Why do we host group trips?

Morocco in our hearts!

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Our “why” for being travel hosts

We are getting rich doing this. Nope. 

It’s fun. Yes, it is fun, but it is also a big commitment logistically, authentically, emotionally, energetically, and more. So not all fun and games, but still a ton of fun. 

It’s easy. Definitely not, worth it yes, but not easy. Making sure all the planets align, depending on others to deliver the service they promised, and navigating individual personalities and fears is not always easy.

We believe in the power of travel for change. YES! This 110%. We have seen it in ourselves over the past 9 years and we have seen it in our group trip guests and this is why we continue to host WorldTowning Voyages group trips. Travel changes people, it’s quite simple. Does it change everyone, no, we have met plenty of people out here focusing on me, me, me, and looking to recreate home in a far-off land, but I do believe (if only a small bit) they return home with some change in them. On the flip side, overwhelmingly the majority of people we encounter traveling and on our group trips are changed in one way or another profoundly, then they share that change with others back home, and so on and so on. Travel just works!

Travel makes the world smaller. It makes us care about people beyond our borders and it gives us a sense of purpose which allows us to find our place in the world. It’s magical, kind of like glitter. Glitter is the best, well, until you have to clean it up the next morning.

Morocco suffered a horrific earthquake on Friday with a magnitude of 6.8. The death toll is more the 2,000 and growing. The epicenter was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km (44 miles) southwest of Marrakesh. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit Morocco for more than a century. 

The village that stole our hearts

Morocco is a very special place for our family. We first visited in 2018 in our RV Lemonade for several months and were welcomed with open arms by the local communities. Since then we have spent a total of more than 6 months in this amazing country. We are deeply saddened by what has happened.

Also back in 2018, we had the pleasure of spending several nights in the High Atlas mountains at an Amazigh village, a place and people who stole our hearts. This is the area the hardest hit by the earthquake. I have tried to make contact with our friend Said, but I have not heard back. I am just hoping the lines of communication are compromised as a result of the earthquake and nothing more drastic has happened. I will continue to post updates on social media once I hear from them. A GoFund might be in order if they need assistance rebuilding at all, standby if you want to help out. We always prefer to donate directly to a community that we know will benefit from our funds rather than a big organization with lots of red tape and payroll.

To this day our most viewed vlog is our first visit to the village and this makes us so happy. It is my favorite experience of all time in 9 years of full-time travel.

We loved our time in Morocco so much that in 2019, we hosted our first-ever group trip to Morocco and then a second in 2022 after several canceled trips due to COVID-19. Morocco is the country where it all began for WorldTowning Voyages and I am convinced there have been more group trips since then because it takes a village and the country of Morocco helped us make our first trip extra magical and seamless with their attention to service, detail, quality and open-heartedness. I am so grateful to these people and our friends in the High Atlas. 

And here is where travel comes into play and why we host group trips…

Within hours of the earthquake, all of my socials were binging, binging, binging, and they have not stopped since. When we can connect a face, an experience, and a profound memory to a place in the world…we care. This is WHY we host group travel trips to far-off lands. Our community has reached out with concern about this village and others who touched their hearts and shared their lives with us on our group tour to Morocco. They want to make sure our friends are ok and many want to know how they can help. And, it’s not just those who have been on our tours reaching out, it’s many of you who have watched our vlogs, donated money and books to the Children’s Library initiative years ago, and more. This is one of the main reasons we share our lifestyle through vlogs, it creates awareness of those out in the world. Plus, I like seeing my head the size of a watermelon on the big screen (wink) and critiquing my voice on surround sound. Gotta love friends with TVs that are the size of an entire wall who put your vlogs streaming when you visit. 

I have been a bit quiet on social media about the earthquake because I wanted to be able to say everyone we know and love in Morocco is accounted for, but that has not happened yet. I have also been processing what it means to feel so connected to another culture just from visiting for extended periods of time. Of course, many of you know my final days in Morocco had a very unfortunate twist which has caused me some long-term trauma I have had to deal with. I am much better now and we will return one day and hopefully host trips there again. I miss Morocco. This one-time occurrence could have happened anywhere and as a result, I still have a deep love for Morocco and its people. Our family has been talking about how we can help, but we will first wait to see what happens with our village friends in the High Atlas as our initial thoughts would be to give assistance to them.

Thank you for being part of this WorldTowning community whether you are an armchair vlog viewer, group trip attendee, patron, newsletter paid subscriber, WT University alumni, coaching client, sharer of our story on social media, etc. We value you and your commitment to making the world smaller and all of us one big happy family. Travel changes. We will continue to host group travel trips as long as we have willing guests as we have found this and the vlog to be the best way to share the world with all of you. Thank you!

*Edited, word from the village. They have suffered greatly, but Said and his family are safe.

*Edited. We have started a GoFund for them if you would like to contribute. Thank you.

xoxo,
Jess

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cute pic from our first visit to India in 2014

Join us in India & Peru! $1,000 OFF

$1,000 DISCOUNT on 2 of our trips. If you sign up this weekend for INDIA and PERU (4 days of this is hiking through the Andes mountains) you will receive a $1,000 discount (no other discounts apply). If you are currently on one of these trips and want to sign up for the other we will give you a $500 discount (no other discounts apply). The offer expires Tuesday at 8 am EST.

This is a great deal to take two amazing trips one in Dec/Jan and the other in the beginning of March. Neither of these trips will be offered again for several years. Don't miss this opportunity to travel to these magical lands with our crazy, yet well-experienced traveling family.

If you have any questions you can comment below, PM, or email jessica@worldtowning.com.

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They left me alone on the boat

A new vlog just went LIVE. That time the guys decided they wanted to sleep in hammocks on an island and I was left alone on the boat (at anchor) having to retrieve them with the dinghy that I had no idea how to drive. True story.

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Where are we now?

Hello from Thailand. We have been locked to our computers with school and work, September is always crazy for us, but we did manage to take off on a long weekend hike through the jungles of Thailand. It was so cool. Everyone should take a walk! The vlog coming, but not soon since we are months behind on editing. Sorry. It will be worth it, I promise.

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To learn more about us, our mission, and our business you can visit us at WorldTowning. To view our most recent group trip offerings head on over to WorldTowningvoyages.com. If you are interested in booking a coaching session to realize your travel dream, schedule it here. If you want to follow the travels of our WorldTowning family, you can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok