0:01

What? Happens in Las Vegas can make

0:03

quite an impression. Best selling author James

0:05

Patterson helps us appreciate the people who

0:07

make one of America's most extravagant tourist

0:09

mecca as work. I think it's a

0:11

really fun book for people who think

0:13

they know Vegas who go there alive,

0:16

or people who avoided because they don't

0:18

feel like it because it's so behind

0:20

the scenes. Come along for a rollicking

0:22

ride as one of today's top mystery

0:24

writers helps us look behind the curtain

0:26

in Las Vegas was not enormous early.

0:28

Let's not kid ourselves for a different

0:30

type of. Desert. Experience. How about clamping

0:32

under the stars in the Sahara? For

0:35

those of us that are bound by

0:37

the city, I mean there's nothing like

0:39

lay it out on the dunes with

0:41

just the heavens above You tour guide

0:43

Lucas Peters helped us find ageless spirit

0:45

of the desert in Morocco. There's some

0:47

magic about it, there really is. Plus

0:49

discover the laid back resort seen at

0:52

the they have caught her in Montenegro.

0:54

It's all just to hear on Traveled

0:56

Rick. We're

1:01

finding two very different ways to experience

1:03

the desert to the on. Travel with

1:06

Ricksteves. James Patterson has begun a series

1:08

of non fiction profiles of the people

1:10

around us with his breezy book called

1:12

what Really Happens in Vegas. He tells

1:15

us what's behind the razzle dazzle of

1:17

the Las Vegas he got to know

1:19

in just a moment, and Lucas Peters

1:22

recommends our options for venturing out into

1:24

the Sahara desert of Morocco. I'll

1:26

also share and first impressions of and up

1:29

and coming tourist his own in Montenegro, just

1:31

down the coast from the busy resorts of

1:33

Croatia, Behind the

1:35

veneer of blitz and flashing billboards that

1:37

make Las Vegas the entertainment capital of

1:40

the world, there's a sizable metro area

1:42

for about two million people that live

1:44

in greater Las Vegas. And to make

1:46

it work in what has become one

1:48

of the fastest growing metro areas in

1:50

America, there's a lot going on. As

1:52

one of America's top tourist draws, Vegas

1:55

attracts nearly forty million people a year.

1:57

Author James Patterson wanted to get to

1:59

know that. The people who live

2:01

there and the gamble they take him

2:03

to make a life in Las Vegas.

2:05

He introduces them to us and there's

2:08

sometimes and usual work in his book.

2:10

What really happens in Vegas? True stories

2:12

of the people who make Vegas Vegas

2:15

James thanks for joining us! Yeah, absolutely

2:17

Vegas Man, why not Vegas? Yeah it's

2:19

interesting cause my mission as a travel

2:22

writer is headed to a quip: Been

2:24

inspire Americans to venture beyond typical American

2:26

vacation methods like Las Vegas. but you

2:29

really found a. Way to make the

2:31

city compelling and and worth visiting. Well.

2:34

I great I am me I that

2:36

what makes it work is is fast

2:38

and that's what this book is All

2:40

but I got drawn in are actually

2:42

a friend of mine. Has. A

2:44

friend who's a whale. One of those

2:46

people who can guarantee that they will

2:48

risk a million dollars or more. So.

2:51

I went out with my friend and as

2:53

well. And. We'd have

2:55

to pay for anything. I'm we had this

2:57

beautiful sweet each of us and of food

2:59

and everything was free except for the gambling.

3:02

Or. And at the end of it this, well,

3:05

We. Were going Harmony Sets yeah I lost

3:07

almost a million dollars and man I loved

3:09

it was great success so that kind of

3:11

got me interested in may be doing something

3:13

about Vegas. I wondered how you new so

3:15

intimately what was going on cause I would

3:17

imagine you could afford to lose the money

3:19

and a lot of money in Vegas, but

3:22

I don't think so as I'm not interested

3:24

in I'm not interested in throwing money away

3:26

on gambling is never really been my thing

3:28

about but you know Ricky said exactly the

3:30

right thing here in terms of I did.

3:32

It's a really fun book for people who

3:34

who. Think they know Vegas who go there

3:37

alive and kind of like it or people

3:39

who avoided because they don't feel like it's

3:41

because it's so behind the see what I

3:43

kept thinking there's to Vegas is really there's

3:45

to Vegas for people who go down there

3:47

and they're all excited cause breakfast is included

3:49

Send: Then there's another go down there with

3:52

money to burn and not many of us

3:54

will know what that's like that you talked

3:56

about the whales and you know the people

3:58

who who actually vegas. Doubly courts.

4:00

I mean if you're Lgf, you're a huge

4:02

or yet high roller. They'll send a jet

4:04

to pick you up in Dubai and fly

4:07

un one thing. Ah, the as

4:09

they will pretty much what they're just. I

4:11

mean it's there's so many things in this

4:13

city that are fascinating even a me one

4:15

of the first. I think the first chapter

4:17

actually has to do with how they get

4:19

those fountains going in the morning and it's

4:21

really fascinating. And then and then you go

4:23

to the airport and you know all of

4:25

the clock. So Rolex a second like your

4:27

book says what is it the opening act

4:29

as the airport that that's where it starts.

4:31

Tell us about that experience when you fly

4:33

in all the Sydney realize this is not

4:36

as an airport Mrs. Madison he says oh

4:38

you're. Their menu you as I said

4:40

the other the clock So Rolexes your

4:42

are you can gamble right there. Yeah,

4:44

you know, almost. I'm surprised they don't

4:46

have slot machines on the plane that

4:48

oh and there. But one of the

4:50

things it is it that sources little

4:52

freaky out there is. When. You

4:55

go through any of that year the

4:57

the winner any at the Bellagio, etc.

4:59

Wherever you're going, it would lead you

5:01

through the casino. You're going to this

5:04

restaurant. You will go through the casino.

5:06

You're going to what you will go

5:08

through the cost of assists. It's amazing

5:11

when you know what is it about.

5:13

And I mean there's something about gambling.

5:15

There's something about lady luck. There's something

5:18

about going for broke. And did

5:20

you think about that much as you go with his? it's

5:22

a phenomenon. Was here. It is. It's a

5:24

it's if For some people it's a great. Release.

5:27

And they get to play. The.

5:29

Get to fantasize to get to play with some. You

5:31

know it's as though they have enough of it, but

5:33

also that that notion of that they're going to strike

5:35

it rich, death and people get a yeah. It's like.

5:38

That there's no chance to

5:40

get rich except. Maybe.

