Friday, May 18, 2018

Morocco! - part 1

I recently had an unexpected opportunity to visit Morocco with some friends, and so I jumped at the chance to spend 10 days exploring a new Country and my first visit to Africa.



It was a whirlwind tour that overwhelmed and delighted my senses. I flew into Casablanca (via Atlanta and Paris), then took a five-hour train ride up to Tangier to meet up with my friends who were flying in from Amsterdam. I had a few hours to explore the beach and see the Strait of Gibraltar. When my friends arrived, we took a taxi to Chefchaouen, arriving after midnight - making it a 36+ hour travel day for me!
Beach at Tangier
Chefchaouen hillside
Chefchaouen street
Chefchaouen - the Blue City
We had a delicious breakfast on the rooftop of our guest house before heading out to wander the streets of Chefchaouen, known as the Blue City. Stories say the Jewish community began painting their houses blue, and soon everyone else did so too. Others say they're painted blue to keep the mosquitoes away, and still others say it's to represent the sea. Regardless of the reason, it is a strikingly beautiful little village nestled in the Rif mountains. From there we hopped on a bus for a five-hour ride to Fes where we had two days to explore. Fes has an ancient medina built of a crazy maze of winding roads that are barely wide enough for a donkey, and there were many of them! The oldest university in the world, Al Quaraouiyine, which was started by a woman can be found in Fes, and it is also well-known for its many tanneries. The leather tanning process was fascinating, and gave me a whole new appreciation for the time and skill involved in preparing leather to be used to make products. I had a hard time resisting all of the shoes, and I did come home with a new leather bag!

Donkeys have the right-of-way

Tannery

Covered Market
Our last evening in Fes, we took a taxi to the famous Blue Gate and wandered through the medina. As we were leaving, we found our way through the medina to the farmers market, then to the flea market, and finally into a courtyard filled with locals sitting around with their families watching the birds swooping as darkness fell. It was magical!

The Blue Gate in Fes
Early the next morning we were picked up by our hired guide and we drove through the Atlas Mountains. There were apple orchards, olive groves, wild monkeys, date palms as far as the eye could see, and nomads roaming the hills and herding their sheep. The monkeys may be wild, but they sure aren't shy. They will take peanuts right out of your hand.... expect I wasn't too keen on getting that close, so was happy to just take pictures.

         


Shepherd in the hills

Nomad dwelling 

River of Date Palms
After driving through the picturesque mountains, we arrived in the desert - the pinnacle of the trip! Our riad (hotel) was a lovely place in Merzouga right at the base of the Dunes and just 20km from the Algerian border. We were able to walk out the back door  into the Dunes and watch the sun set. It was beautiful and so very quiet. 


Courtyard view from my room

View from the rooftop - yep, there's a pool!

A few steps away in the backyard

To keep this from being ridiculously long, I'll write a second post for the second half of the trip.
To be continued...

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