Morocco

We had a fascinating and relaxing trip to Morocco. We spent the first two days in Marrakech and the Ourika Valley. We had guides both days, definitely the easiest way to tour around Africa. We arrived very late so our first impression was a dark, crazy party place with very twisty places.  We stayed at a Riad (hotel) in the Old Medina and were amazed that once we stepped inside it was completely peaceful.

Our first day we spent in the Ourika Valley. It is beautiful.

We stopped at a Berber market on the way. This is really something to see.  These markets travel from town to town and provide all the services people might need.  They sell food, there is a barber and sometimes in the same place a dentist, also a doctor to treat broken bones.  Also, mostly only men do the shopping. Our guide told us that if you see women there they are old or divorced. It really was all men and little boys.

Our next stop was an Argan market. It was totally a tourist trap but it was interesting to watch the old women working through the different steps of opening the shells to get the kernels and then mashing them into a paste. And yes we got suckered into lotion and oil and a lovely tea...

This lady was my favorite

Near the market was a great wooden bridge - Rachel had her own Indiana Jones moment!

Next we met up with another guide Hussein who was going to take us up through the waterfalls of the Ourika Valley. He was easily 70 years old but climbed like a mountain goat. On the way to the waterfalls we walked through the little town and of course some shops. We loved that all along the little river flowing through there were little places to eat along the water's edge.

Parking Lot!

We really enjoyed climbing the waterfalls and Hussein taught us along the way. All of our guides talked to us about how progressive the king is; while a man can still have FOUR wives, wife number one must approve number two then they both must approve number three...  We asked Hussein how many wives he had and his answer was, "Excuse me ma'am, I prefer to only have one problem so I only have one wife".

Hussein with Missy & Rachel

"Natural Refrigerator" - a hose from the river is just spraying water over the bottles

Where you see the covered umbrellas below is where we had lunch. We had a traditional beef tangine. It's basically a stew cooked all day long.

How the tangine is cooked.

When we returned to the Riad, Rachel and I had a traditional Hammam. A deep body washing and scrub. It was very personal but very relaxing. That evening we had dinner on the roof of our Riad. It was delicious and so peaceful. We had kefta which we definitely enjoyed. We all loved the simplicity of orange slices with cinnamon for dessert.

Our Riad was so beautiful and peaceful but if you looked ver the wall of the rooftop, the building next door was not the same.

Breakfast each morning was on the terrace in the center of the Riad. We enjoyed trying the different traditional food. Cakes and pancakes and breads.

Our second day was spent tour Marrakech. It's an interesting city and we were glad to have a guide to allow us to maximize what we saw. Youssef was excellent, he is also a teacher. We really enjoyed spending the day with him.

First stop was the Majorelle gardens. They were very pretty and have a memorial to Yves Saint Laurent inside because he built them.

Next we went to the Koutoubia Mosque and walked all around it. Men and women do pray together in it but in separate areas. In smaller mosques they would t even go in together.

Next we went into the Kasbah and to see the Saadian tombs. They were pretty but not as amazing as we might have hoped.  Palais Bahia followed, like the palaces in southern Spain it’s not furnished anymore but you can see the elaborate tile work and the amazing size. Youssef really stressed that the way kings used to live with their 24 mistresses was not the proper way of Islam. He was very sure to tell us how the Sunni Muslims were good and how much the current king has done for Morocco. He’s apparently very popular. It’s also interesting that when the king is in town Marrakech is cleaner, there are more police and flags fly everywhere. 

After lunch of delicious kebabs we toured the souk time. It is a crazy and intense place. I’m glad we had a guide. Youssef showed us the community ovens where over  200 loaves of bread are baking at once. He apparently can keep track of which bread belongs to which family or restaurant. Amazing.

We also visited where the man who tends the fires for the one of the souks local Hammams work, he also burns the hair off goat heads so the head can be peeled and the skin eaten. Ewwwwww. Fresh goat heads sitting on the step. There were cool places where they were much of it seems the same throughout. We did go by a place stacked and filled with junk. I wish we could have taken a picture it was filled from top to bottom. Apparently the guy can find any tool in it. Hard to believe. 

Another place within the Souk is where families bring their tangine pots to cook all day 

After a tour was finished we relaxed ffor awhile and then walked to la Madison Arabic for dinner. On the way we came to a cordoned off street. The king was going to be driving by so we waited to see him. His caravan literally flew by but the crowd was so excited, they didn't care that they couldn't actually see him. The man next to us was so excited, he loves the king!

Dinner was delicious, we tried tangia tonight and we all liked it better than tangine.

The next day we met up with friends and headed to a resort on the coast. Mazagan is worth the splurge. This place is beautiful and has so many things to do. And the golf course if fantastic. We enjoyed four wonderful days of relaxing. We had met two sets of friends there, so it was nice to meet up with them for meals or at the beach for walk or drink. We played golf a few times, enjoyed the spa, and played a great round a paintball.

Yes! The moms played too!
Jasmin, Missy & Luana

Our friend Luana had some fun with Rachel on the beach!

Our last monring we convinced Rachel to beach walk with us. Such a pretty spot.

The Buddha Bar was a particularly great place. One day we relaxed in the beach chairs, another we hung out in the bar and played cards. Another night we ended up there for drinks after dinner.

The food was amazing at the resort. Both the buffet that was part of the half-board package because it had so many options and the different restaurants. Our last night we ate at the steak restaurant and no one was disappointed!

The kids are ready to go home!

It was a great trip!