5:43

maybe maybe may playing the slots and all

5:45

of a sudden boom yes and and they're

5:47

rich and and that's appealing to to simply

5:49

you wrote about the woman who won three

5:51

hundred and two thousand dollars at the wheel

5:54

of fortune and and then everybody wanted to

5:56

touch her do see some of her le

5:58

ha ha Yeah, well,

6:00

you know, there is that. But you know,

6:02

one of the things that Mark and I

6:04

wrote it with, the co-writer Mark Seal, and

6:07

one of the things that Mark and I agreed

6:09

to do is we weren't going to editorialize. We're

6:12

just going to lay it out and you

6:14

can draw your own conclusions about whether this

6:16

is insanity or wonderful fantasy

6:19

or in doing

6:21

the book, you know, we did get through

6:23

the history of things like the restaurants or

6:25

the buildings or the fantasies. You know, and

6:27

there used to be, you know, way back

6:31

like when Coney Island, you know, initially

6:33

was built up. And here you had,

6:35

you know, very, very poor people, you know, 10

6:37

people to a room in New York and whatever.

6:40

And they would walk out all the way out

6:42

to Coney Island and anything

6:44

that anybody could imagine, they'd

6:47

say, nobody was saying you can't do

6:49

that legally or whatever. So they would

6:51

do these crazy things like

6:53

an elephant that would dive into water

6:55

from 200 feet high or

6:58

whatever they could imagine. They would say, yep, we can

7:00

figure out how to do that. And they would do

7:02

it. And people just go out there and go, oh

7:04

my God, wait till you hear about what I saw

7:06

at Coney Island. And that's a little

7:08

of the principle behind Vegas in terms of, you

7:11

know, somebody goes, we're going to build this wedding

7:14

chapel, you know, and we're

7:16

going to, you want to be married by Elvis,

7:18

Elvisimitator? We can do that. What

7:20

do you want? What's your dream? Yeah, your

7:22

dream or your nightmare? One of the two.

7:25

I don't know. This is Travel with Rick

7:27

Steves. We're talking with James Patterson. He's often

7:29

called the world's best-selling author. And

7:31

he's a prolific author. He's not

7:33

called that he is. He is

7:35

the world's best-selling author. Well,

7:38

clearly prolific. Your crime and mystery

7:40

and thriller novels are amusing. And

7:42

quality and good quality besides the

7:44

prolific. And his new book is

7:46

What Really Happens in Vegas? And

7:48

if you want to get a

7:50

bigger dose of James Patterson, check out

7:52

his website. It's jamespatterson.com. So James, I

7:54

want to talk a little bit about

7:56

this whale environment, this

7:59

VIA. and then I

8:01

want to get into the entertainment and

8:03

what the rest of us can experience

8:05

when we go there. But you hung

8:07

out with a chauffeur, Raymond Torres, and

8:09

apparently he can make anything happen. And

8:11

if you're a multimillionaire coming into town

8:13

ready to really go for

8:16

broke, he can open every door. Tell

8:19

us a little bit about Raymond Torres. Well,

8:22

there are a lot of chauffeurs out there

8:24

that can, you know, within reason open some

8:26

doors. And that's

8:28

always a thing. And they can make things happen.

8:30

And if you can afford it, it's a great

8:32

thing to have somebody. What

8:35

do you like? What kind of food do you like?

8:37

What's your fantasy? What do you want to do here?

8:39

What do you want tickets for? Anything.

8:41

As long as it's legal, he can arrange

8:43

it. Now, maybe even a little

8:45

bend the law a little bit. I'm not

8:48

to get into Raymond. Yeah. Well, it's

8:50

like having a guide. I mean, I'm a big fan of

8:52

having a local guide. And in Vegas, the local guide is

8:54

going to get you into not the

8:56

Louvre, but into the fanciest rooms

8:58

and the best gambling or the

9:00

best entertainment or whatever. Yes. And

9:03

they combine with, they know how to take

9:06

advantage of the fact that Vegas knows who

9:08

they can make a lot of money off of. And

9:11

if you're a person who's willing to lose a million

9:13

dollars and say, boy, that was fun, you're

9:15

going to stay in a pretty, what you described

9:17

as a, I think, a gasp-worthy room. And that

9:20

room you described for the VIPs, tell us what

9:22

that was like. Generally,

9:24

it's going to revolve around spectacular views

9:26

of Vegas. And Vegas is kind of

9:28

cool to look at. I mean, it's

9:30

spread out. You can see out

9:32

into the desert. So during

9:34

the day, it can be kind of pretty. And at

9:37

night, it's glittery. They'll

9:39

always have these incredible bathrooms they'll

9:41

have. I mean,

9:43

you can, depending on if you want,

9:45

you can have $40,000 bottle cognac in

9:48

your room if you're really crazy. Our

9:51

whale did. God

9:53

bless. And I must say that For

9:55

$40,000, whatever the shot, whatever that comes down to,

9:57

it's not worth it. You Tried it. I've

10:00

gotten wondered about that. How can we did? Yeah, yeah,

10:02

yeah. What's the same thing with these bottles of wine?

10:04

You know? Here's a. Fifty. Thousand dollar

10:07

bottle of wine and you're like a was somebody

10:09

treating you go with feel as I'd love to

10:11

taste and never be fine. And. You

10:13

go and you know he to me

10:15

one of the worsens you want to

10:17

hear about food each right in any

10:20

go, interesting and insisting that a good

10:22

that's not a good know that that

10:24

negative only my opinion seems. Tests In

10:27

holds a Guinness World Records as a

10:29

number of best selling book is written.

10:31

is also a major benefactor of youth

10:33

literacy and education is telling us how

10:36

his book what Really Happens in Vegas

10:38

profiles the people behind the dazzle in

10:40

the glamour Las Vegas. There's

10:43

that whole dimension of the city known

10:45

as I mean you know what happens

10:47

in Vegas, stays in Vegas in it's

10:49

known as Sin City and Eleven. That

10:51

might seem a little old school or

10:54

whatever, but it sounds like the gentlemen's

10:56

clubs and in the prostitution and phone

10:58

is still going strong. Yeah, I think

11:00

it's changed a lot or chase a

11:02

lot for a while because they went

11:04

into this period when they tried to.

11:07

And. Not just tried, but delivered on some

11:09

level to make Vegas more of a victory

11:11

for families, right? And. So they

11:14

really com the place down a lot.

11:16

Class. Up it's act a bit. Ah,

11:19

The gentlemen's clubs would still be around, but but

11:21

it was. It wasn't the way it had been.

11:23

You wouldn't see a lot of people. Women

11:26

or men or whatever roaming the strip?

11:28

Yeah. offering their where's. The you

11:30

but it's still there but you know it's

11:32

you know in so many the areas which

11:34

I just found. The. I love

11:37

restaurants and and if you if you look

11:39

at you mentioned like the free breakfast and

11:41

stuff and that sort of the old hollywood

11:43

of the midfield but now there are so

11:45

many. Are really good restaurants here

11:47

and that didn't used to be that way. But.

