I hopped aboard the Princess Crown on June 12 in Mindelo, Cabo Verde. It was a great time to be in Cabo Verde as they have been stunning everyone with their amazing performances in the 2026 Men’s World Cup of soccer/football.
Cabo Verde is a small island nation off the coast of Northern Africa. To get an idea of the size of the country, this is their international airport.
I also experienced one of my new favorite cultural phenomenon. As the plane touched down in Mindelo, everyone started clapping. Love it!
On the Crown Princess I presented talks about Sayyida al-Hurra and the Barbary Corsairs, which I’ve spoken about on several ships now. I also gave a new talk comparing Casablanca the city with Casablanca the movie the day before we pulled into the aforementioned city.
It was my first time in Morocco and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I went to the epic Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. It is the largest mosque in Africa and the third largest in the world.
Then I made my way to Marrakesh. I stayed at the Riad Wow. Which was absolutely gorgeous.
I travelled over the Atlas mountains to go to Atlas Studios outside Ouarzazate, Morocco. The trip over the mountains was absolutely full of switchbacks and I am grateful to our guide Jawad for safely navigating all the turns. But checking out the studio where works like Game of Thrones and The Mummy were filmed made it all worth it.
On the way back to Marrakesh we went to the Berber village of Aït Benhaddou which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was interesting to see traditional Berber houses and to think about how many contemporary sustainable building methods are reverting to ancient building practices like those used at this site.
On my last afternoon in Marrakesh I took a vegetarian cooking class. There I learned that tagine (which is offered almost everywhere) refers to anything cooked inside the tagine pot. Undoubtedly, my favorite dish we learned to make was the zaalouk dip with roasted eggplant. It was soooooooooo good – smoky and satisfying. Definitely going to try that one out at home.
I was only there for a couple of days, but I look forward to travelling back to Morocco in the future.
Note to self & others reading this — buy lots of bottled water. The water is safe, but not recommended for foreigners to drink. And make sure you have lots of cash. Virtually all business is conducted in cash in Morocco. And definitely bring enough to tip your fabulous guides!