La Pause for both nigths we were there. We had the whole place to ourselves. It was nice. A few more people would have added to the atmosphere, but we’re not about to complain. We had a private little bunk house overlooking the ravine. It was beautiful. We spent our time at La Pause hanging out by the pool, chowing down on beautiful food made with all local ingredients and olive oil they make themselves, walking the resident dogs, riding on camels and horses, golfing (yes, desert golf), reading books and taking naps.

This is the kind of place where a day feels like a week. Time slows down. There is no electricity. You judge time based on the call to prayer audible from the distant neighbours. The network of paths connecting the various areas of the resort are lit up by twinkling lanterns reflecting the night sky. It’s very peaceful. It really is…except for when the dogs start barking starting at 1 am and repeating every hour until dawn. And except when you have this eery feeling as though you’re being bitten by some unseen creepy crawler in your sleep. Yes, yes it’s true. At this very upscale establishment, on my honeymoon, I encountered my all-time most hated, evil, nightmare-inducing pests – bed bugs. I didn’t fully realize I was attacked until after we left. Which is probably a good thing because I definitely would not have been able to sleep. Just when I thought it was safe to leave my sleep sheet behind. Goes to show: bed bugs do not discriminate. Actually, bedbugs I learned are endemic to the desert. So next time you go to a desert, word of advice: bring a sleep sheet.

They did a great job with the edits considering we just babbled, unrehearsed, in front of an iPhone during my rushed work lunch hour. It made us both a bit teary and reminded us of how much we loved out travels…and each other.

On September 3rd, 2011 under sunny skies, Meghan and I got married! It was a perfect day, and we were so lucky to be surrounded by friends and family and barns. Pictures will tell the story best…

After a wonderful day and a great party, Meg and I retired to the honeymoon tent, which was set up in the fields beyond the barn. Although we were roused early by an absurd thunderstorm, it was a perfect way to cap off the event in our own style. Thanks to everyone who helped to make the day everything that it was!

A full photo album is on the way.

The past year + has given us a new outlook on our day-to-day. We have gained perspective. We’re trying to make the most of everything we do and to maintain a positive outlook. There is so much to be grateful for. We know and appreciate how fortunate we are to live in a country like Canada and to have such terrific families and friends, especially at this time of year. We also appreciate how lucky we are to have been able to go on an adventure like we did. The difficulties we’re having now are worth it. Especially if it enables us to get out there again for wewander part 2.

We wish you all a Happy Christmas. Make the most of it, wherever you may be.

There’s one more thing I forgot to mention that happened to us in Alberta.

Mark and I are now engaged! OK, so I didn’t forget, how could I forget something like that? Here’s how it happened:

For my 30th birthday, Mark’s gift was to do something nice for me for 30 consecutive days. Some of these nice things included buying me small prezzies, baking me sticky toffee puddings, writing me poetry and taking me on picnics. On the 30th day he was going to cook me dinner. That day we set out on a hike through Grotto canyon, near Canmore. Mid-way through the hike we stopped for some snacks and tea when I asked him what he was making me for dinner that night. He confessed that he wasn’t actually going to make me dinner but that we would be going out for dinner, to Canmore’s fanciest restaurant. I promptly responded, in a sassy sister voice, ‘oh no we aren’t—we can’t afford that!’. He insisted that we had to go. He already made a reservation and we were going to have to celebrate. ‘Celebrate what?’, I said, completely clueless and thinking to myself that this was the best birthday that keeps on giving gift ever. Then I noticed he had dismounted the rock we were witting on to get down on one knee in front of me and said, ‘Meghan will you marry me?’ as he held out the most perfect little ring.

The rest is a great big blur of jubilation. Needless to say, it came as a complete shock. If you knew the state of our finances after traveling the world, you would understand why. Also, it’s just not something we ever discussed much. We were both happy and that was that, even after 7+ years together. The surprise-factor was exactly what Mark was going for. Can you feel the gigantic smile I have across my face as I write this? I couldn’t be happier.

No plans yet as to date and location, but you can be sure that the honeymoon will be wewander part 2.

Looks as though our travels aren’t done with us yet. We are stuck at the Edmonton airport for the night. We were booked to fly standby on the red-eye back to Ottawa via Toronto. (My lil’ sister Lindsay works for Canadian airline Westjet and gave us discounted passes which require you fly standby). However, upon arriving at the airport and checking in, we were informed that the flight was fully booked. That is why we will be spending the night at the airport and why I am finally finding some time to write again. Hopefully, if all goes to plan, we’ll be on a plane at 6:30 tomorrow morning making our way back to Ottawa where we will be home, at last.

We’ve been in Alberta for just over a month now. Lots has happened to us out ‘west’. It started out with my 30th birthday. Bring it on. We went out to see Mark’s mom, Debbie, perform her last show of ‘Oh Canada Eh!’. ‘Oh Canada Eh!’ is a musical dinner theatre spectacular in Canmore, where she is the musical director and plays piano. We drank caesars and pints of crisp canadian beer whilst listening to mounties and lumberjacks belting out classic canadian tunes. Then it was Mel and Ryan’s beautiful mountain wedding. While they were away on their honeymoon, we house-sat and puppy-sat their 6-month Bernese mountain dog and got a chance to visit and catch up with Canmore friends. We helped move Debbie out of her Canmore home to her family home, an amazing log cabin on Lac St. Anne, 5 hours north of Canmore. There was a glitzy going away party for her in Canmore, with half the town there to see her off. Back in Canmore, my sis Lindsay came to visit. We took her to Lake Louise for some hiking followed by a soak in the Banff hotsprings. After seeing Lindsay off, our friends Mike and Sarah, from Ottawa, came for a visit. Our last adventure was Edmonton. We came to visit Mark’s father and grandparents. We also got to visit with some of his cousins and all their little kiddies. We’ve been in Edmonton the last four days or so, and is where we are currently stuck waiting, on standby.

Even though we’ve been back in Canada for a while now, it’s felt like we’ve been on standby the entire time. We’re both looking forward to getting back to our home, er…my parents home, and settling in one place for a while. I could use a little routine. Can’t believe I just said that, but it’s true. Home can’t come soon enough.

We will be posting all sorts of photos soon, including some from out ‘west’.

Two more albums done, this time from Jordan. Don’t miss the pics of Petra, one of the most amazing places we visited. As usual, you can find the new albums over on our Photos page.