11:50

It it's evolved, it's of of I'm in. You'll

11:52

get. You. Know a it is

11:54

wonderful Italian restaurants. It's that weren't they

11:56

are fifteen years ago that kind of

11:58

restaurants. Ill when. One thing

12:00

you wrote about, James, was in Vegas,

12:03

if you have beautiful buildings, they need to

12:05

be staffed by beautiful people. That's

12:08

the ethic in Vegas. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

12:10

You said the tabernacle of worship is the

12:12

gym. Talk a bit about that, please. Well,

12:15

I think that's kind of true of a lot of

12:17

major cities now and young people. They

12:19

want to look good. And

12:21

that's a part of the allure in Vegas

12:24

that you're going to... The waiters, the

12:26

waitresses, they're going to be good-looking, the

12:28

maitre d'et cetera, the maitre d'et cetera. One

12:30

of the things they do pretty well,

12:32

for the most part, is make you

12:34

feel important. And people like

12:36

that. People want to feel important when

12:39

they go. Oh, those blackjack and poker

12:41

and the roulette wheel, a fortune what

12:43

it lost on every deal, all

12:46

you need is a stone heart and a girl

12:48

still. And fever,

12:50

la la, fever.

12:55

It's hard to call what really

12:57

happens in Vegas James Patterson's latest

12:59

book, and she releases so many

13:01

new titles every month. We

13:03

have more with James on the spectacle of

13:05

Las Vegas. Just ahead on Travel with Rick

13:07

Steves. Later,

13:09

we'll look at our options for drinking in

13:12

the stars under a clear night sky from

13:14

a sand dune in the Sahara Desert. Tips

13:18

for slowing down in the wilds of the

13:21

Sahara Desert in North Africa and the emerging

13:23

coastal resorts of the Balkans. That's

13:25

in just a bit on today's Travel with

13:27

Rick Steves. Right now, James

13:29

Patterson teamed up with Vanity Fair

13:31

editor Mark Fields to profile the

13:34

people who make Las Vegas, Nevada

13:36

work as the ultimate fantasy destination.

13:38

Their book is What Really Happens

13:41

in Vegas. So

13:43

James, when we're thinking about Vegas, you

13:45

mentioned they're making it a little more

13:47

family-oriented and so on, and certainly people

13:49

go there for more than just the

13:52

gambling. And the entertainment. I mean, it's

13:54

amazing, fabulous entertainment there. Yeah,

13:56

you have your various levels

13:58

of... Cirque du Soleil.

14:00

There's four or five of those different, and

14:02

they're all, yeah, and they're all, they're

14:05

similar in terms of them being acrobatics that

14:08

you've never, it's

14:10

wonderful, and I think it is

14:12

a family entertainment, those things, and

14:15

those are great. And then the

14:17

various entertainers, which range from Celine

14:19

Dion to some people maybe

14:21

you don't necessarily want to say. Well, think

14:24

of the names that have really made it

14:26

because of Vegas. I mean, as soon as

14:28

you leave the airport, you're on Wayne Newton

14:30

Boulevard, right? Yeah, right,

14:32

right, right, right. I think Wayne is still,

14:34

to my knowledge, I think he's still kicking.

14:37

But he's like a resonant entertainer for

14:39

decades, and you wrote about how Elvis

14:41

was earning a million dollars a month

14:43

back in the 70s. That was pretty

14:45

impressive in the 70s. It's still decent

14:47

money, you know, whatever. Yeah. And the

14:50

Rat Pack is so famous there? Yeah,

14:52

yeah, yeah, yeah. Actually, it was a funny

14:54

story, but I like to

14:57

golf, and this is way back,

14:59

but somebody who ran it to Sammy Davis Jr.,

15:01

and he was coming off the course, and he said,

15:03

Sammy, how'd you do out there? And

15:06

he said, oh, I had an 83, and then the guy

15:08

saw the pro a little later, and he said, Sammy

15:10

must be pretty good. It's a pretty tough course. And

15:13

the pro said, no, Sammy plays till he gets

15:15

to 83, and then he comes in. So

15:19

he shoots 83 pretty much every day.

15:21

And there you go. Well, another dimension

15:23

of the city, which I find interesting

15:25

is magic. You always hear people talking

15:27

about magic shows in Vegas. And it's

15:29

kind of surprising to me. What do you think it is about

15:32

magic in a gambling

15:34

capital? Well,

15:37

the whole town is about magic.

15:39

It really is. It's about smoke

15:41

and mirrors and making you believe

15:43

things that you probably couldn't, believe.

15:46

And the town is also very

15:48

visual. Everything about it, I mean,

15:50

even the buildings and the billboards, you know,

15:52

in the desert as a background. But you

15:54

know, magic is very visual. And

15:57

I think people are in the mood for it when they go out there. To

16:00

mention that you focused on in the book

16:02

that I thought was interesting in

16:04

what really happens in Vegas, there's

16:06

this idea of death-defying stunts. The

16:09

freefall is a big deal. Oh

16:12

my God, the strat. There's no way that I

16:14

would ever. I'm too old to do that. I

16:16

was wondering. No, no. Oh my God. No,

16:19

no, no. I'm not big on height. This guy

16:21

jumped. What is it? 1100 feet

16:23

and just plummeting. I don't get

16:25

the attraction of that. I guess

16:27

people love that adrenaline thing and

16:30

death-defying when you know pretty much

16:32

you're probably not going to crash

16:34

to the pavement. Evil

16:36

Knievel was a big deal in Vegas. Yes.

16:39

Well, he was built for Vegas. This

16:42

is risk. It's part of risk. It's part

16:44

of that adrenaline. It's part of that fantasy.

16:46

It probably gets people stoked up to step into

16:48

that casino and go for broke. Yeah.

16:51

Well, that's the risk thing too. I

16:54

used to like my thing on gambling. If I was going

16:56

to do anything, I'd put like $300 or $400 in my

16:58

pocket and that's it. That's

17:01

all I got. For

17:03

me, I'm just this wuss. If

17:06

I got up $150, I'd walk away. If

17:09

I got down $125, I'd probably walk away too. You'll

17:13

watch people at these tables and

17:16

they're betting $200, $300, $400, $500 a hand and whatever.

17:20

You look at them and you go, these

17:23

people clearly don't have big money.

17:26

But apparently they'll come there and they'll have

17:28

$5,000, $10,000 or whatever and they're willing

17:31

to lose it, which is stunning to me.

17:33

That's the whole lost wages thing. Yeah. I'm

17:36

going to lost wages. That's kind of

17:38

sad. The other thing that's a little

17:40

sad about the place is the casinos, there

17:43

are a lot of things in there which are kind of

17:45

upbeat and fun and whatever. Casinos are not

17:47

one of them. They're quiet. Crap

17:51

tables are fun. But most

17:53

of it, people, they look Dejected

17:55

and they always seem like they're

17:57

one step away from, I don't

17:59

know. Nope. I want to be any earth

18:01

And he meant well. To. Me I

18:03

I good enough and a very interesting

18:06

I'm. Not. A funk but

18:08

a thought provoking mood ram looking at

18:10

people and wondering what is their story. Here's

18:12

a person that sitting alone at a slot

18:14

machine all day long. They don't have

18:16

a lot of money and there's better lot

18:19

of money. and there's something going on

18:21

there. James I agree. I agree. I do

18:23

find it. Part of it is exhilarating

18:25

and part of it is depressing as the

18:27

soundtrack. When you walk to a casino. there's

18:29

a sound today I know and desperation

18:31

or a white non. you hear those bell.

