🇲🇦 Vive le Maroc

Hey,

I hope you’re doing well. So glad to be back after 2 weeks! Let’s kick in this year like never before! 

It's Sunday morning, 8am, and I’m sitting in the living room at La Maison de Tanger as the morning darkness slowly allows some light to come into the house…! I’m alone, folk music is setting the vibe for what will be another incredible day in my favorite city in the world. 

I’ve been quite reflective this morning as I didn’t have much time to lose myself in my thoughts since arriving here on December 23. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster of welcoming friends on a daily basis, walking them around town, and enjoying Tangier’s night and day wonders! 

For the first time since January 1st at midnight, 2026 is what occupies my heart and mind, as I’m expecting quite a lot from her on every possible level. As I was sitting at this very same place around a year ago, what was ahead of us was clear: we had to clean the house, re-establish our unique and soulful culture, and connect with you in a better and more significant way…! Mission accomplished!

Happy new year to you all!!!

🎧 Music I’m listening to

Ondara - Lebanon

We spent an evening one night around the table, playing a song one after another, and I added this one. From that moment on, I haven’t been able to stop listening to this incredible artist!

📖 Reading highlight I’m pondering

“Nowadays people know the price of everything
and the value of nothing.”
— Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde shared this wonderful sentence back in 1891, and in my opinion, it sadly resonates really loudly to this day. I shared about gold in my introduction, this of course being a metaphoric description of what I personally give value to and highly cherish.

I want this year to be a true and complete re-evaluation of what I value and why, hoping to give valuable aspects of life the amount of love, passion, and dedication they truly deserve.

🎧 Podcast That Inspired Me

Broken Record: Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead

I didn’t have the time to listen to podcasts during the entire holiday, as I was more focused on being a proper tourist guide, hotel receptionist, and kitchen chef during my time here. But this morning, I woke up hearing the very sad news about the passing of the Grateful Dead guitarist and founder, Bob Weir.

I then decided to share a great conversation he had with the also legendary Rick Rubin back on May 17th, 2020. 

📸 My Picture Of The Week 

Morocco was the host country of the Africa Cup of Nations this year, and Tangier is home to such an incredible and huge stadium…! It was such a wonderful experience to walk in the streets of Tangier, seeing all those African flags dancing in the winds coming from the sea, but above all, to meet incredible people from all across the continent.

Alex despised football (or soccer depending on how you want to call it), but as you know him, the attraction of all those amazing people and their very rich heritage and cultures brought us to wanting to be part of this unforgettable quarterfinal where Mali and Senegal were giving all they had to hopefully reach the semifinals, which happens tomorrow!

We were surrounded by Malians, Senegalese, and, of course, Moroccan people all dancing, singing, and screaming for more for more than two hours, giving birth to moments all of us simply will never forget.

💬 Shared in the Long Shadows Chat this week

Besides all the Merry Christmas and Happy New Year wishes, we obviously all shared in grand style being in so many different parts of the world, Alex has been on fire this year documenting every aspect of our everyday life here in Tangier for those who didn’t have the chance to join us.

From people we met and their stories, between a Russian gay couple and the American ambassador’s wife and children, witnessing strangers turning into friends around the fireplace, and of course, to our yearly annual staff lunch where everyone cooks and brings some personal delights, all celebrating the incredible year we had, where I can’t help but become emotional every year…!

What a place, what a city, what a home, and how incredible it’s been to all be connected around those people we didn’t know a few weeks ago with whom we’ve now connected on such a wonderful level. 

As they say in every cafe, pub, bar, stadium, street, and home around the country when the Morocco football team hits the pitch, Vive Le Maroc!

Let’s be great to one another! 

Your friend and Chief Operator, 
Jeff 

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