54 TRAVEL+LEISURE | OCTOBER 2019
FROM TOP: COURTESY OF DAR AHLAM-MAISON DES RÊVES;THE MORRISONS
Then something miraculous happened. We hit
the ridgeline. Suddenly, we climbed into sunlight.
Ahead of us, hilltops rose out of the clouds like
sage-colored islands. I was suddenly caught: did I
want to be mad about our missteps, or did I want
to call my beloved and ask him to join me in
celebrating this moment of beauty? I relented, I
apologized, and we climbed down through one
more foggy valley. Wobbly but giddy, we made it
to the quirky Pelican Inn, a weird but charmingly
Tudor-style pub plopped down near the Zen
monastery at Muir Beach. Delighted by the fire,
red wine, and our lodgings, we slept well.
The next day, we woke up exuberant. We had
survived and were ready to go again! We did aA cold fog started rolling in. “Only four more
miles, right?” I called to Taylor, who was
navigating. “You got the map?”
In marriage, sometimes the course of true love
does not run smooth. Apparently this is true for
hiking, as well. For at this moment, a terrible fact
emerged: my husband did not have said map.
We discerned that we had walked, with heavy
packs, at least four miles out of our way. The day’s
almost 10-mile hike would prove to be much
longer after we regained the proper trail. Taylor
mumbled an apology as he pulled out his phone
to try to find a trail map online. Of course, there
was no service. “I specifically reminded you!”
I tossed my pack down on the road and hiked
away. It was not my finest moment.
My husband, wordlessly, picked up my pack.
He kept hiking toward me, carrying two packs. I
felt ridiculous. We continued that way for a while,
and then I went back and retrieved my pack, still
fuming. He followed, quietly, a safe distance
behind. This much was clear: it was not the best
way to be spending our 10th anniversary.
Hotels in the WorldThey call Dar Ahlam
(darahlam.com; doubles
from $1,540), in Skoura,
Morocco, the maison des
rêves—the house of dreams—
and it was. I went with my
husband on our honeymoon,
and though I’m sure the
occasion had something to
do with it, the hotel was the
most idyllic place I’ve ever
stayed. Dar Ahlam has 14
rooms, but we felt like we had
it to ourselves. The gardens
are enormous, and eachmeal is served privately
in some new place—you
might have lunch on a stone
terrace and dinner between
rows of almond trees with
lanterns hung in the
branches. At night, the
casbah is candlelit, and you
return to your room to find a
cozy fire in the fireplace. I’m
still not entirely convinced
this all happened, because
the whole experience felt so
surreal and dreamy. — L.H.B.A reading nook at the
Pelican Inn, in the
Marin Headlands,
where the guest rooms
are done up in Old
English style.