18:35

Destiny People are winning a lot of. Money has

18:37

that ending. Dj Yoshida that has travel

18:39

with Rick Steves were touching. The James

18:42

Patterson in his book is wet well.

18:44

He's got countless books but the book

18:46

for featuring today is what really happens

18:48

in Vegas. The what really happens in

18:50

Vegas. A not a huge Vegas person

18:52

but you're in rereading the book. It's

18:54

almost like I want to go there

18:57

again. you know? And one thing about

18:59

travel for me as the people, I

19:01

mean meeting people carbon. It's experience And

19:03

me that's the mark of a good

19:05

trip. and you can beat. People anywhere

19:07

you go. With

19:09

your both you really I think

19:12

enlivened the whole culture. Vegas by.

19:14

Showcasing. Are shining a light on

19:16

some quirky. Individuals. I

19:18

mean Charlotte Richards but she's like and

19:21

deepened or eighties and. Didn't. See:

19:23

innovator invented drive in wedding. Yes,

19:26

Tell us about her. Know that chapter is

19:28

fine art yet is he had an idea?

19:31

Seat. He threw her whole to

19:33

everything that she had into it and

19:35

she letter imagination go wild. And.

19:37

And just what? That spirit of. Will.

19:40

What he what what he added etti want to get married were how

19:42

do you want to know if you're here? We have a lot of

19:44

ideas for yeah. A. And years hear these stories

19:46

about people. She had a bunch of of. About

19:48

a just people go out there in playing to

19:50

get married right and the next thing they knew

19:53

they were married you know as any they make

19:55

it easy at their so it's an entrance I

19:57

see really believe she found a niche and she

19:59

was contributing making people happy and she was the

20:02

wedding Queen of the west. Well they certainly

20:04

were happy with every get married was six I

20:06

don't know what the next day when they feel

20:08

better but when it as opposed to thinking you

20:10

know James One time I a I was

20:12

giving a lecture at the University Vegas and a

20:15

professor gave me a. Tour. Of

20:17

the city reminding me there's real people, are

20:19

off the strip and it's a it's a

20:21

normal city and it was one A on

20:24

a normal say like allocators at that. but

20:26

it and it's and sitting there are people

20:28

outside or know that? yeah I will. It

20:30

was a fascinating tennis social commentary on. On.

20:33

On the role that Vegas provides

20:36

to our society. And. It

20:38

was it really of very fascinating experience to

20:40

be with him. What are some take ways

20:42

that you have on why is there Vegas

20:44

and and why is it so popular and

20:46

and them you know. What? Does it

20:48

say about humanity? Well. Look

20:51

I obviously you don't have an

20:53

imagination and love to create things

20:55

that are haven't been created before

20:57

hopefully years, tell stories that haven't

20:59

been told and tell him in

21:01

a way that are stimulating in

21:03

it ranges from. The. Novels to

21:05

some of the non section. And.

21:08

with a non. What? I've

21:10

always tried to do. Is.

21:13

At the end of it people would go. I.

21:15

Understand something better that I didn't

21:17

understand before. You. Know I

21:20

did. I do a series with Met, met

21:22

every minute with Matt was the actual Sergeant

21:24

who was portrayed in the movie Black Hawk

21:26

Down. The he's a great interviewer and so

21:28

we did one a block of my combat

21:30

boots. And. Our mission was. If.

21:33

You have been in combat you would say every

21:35

minute Paris and got it right. And.

21:38

If you are one of these people

21:40

like the Bs about things that you

21:42

don't really understand, you would say I

21:44

didn't really understand the military so I

21:46

read that book. same thing with this

21:48

while with my autobiography to same Thing

21:50

People. With. have certain assumptions about who

21:53

i am whatever well they're wrong it's

21:55

not what it is in my autobiography

21:57

says story after story after story it's

21:59

not usual kind of thing, let's talk

22:01

about Newburgh, New York, who cares? And

22:05

same with the Vegas. It's

22:07

getting into this thing and you

22:09

understand something, hopefully,

22:11

I think in an entertaining way that you

22:14

didn't understand before. You go, okay, well that, you

22:17

know, I hadn't really thought about that even if

22:19

you've been there a few times. I think even

22:21

people who've been there half a dozen times would

22:23

go, I'm surprised by this book. No, you read

22:25

your book and you have a much better understanding

22:27

of the workings of Vegas in so many ways

22:30

because it's such a multi-dimensional experience

22:32

and city. This

22:36

is Travel with Rick Steves. We're talking with, I

22:38

think, the most popular storyteller of our time. That's

22:40

a fair thing to say, James Patterson. He sold

22:42

over 200 million books and

22:44

he's the creator of unforgettable characters

22:47

and series including Alex Cross, Women's

22:49

Murder Club, Jane F. and

22:52

Smith, and Maximum Ride. He's written about

22:54

the Kennedy's, John Lennon, and Princess Diana

22:56

and he's co-authored number one vestibular novel

22:58

with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton and

23:00

told the story of his own life

23:03

in James Patterson by James Patterson. But

23:05

you know, I would imagine he's a

23:07

traveler as well as a prolific writer.

23:10

James, we know about James

23:12

Patterson the writer but what about the traveler?

23:14

Do you like to travel? Sometimes.

23:19

Yeah, you know, I've

23:21

spent a lot of time going around the world.

23:23

There's not a lot of places that I haven't

23:25

been. I spent

23:28

a couple of weeks in Kenya and I love,

23:30

that was actually one of my favorite trips. I

23:32

love that trip. You know, I

23:35

would imagine as prolific as you are you

23:37

must always be kind of scouting,

23:40

working, taking notes. Do

23:42

you get inspiration in your travels? Yeah,

23:45

my stupid imagination is so big that I

23:48

don't need it but yeah, sure. You know,

23:50

there must be interesting characters you run into.

23:52

Well, I'll give you, this isn't an

23:55

interesting character thing as much as just in

23:57

terms of my crazy imagination. I was touring

23:59

with Mike Lopez. because a famous sportswriter,

24:01

and we've done a couple of books together now.

24:03

So we went on a book tour and we

24:05

were down in the Jersey Shore and it was,

24:08

and my wife was there with us and it

24:10

was a miserable day. It was raining and wind

24:12

and da, da, da, da. And they said, well,

24:14

let's walk from this little hotel and we'll walk

24:16

down to the, over to the beach. So we're

24:18

walking and I get about 50 yards

24:20

and I said, screw this. It's awful out

24:22

here. I'm just going to go back and

24:24

I'm walking back to this little hotel we're staying at

24:27

and this little guy, a little

24:29

older guy is riding on a bicycle

24:31

and one word went into my head.

