{"id":25377,"date":"2018-02-24T01:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T14:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=25377"},"modified":"2025-04-22T13:49:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T03:49:37","slug":"disconnecting-atlas-mountains-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/disconnecting-atlas-mountains-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"The art of disconnecting: Learnings from a Moroccan mountain Expedition"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I look down at my phone right now, I have four emails. There\u2019s three new messages via Facebook Messenger. There\u2019s 45 Instagram notifications. Three for Twitter. One missed call and a voicemail. There are 16 unread text messages.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was in the middle of Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains in\u00a0October, my phone\u2019s notifications were zilch.<\/p>\n

None.<\/p>\n

Zero.<\/p>\n

No red circles with numbers making it appear like my phone has a bad batch of chicken pox.<\/p>\n

Nadda.<\/p>\n

Let me tell you: IT. WAS. BLISS.<\/p>\n

\"Morocco

With my Intrepid group<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve had the luxury of traveling around the world. I\u2019ve been to Africa more than a handful of times, all throughout South America, South East Asia<\/a>, and so on. On each of these adventures, though, wifi was always a quick jaunt either to a cafe or local hotel. Even when I was in the middle of the Maasai Mara in Kenya I had a few solid bars.<\/p>\n

When Intrepid Travel sent me to Morocco <\/strong><\/a>this past October, they said it would be different than other trips I\u2019ve done with them. Not only would there be no wifi in the Atlas Mountains, there would be no electricity at all. There wouldn\u2019t be any \u201creal\u201d washrooms aside from the occasional large boulder. We\u2019d be sleeping in tents, and, on some nights, in Berber caves. The most difficult part\u2014as I was photographing the experience\u2014would be to ensure my camera batteries lasted. I brought five spare batteries. (Thankfully, they lasted me the week).<\/p>\n

Obviously, it was an experience I couldn\u2019t pass up.<\/p>\n

\"Morocco

We camped under the stars<\/p><\/div>\n

This new Moroccan Expedition<\/strong>, in fact, is pretty new for Intrepid. The trip itself only happens as the seasons change in the spring and fall, which is when the Berber families make the 4,000-year-old traditional migration along ancient routes. When travelers say \u201coff the beaten path,\u201d this is, well, way off the path.<\/p>\n

As a photographer, I\u2019m on my smartphone a lot. More than I\u2019d care to admit. There\u2019s the social media channels to keep up, the emails to respond to, the news about Trump\u2019s latest gaffe to catch up on. We all know the cycle. It\u2019s a constant onslaught of information right to our phones. I\u2019d be surprised if a direct message hasn\u2019t caught your attention by this line. Or you\u2019re onto the next article. Or meme. Or Insta post. I don\u2019t blame you. I get it.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like me, though, and you\u2019ve looked at your phone, oh, 768 times so far today\u2014I do have a solution for you.<\/p>\n

Say it with me: I\u2019m going to go travel. Good. Again<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to go travel.<\/p>\n

Yep. That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

Now here\u2019s where my solution comes in. Because, yes, travel is part of the solution but doing so without the Internet<\/em>. Without your smartphone. Without any<\/em> technology. (Aside from a camera, in this case). Totally untapped. Totally untapped with a local nomadic Berber family that you will learn from and share stories with for a week. One week with zero technological interruptions.<\/p>\n

\"MoroccoTo make it even more immersive, you won\u2019t see another soul otherwise than your group of a dozen world travelers and your nomadic family.<\/p>\n

As we hiked through the rolling Atlas Mountain range with our herd of goats, sheep, mules and trusty camels, a couple things started happening. First, we connected with our surroundings. As the landscape constantly shifted from massive jutting rocks, to rolling hills, to vast plateaus to small mountain ranges, we were all awe-struck. It was all we could talk about. It was all-consuming. For many of us, it was otherworldly compared to the cityscapes we lived in.<\/p>\n

PHOTO ESSAY: MORE BEAUTIFUL IMAGES FROM RYAN’S ATLAS MOUNTAIN EXPEDITION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The second, is that we connected with one another. I think about it often, sitting on a crowded streetcar in Toronto, with my smartphone in my hands. As I look around, 95 per cent of everyone else on the streetcar has their smartphones cradled in their hands, earbuds plugged in. In Morocco, we didn\u2019t have this. We had each other. And with my fellow travellers from Australia, America, New Zealand and Britain, we learned from each other. Our ways of life. Our unique perspectives on the trip.<\/p>\n

\"MoroccoThis type of expedition will change your perspective. It will, quite fundamentally, change how you live. It will force you to look inward, instead of down at your phone. It will alter how you see and relate to the world\u2014for the first time in a long time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a true digital detox.<\/p>\n

Our phones distract us. Constantly. They do so by taking us out of the moment<\/em>. Out of what\u2019s currently going on around us. This makes us more insular and burdens our immediate perspective. And that can\u2019t be a good thing, right?<\/p>\n

Because when you\u2019re sitting in a cave\u2014yeah, like a literal cave burrowed into the side of a mountain\u2014having a \u201ccave rave\u201d by candlelight and playing cards with new friends, you\u2019ll know what I\u2019m talking about. This is the real deal.<\/p>\n

\"MoroccoSay it with me one more time:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to go travel.<\/p>\n

Happy (unplugged) adventures.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Want to embark on your very own Moroccan Expedition in the Atlas Mountains? Check out this 8-day adventure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

(All images c\/o the very talented Ryan Bolton<\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This type of expedition will change your perspective. It will, quite fundamentally, change how you live. 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