24:34

Just watching this little guy and I went

24:36

inside and I wrote a five page outline

24:38

for a novel just based on this

24:41

little guy and it just boom and off

24:43

I was and, uh, you know, I now

24:45

have an outline that's a hundred chapters just

24:47

from that little goofy thing. So, you

24:50

know, I could sit there and listen to

24:52

the show and thinking about travel and

24:54

do something, you know, based on your

24:57

life, you know, whatever. So, you

24:59

know, that's the kind of fascination I had about

25:01

stuff in terms of going, you

25:03

know, around the world. And you obviously, um,

25:05

like other people more than I do, but,

25:08

uh, I do, I like some of them when

25:11

we went to Africa, it was one of these

25:13

things where they would put you on a little,

25:16

you know, maybe four or six people in a

25:18

van and it was pretty safe, but it was

25:20

fascinating and you'd go and you know,

25:22

okay, well, here are the the, the

25:24

giraffes and the elephants and whatever. And

25:26

the wild dogs are the scariest thing

25:28

there. They're, I mean, they're just so

25:30

vicious that dogs straight up from hell.

25:33

Um, but in the, in the bus we did,

25:35

we made two really great friends and

25:38

it turned out their real work was

25:40

they had, uh, they worked for a very

25:42

wealthy couple and they basically took care of

25:44

the yacht and one of them was a

25:46

captain. And one was at the chef every

25:49

year we would go and see them because

25:52

they would have a little downtime. And so we would

25:54

stay on the yacht with them when

25:56

the owners were. So You do

25:58

meet people that are, you know, kind of fun. An

26:00

interesting or whatever. Yeah, but James, when you think

26:02

about getting out of cultures and what it, what

26:04

is your take on culture shock? Is it something

26:07

you you're attracted to? Or does it? Is that

26:09

something you try to avoid? Ah

26:12

I would say I'm interested in it and

26:14

then it's a question of how much work

26:16

is it to really get into it? You

26:18

know as I said I did I love

26:20

Kenya I love that trip because they're just

26:22

either you you go from that the t

26:25

mean big city thing which are like nothing

26:27

that youth that I had experience before. And.

26:30

I ran into the same thing. A little

26:32

bit in Bangkok is in terms of just.

26:34

Mice are unbelievably noisy. Just. Activity

26:37

Just overwhelming. but aren't you drawn into

26:39

that? to go Dislike: This is a

26:41

river of humanity that had never paddled

26:43

down. While. The as I

26:45

enter your not to join it to

26:47

on their own iraqi been drawn into

26:50

it. I'm in a part of the

26:52

river river man yeah and it it

26:54

dies and I I have written I

26:56

actually wrote an Alice Cross books said

26:59

in Africa probably because only go out

27:01

of that trip. I was in

27:03

in Kenya but I was a I was

27:05

curious about workers about Africa that I had

27:07

been. He. Got to get out your comfort zone.

27:10

Where you don't necessarily have to get out, but

27:12

you have to figure out a way. It.

27:15

Depends on the person that some people need

27:17

to get out of their comfort zone. so

27:19

people just need a way to stay comfortable.

27:21

But would you. Wanna we talked with a

27:24

little bit before about the notion of. Somebody.

27:26

To guide maybe somebody. That's how I when I

27:28

is in Hong Kong. I. Happen to have

27:31

friends there. To. They took his around for

27:33

about four days. which was

27:35

spectacular i it seems like when you've

27:37

had friends when you have locals to

27:39

give you an inside track you get

27:41

double the experience rather than just been

27:44

the ever well know or at least

27:46

apple that yes exactly so that that's

27:48

a really important thing is travis as

27:50

i say this may make it the

27:52

most uniquely american tourist destination of them

27:55

on it's the setting for james patterson

27:57

true stories behind them arise with me

28:00

His website is jamespatterson.com. Have

28:04

you ever considered how in the old

28:06

days people used to say bon voyage, and

28:08

now they say have a safe trip? Uh-huh,

28:11

you know, that's interesting. What do you

28:13

think with that? Oh,

28:15

we're just running scared here, unfortunately. And some

28:18

of it makes sense. I

28:24

don't know if we've ever had, or at least

28:26

been at a conscious time, when there's so many

28:28

things that actually are relatively

28:30

scary. Whether you believe

28:32

or don't believe in global warming,

28:34

I do believe in it. But

28:37

that's a major, significant, really frightening

28:39

thing. The state of the world,

28:41

you know, we're in a period right now where

28:43

there are wars again. You

28:46

know, things that happen in some of the bigger cities,

28:48

there are robberies and, you know, they're up and violence

28:50

is up. So, yeah, and

28:53

I think it does affect us. And the fact that

28:55

people will sit there and watch the news all day,

28:58

which to me is toxic. But half

29:00

an hour within reason is plenty

29:02

to catch up. Now, there may be things

29:04

you want to read a lot about, a

29:06

certain situation or whatever, and that's

29:09

certainly up to you. But anyway, but

29:11

I think, you know, in bon voyage

29:13

versus have a safe trip, I

29:15

mean, certainly the actual trips are safer than they

29:17

were. I mean, the planes, those things are safer

29:20

than they were. You know, one

29:22

of the things, you can have this for free, Rick, but

29:25

I think there's an opportunity for people

29:27

to do videos, just our

29:29

videos where you could really give people a sense

29:31

of, OK, here's some of

29:33

the stuff very quickly that you're going to

29:35

see in Paris. Here's some of the stuff.

29:38

And we really give you a real feeling

29:40

where you go like, you know, I'd

29:42

like to go there. You know what I mean? You know, I'd like

29:44

to do that. You could help me maybe. I

29:47

won't help you, but I give it to you. OK,

29:49

maybe give me a piece when you're a billionaire. But, you

29:51

know, oh, yeah, Jim told me that. And here's here's one

29:53

hundred dollars for you, Jim. You

29:56

know, Jim, you are clearly

29:58

the most prolific writer I've ever. had

30:00

the opportunity to have on the show. And

30:02

I've never thought of you as a travel writer. What about the

30:04

quality of my prose, will you please? I've

30:07

never thought of you as a travel

30:09

writer, but I've got your book, What

30:11

Really Happens in Vegas. And to

30:13

me, that could be a guidebook to Vegas. You've

30:16

taken one city and uncovered

30:19

surprising dimensions to that city. In

30:21

a way, I think that kind of information you were

30:23

talking about having an inside or having a guide, everywhere

30:26

we travel, there's more there than

30:28

meets the eye. Yeah. If

30:32

you read that book, you will never think

30:34

about Vegas the same way again, whether you're

30:36

somebody that goes here all the time or

30:38

somebody who rarely or has never gone there.

30:40

Well, then I'll give you a tip. You

30:42

could write a book like your Las Vegas

30:44

book to the world's 10 greatest cities and

30:47

uncover the same unheralded dimension that would

30:49

really carbonate everybody's experience when they went

30:51

there with your book in hand. And

30:54

Rick, if I do that, I'm going to send you $100. And

30:57

then I'll take that to Vegas and throw it away. Perfect.

31:00

James Patterson, thank you so much for joining us. It's

31:03

been a delight to talk with you. And

31:05

thanks for all the creativity you bring to

31:07

our world through your writing. Oh, thank you.

31:09

This is very stimulating, really good. I

31:27

appreciate the starlight in the Sahara and

31:30

even the embroidery at the Bay of

31:32

Kotor. That's just ahead on Travel with

31:34

Rick Steves. As

31:36

I discovered on a recent trip there, it's

31:38

easy to be dazzled by Morocco. In

31:41

contrast to the glitz and round-the-clock

31:43

action of Las Vegas, the serenity

31:45

of an exquisitely tiled courtyard in

31:47

a Moroccan riad can delight your

31:49

senses as well as give you an

31:51

escape from the stifling heat. A Deadly

31:54

earthquake in September of 2023 devastated parts

31:56

of Marrakech in a number of villages

31:58

in the high Atlas Mount. Thankfully.

32:01

Most of the country was unaffected

32:04

interest attractions of they reopened but

32:06

you're in need of visitors. Many

32:08

Americans supported their kings decision to

32:11

turn down release issued offered by

32:13

the Us and French governments in

32:15

order to demonstrate their own ability

32:17

to recover. Lucas Peters rates the

32:19

Moon guidebooks to Morocco and direct

32:21

the tour company there. He joins

32:23

Us on travel with Rick Steves

32:25

with tips for venturing into the

32:27

vast wilde spaces of the Sahara

32:29

desert. Epics: Bradley Bacharach. Know Lucas

32:31

first about your a traveler who wanted to

32:34

be kind of a digital nomad. you they'd

32:36

spend a couple seasons in Morocco and what

32:38

happened cause you've been there no for more

32:40

than a decade and I fell in

32:42

love with a girl. fell in love with

32:45

the country. it's the old story is

32:47

a lot of them. X paid American said

32:49

fell in love with one dimension of

32:51

rock or the other there there and seem

32:53

to be living happily ever after out.

32:55

How is that you're raising? You've got sounds

32:58

like a wonderful Moroccan wife and and

33:00

two young children. How. Is that for an

33:02

American expat? I. Mean, it's not without

33:04

it's complications, but I'm in the daily.

33:06

I really enjoy here. You know, I

33:08

mean it's great food, really nice people

33:10

have very hospitable and I mean I'm

33:12

living in Tangier. You can beat the

33:14

weather. I mean I grew up in

33:16

Seattle said the Mediterranean lifestyle. You know

33:18

that that? That's a big bonus. Know.

33:21

I'd I mentioned the King Mohammed

33:23

Six. He said a

33:25

little naive of of me or or it just

33:27

seems he's popular. He's like I'm He's like I

33:29

enlightened Desperate. Does he have real power? And is

33:31

he just doing a good job with it? Yeah.

33:34

I'd say we're living under like a

33:36

benevolent king. You know he's a very

33:38

good job modernizing Morocco or he's now

33:40

without his detractors. You know there is

33:42

you know as as small minority of

33:45

people who wish you know perhaps he

33:47

was putting funds and different sort of

33:49

programs and stuff. By an overall I

33:51

mean he's got the support of the

33:53

country, the people. and yeah you

33:55

look around his do it a lot of great

33:57

projects that bring morocco really into the twenty first

34:00

22nd century. And tourism is

34:02

a big part of the economy and people appreciate

34:04

the stability and things seem to be on the

34:06

right track and I'm really happy

34:08

to be connecting with you right now to

34:10

talk about going over the mountains.

34:13

Now Morocco is about the size of

34:15

California and to me it's divided by,

34:17

you know, just like my state Washington is

34:20

divided between East and West by the Cascade

34:22

Mountains, Morocco is divided north and south by

34:24

the Atlas Mountains and the

34:26

north would be Mediterranean looking. The

34:29

south is more towards the Sahara, right?

34:31

Yeah, it runs kind of northeast to

34:33

southwest so it's kind of diagonal really,

34:36

you know, because you have mountains in the north as

34:38

well. So a little bit like

34:40

Washington State but then put the Cascades and

34:43

just tilt them a little bit, you know.

34:45

Okay and the point is you get a

34:47

big difference when you go over the mountains.

34:49

What kind of cultural and ethnic differences do

34:51

you get when you cross the Atlas Mountains

34:54

in Morocco? So when you cross

34:56

the mountains you'll be in a

34:58

territory where you still will have nomadic

35:01

and semi-nomadic tribes that

35:04

are visibly going to look different than some

35:06

of the other people you've met along the

35:08

way in terms of how they dress. And

35:11

this is a region that was influenced heavily

35:13

by the slave trade so you'll see a

35:15

lot more black Africans

35:17

here versus like Arab Africans who

35:19

are a lot wider over here

35:21

and that has to do with

35:24

the slave trade that happened and

35:26

also immigration hundreds of years ago.

35:28

And it still remains to this day

35:30

and my memory is you've got these

35:32

amazing mud brick towns that kind

35:34

of grow out of their surroundings and you've

35:37

got these kasbas that are like melted sugar

35:39

cubes over the centuries. Tell us some of

35:41

the highlights of your sightseeing when you do

35:43

cross those mountains and in the next stop

35:45

when you look out of the desert it

35:48

literally is Timbuktu on the other side of

35:50

the desert. Yeah you know I think the

35:52

thing that amazes me the most about this

35:54

region is how green parts of it are.

35:56

You know we think of you

35:58

know maybe it like a scene for dune or

36:01

something which is sand dunes forever.

36:03

But the Sahara is actually geographically

36:05

very interesting in that you have

36:07

these lush palm groves just jetting

36:09

right through the middle of it.

36:12

I think of green ribbons of ravines

36:14

where there's a river and then all

36:16

the like scenes right out

36:19

of the Bible, my image of what

36:21

it must have been with people on

36:23

camels and you know a fascinating little

36:25

impromptu market scenes. It's just a wonderland

36:27

in so many ways and it survives

36:29

to this day. And biblical is kind

36:31

of a neat way to think

36:34

about it in a way especially if you happen to know

36:36

that the oldest Jewish settlement

36:38

in Morocco is thought to have been established

36:40

right after the fall of the first temple

36:43

right in this region of the country. You

36:45

know I learned about that that was like

36:47

in the first century right? I think there's

36:50

a lot of Jewish culture that we'd

36:52

be surprised to find in Morocco. Yeah

36:55

and as far as like when the

36:57

Romans came here so about zero AD

36:59

or so but the early Roman writings

37:01

they already found Jewish people living here

37:03

with the Berbers, the local tribes and

37:06

already intermingled, already sharing languages and cultures.

37:08

So they'd already been established here for

37:10

likely hundreds if not a thousand or

37:13

so years. So if you

37:15

were going to take somebody on a like

37:17

a three-day swing through the desert over the

37:19

mountains and there's I can remember from my

37:21

trip as a backpacker I can just even

37:23

think of the names Rassani, Erfut, Qasar-a-Sook,

37:26

Mardzuga, Cine here and these names

37:28

just stay in your mind because

37:31

they're just so colorful and you

37:33

just can't believe this still exists

37:35

today. If you were going to design and

37:37

this is what you do for a living a

37:39

three or four day excursion into

37:41

this area what would we experience?

37:45

I think if you're lucky enough

37:47

to travel at the

37:49

moment when they're doing the date

37:51

harvest in the fall that's really

37:53

special because all of these palm

37:55

groves will be very busy with

37:57

kind of farm labor where people

38:00

People will be crawling up the date palms

38:02

to actually be taking out just these

38:04

bunches of dates. I

38:06

didn't realize I loved dates so much until I

38:08

moved to Morocco. That

38:11

is like a foodie treat right there. Hopefully

38:14

we'll spend some time in the date palms. You

38:17

can't come to the Sahara without actually going out

38:19

to one of the great dunes, either Urg Shebbi

38:21

or Urg Shigaga, and experiencing a night

38:23

in the desert, in the dunes. Now

38:26

there's a lot of luxury camps that are

38:28

very comfortable. And honestly, for

38:30

$150 a night, sometimes you can find a song of a place where

38:32

you're going

38:36

to lay out under the stars and see the

38:38

Milky Way. For those of us

38:41

that are bound by the city, there's nothing

38:43

like laying out on the dunes with

38:45

just the heavens above you. This

38:48

is something every urban American needs to

38:50

be sure they've done, is to get

38:52

away from city lights at night and

38:54

see the Milky Way. Lucas

38:57

Peters is joining us from his home in

38:59

10-year Morocco right now on Travel with Rick

39:01

Steves as we explore getting out into the

39:03

timeless Sahara. Lucas is the author

39:05

and principal photographer of the Moon Travel

39:08

Guide to Morocco and Marrakesh and

39:10

Beyond. His website

39:12

is lucasmpeters.com. And

39:15

Lucas, I'd like you to

39:18

paint this picture better for me. This

39:20

idea of glam, we say glamping, you

39:22

know, glamorous camping. You can glam in

39:25

the desert. And it's something

39:27

that, you know, Moroccans who have the money

39:29

enjoy doing just as much as tourists. What

39:32

is this glamorous camping in the desert like? Just

39:35

describe it to me. Yeah, so

39:37

if you can imagine the nicest tent

39:39

you've ever been in, and then

39:41

make it nicer with like

39:43

a king-sized bed that's very comfortable

39:45

with like an in-suite bathroom. It's

39:48

semi-permanent. I

39:52

mean, it's set up and then it's like a hotel

39:54

room in the middle of the desert. Exactly, yeah. And

39:56

so usually you're going to have, all

39:58

the camps are a little bit different. Typically, a camp

40:00

will have anywhere from 6 to maybe 12 or 18

40:02

tents. They

40:05

sleep for people, two people, mostly it's

40:08

for couples. They're

40:10

set up to move every few

40:12

years. Usually, the camp will be

40:14

set up. Once

40:17

things disintegrate a little bit, as

40:19

the desert's prone to do, it's pretty harsh living

40:21

out there, they'll move the camp a little bit.

40:24

If you step out in the middle of the night from your

40:26

tent and you look up at the sky, you'll see a blanket

40:28

of stars. I mean, yeah, you're

40:30

looking at the center of

40:32

the universe there. It's just every time

40:34

I'm lucky enough, most people get to do this once in

40:37

their life. I'm lucky enough to do this two or three

40:39

times a year. And every time I'm

40:41

out there, it's just something else. There's something magic

40:43

about it, there really is. I

40:45

remember being in one of these towns,

40:47

I think it was Tinehere, and hired a

40:49

car, and they took me across this.

40:51

It wasn't sand, it was hard to pan. It seemed

40:54

almost like asphalt. And we

40:57

were going out and saw literal

40:59

mirages. It looked like a

41:01

lake ahead of me, but it was just

41:04

the sun glimmering on the hard pan. And

41:06

then like dreams, there were camels, just silhouetted

41:08

in the endless horizon. And

41:10

then finally, I got way out

41:12

there and I realized, if these guys were mean, I

41:15

don't know where I am and I don't know how to get back. I

41:18

have no idea how they know where they

41:20

are. I'm in the middle of this vast

41:23

parking lot with camels dotting the horizon.

41:26

And then we got to the sand, and

41:28

then we got to a little village. And

41:31

then we had a chance to climb up onto

41:33

those dunes, and we had a

41:35

chance to glissade down, and glissading down a

41:37

sand dune on your heels. First

41:40

of all, to be at the very crest of the

41:42

sand dune, and look at these tiny little avalanches

41:44

of sand that you can start from the

41:46

very tip of a massive dune, just with

41:48

your finger, poof. And it goes

41:50

down and it gathers more momentum, and

41:53

it's like an avalanche of sand. And

41:55

then of course to glissade down it. There's

41:57

just these experiences. That's my memory.

42:00

that I want to do again. Tell me

42:02

about your sand dune fantasy.

42:05

So my new fantasy, well it's not a

42:07

fantasy, it's my reality. I asked them to

42:09

put me in a solo camp away

42:12

from everybody. So you can't do this in Urg Shebby,

42:14

but you can do this in Urg Shigaga. That's

42:17

kind of the more remote sand dune. So

42:19

I said, hey what's the experience like

42:21

if we put this tent out in

42:23

these other dudes where I can't see anybody.

42:26

And so I woke up at you know

42:28

3.34 in the morning and I go outside

42:30

the tent and stars as far

42:32

as the eyes can see and nobody.

42:36

No sounds, no nothing, it's just me in the

42:38

desert. That's it. And I was like I

42:40

hope they can find me in the morning.

42:42

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. You get

42:44

there and you look around and you go

42:46

there's no hill, there's nothing to anchor your perspective

42:50

on and it's just this

42:52

vast endless hardpan surface. Yeah,

42:55

that to me I love there's a sense

42:57

of solitude that I seek when I go

42:59

out to the desert that I

43:01

find, yeah there's something

43:04

magical is maybe not the right word

43:06

for it, but there's something intensely spiritual

43:08

for me about that. About being

43:11

out in the middle of you know this

43:13

great creation we have and

43:16

just having that communion you know for

43:18

a moment. It's a beautiful thing and

43:21

sadly a lot of people never even get close to it

43:23

in their lives and if you do have that opportunity get

43:26

the most of it. I want to before we

43:28

wrap up our conversation just a few things to

43:31

help us have the vocabulary. Oasis.

43:34

Do you actually go to an oasis?

43:36

What is an oasis? So an oasis,

43:38

yeah they actually exist but it's basically

43:40

a spring of water that where water

43:43

is under the surface of the desert and

43:45

it's a place where the water has found

43:47

a way to come up and there'll be

43:49

palm trees, tamarisk trees perhaps around it and

43:52

you will find oasis dotted around the Sahara.

43:54

Okay and camels what are your advice for

43:57

somebody who's hell-bent on riding a camel? Is

43:59

that pretty straightforward? or are there some tips we

44:01

should know? You should know it's really uncomfortable.

44:04

No, no, no, camels, they're all the

44:06

one-hump variety here, so dramataries would be

44:08

the, you're going to be, I don't

44:10

know, litigious about it, be a dramatary.

44:12

But to get up on a camel,

44:14

it's an awkward sort of mount, you

44:17

know, it's not like riding a horse

44:19

at all. And I would

44:21

say the other thing is if you're riding a camel for the

44:23

first time, hang on, go with the

44:25

flow, and remember that the camel

44:27

knows what it's doing. So there's

44:29

a horn, right? Not like a

44:31

horn on his head, but a horn like on a saddle

44:34

that you hang onto. Yeah, for most of them, yes. My

44:36

experience is you got to be strong, you got

44:38

to hang onto that horn, and you could fall

44:40

off and break your shoulder. Yeah,

44:43

people have fallen, it's rare, but people have

44:45

fallen off broken arms and shoulders, because

44:47

you are... I've had two friends that have broken shoulders

44:49

on camels and they're not wimps, you know, so you

44:51

just, you got to, I mean, it's a serious

44:54

thing. I mean, it's fun if you get on a camel, and

44:56

it's just unforgettable, but be careful. Yeah,

44:59

hang on, because you are... it's a

45:01

long fall. It's a long fall.

45:04

Lucas Peters photographs, writes about,

45:06

and organizes tours of Morocco

45:09

at journeybeyondtravel.com. Lucas,

45:11

it's been so fun talking to you about this, and

45:13

we haven't talked about music at all around the time,

45:15

but I'd love to just wrap it

45:17

up with what kind of music might we enjoy

45:20

when we go over the Atlas Mountains and into

45:22

the desert country of Morocco. All

45:24

right, so everybody should look up the

45:26

Kanawa music, G-N-A-W-A. Kanawa

45:29

music is the music of the desert, and you can

45:31

see it in a village called Hemlia,

45:34

which is spelled

45:37

K-H-E-M-L-I-A, and this is

45:39

near Mrazuga, and this is known as the home

45:41

of Kanawa music, and it's one of my favorite

45:43

softs to do when I'm on that side of

45:45

the mountains going through the desert. But

45:47

what is the instrumentation? What does it sound like?

45:49

Is it vocal? Is it drums? What am

45:51

I going to hear? You're going to

45:53

hear something you've probably never heard before in

45:56

your life. It's very idiosyncratic rhythms with what

45:58

they call croc-hebs. metal castanets

46:01

and you'll have some religious chanting at the

46:03

same time someone will be on like a

46:06

type of guitar it's called a

46:08

wutar or a gimbril so it'll

46:10

be a type of stringed instrument

46:13

with chanting and singing and these metal

46:15

castanets doing a rhythm that you've probably

46:17

not heard before. And you're

46:19

probably gonna be surrounded by people who are

46:22

really into it and really know it and

46:24

it's gonna be so new and foreign to

46:26

you you're gonna just feel like holy cow

46:28

this is an unforgettable cultural experience this is

46:30

why I travel. Lucas thank

46:32

you so much let's wrap it up

46:34

with one phrase that we should know

46:36

for a trip to Morocco. You

46:39

have to know salam alaikum that's

46:41

your common

46:44

greeting all around Morocco to wish people

46:46

peace be with you and that is

46:48

what we say for hello salam

46:51

alaikum and how do you say happy travels. Traxlama.

46:55

Traxlama I'm learning Arabic all right

46:57

thanks. Take care Lucas. Thanks

46:59

for having me on I appreciate it. It

47:16

includes an Adriatic coastline in the

47:18

southern reaches of historic Dalmatia. I

47:21

visited the resorts and sites centered around the

47:23

Bay of Kotor on my first trip to

47:25

Montenegro. Here's some of my impressions

47:27

of what the place showed me which I write

47:29

about in my book For the Love of Europe. My

47:33

first dock in Montenegro was the Bay of

47:35

Kotor where the Adriatic cuts into the steep

47:37

mountains like a Norwegian hoon. At

47:40

the humble waterfront town of Perat young

47:42

guys in swimsuits edged their boats near

47:44

the docks jonking to motor tourists out

47:46

to the island in the middle of

47:48

the bay. According to

47:50

legend fishermen saw the Virgin Mary in the

47:53

wreath and began a ritual of dropping a

47:55

stone on the spot each time they sailed

47:57

by. Eventually the island we see

47:59

today was created and upon that island

48:01

the people built a fine little church.

48:05

I hired a guy with a dinghy to ferry me out

48:07

to the island where I was met by a young woman

48:09

who gave me a tour of the church. In

48:11

the sacristy hung a piece of embroidery, a

48:14

twenty-year-long labor of love made by a

48:16

local parishioner two hundred years ago. It

48:20

was exquisite, lovingly made with

48:22

the finest materials available, silk

48:25

and the woman's own hair. I

48:28

could trace her laborious progress through the line

48:30

of cherubs that ornamented the border. As

48:33

the years went by, the hair of the

48:35

angels, like the hair of the devout artist,

48:37

turned from dark brown to white.

48:41

Humble and anonymous as she was,

48:43

she had faith that her work

48:45

was worthwhile and two centuries later

48:47

it's appreciated by a steady parade

48:49

of travelers from distant lands. I've

48:53

been at my work now for four decades

48:55

and my hair is also getting a little

48:57

gray. I have a

48:59

faith that it, my work, if

49:01

not my hair, will be appreciated after

49:03

I'm gone. That's perhaps

49:06

less humble than the woman was, but

49:08

her work reminds me that we can live

49:10

on through our deeds. Her

49:13

devotion to her creation as well as

49:15

to her creator is an inspiration to

49:17

do both good and lasting work. While

49:21

traveling, I'm often struck by how people

49:23

give meaning to their lives by contributing

49:25

what they can. I

49:27

didn't take a photograph of the embroidery that

49:29

day. For some reason, I didn't

49:32

even take notes. At the

49:34

time, I didn't realize I was experiencing

49:36

a highlight of my trip. The

49:39

impression of the woman's tenderly created

49:41

embroidery needed time to breathe. Like a

49:43

good red wine. That was

49:45

a lesson for me. I was already moving

49:47

on to the next stop. When

49:49

the power of the impression did open up

49:52

in my mind, it was rich and full

49:54

bodied, but I was long gone. If

49:57

travel is going to have the impact on you that it should.

50:00

You have to climb into those little

50:02

dinghies to discover those experiences. The best

50:05

encounters won't come to you, and

50:07

you have to let them breathe. Travel

50:13

with Rick Steves is produced at

50:15

Rick Steves Europe in Edmonds, Washington

50:17

by Tim Tatton, Kaz Murah Hall

50:19

and Donna Bardsley. Affiliate

50:21

relations are by Sheila Gursoff. Our

50:23

theme music was written and performed by Jerry

50:25

Frank. You can find links

50:28

to our guests and search the show

50:30

archives at ricksteves.com/radio. We'll see you next

50:32

week with more Travel with Rick Steves.

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