Day 17 Barcelona

Arriving at Barcelona is like advancing 500 years from Morocco. Beautiful clean city with wide boulevards, excellent traffic control, and lots of pretty people. When we checked in to our hotel we used their computer to buy tickets to Sagrada Familia. It is a monstrous church built by the Spanish architect Gaudi. We explored the city a little bit in the evening – walked down to Plaza Catalunya, the Ramblas, Passeig da Gracia until we were too tired to walk. In the morning we set out to visit the Sagrada Familia cathedral. It is an unbelievable big, weird structure. After our tour, we trie do take the tour of another Gaudi structure – Casa Batilo – but the line for tickets was too long so we gave up and went to lunch in a very nice and modern Cerveseria Catalunya. We tried to get into it the previous night for dinner, but it was mobbed. We had some great tapas and wine and then walked down the Rambla back to our hotel for a little rest.

Day 16 Leaving Morocco

We left our Novotel hotel and our driver took us to the Hassan II mosque. They claim it is the largest mosque in the world but don’t say that so not to offend the holy mosques in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is very large and very ornate. It was built in 7 years completed in 1993. After an hour tour we drove to the beach neighborhood of Casablanca called la Corniche. It’s probably the Beverly Hills of Casablanca. Lots of private clubs right on the sea with pools and tennis courts. From there to the airport. We passed nice neighborhoods with grandiose houses. The airport is very disorganized. Our driver dropped us at terminal 2 and an employee and then information told us we had to go to terminal 1. When we got there, we were told that our flight was in terminal 2 so we had to go all the way back. This was a very interesting trip. We certainly enjoyed traveling with our friends Ed and Sandi Collett. It was nice celebrating their 50 year anniversary with them. There seems to be construction everywhere in Morocco. Roads and buildings being constructed everywhere. Unfortunately, the new developments are not attractive at all – haphazardly placed buildings in the middle of dirt, no greenery, but often lots of garbage around. Many of the new buildings seem unfinished and already sort of crumbling. In southern Morocco, close to the desert, the color of buildings old and new is usually the color of the soil – reddish clay. We encountered dozens of police stops on the roads. We were never detained but we wonder what the purpose is. There are donkey and mule carts everywhere. It seems to be still a predominant mode of transporting goods and people in the countryside. There is a scarcity of western clothing. Outside of Casablanca most women wear the long robes (djallabas), which are in all possible colors. Men also wear djallabas, but theirs are usually brown or dark and have hoods. Prices for tourist goods (crafts) vary greatly from city to city, but bargaining is the general rule.

Day 15 Back to Casablanca

After checkout and a long walk to the van we started our 5 hour drive to Casablanca. This included the prettiest country side. Rolling hills and miles of agriculture fields (reddish soil) all plowed and ready for sowing for the next crop (probably winter wheat). We made a stop at a small garage size building to see olives being pressed for olive oil. To our surprise, the press was operated by a large camel blindfolded walking in circles pulling 2 grinding stones. Olives are a huge crop in Morocco. They are omnipresent – fields and fields of them. They are also served with every meal. We’ve had our share. A drive through Casablanca was insane --- cars, motorcycles, pedestrians – nobody obeying any rules it seems. After checking in, we tried to get something to eat, but it was a time of day (3 pm) where no meals are being served in Moroccan restaurants, we ended up in McDonalds. For dinner we went to Rick’s Cafe, named after the Rick’s Café in Humphrey Bogart’s movie Casablanca. It’s a lovely place with good food, great atmosphere and colonial charm. We really enjoyed this last night in Morocco.

Day 14 drive to the coast

After breakfast on the roof, we left our splendid riad and set out for the coastal city of Essaouira. It is a 3 hour drive and after 1.5 hours the landscape changed dramatically. Cities were more modern and the rolling hills were pretty. We stopped in the area where argon oil is produced first to take pictures of goats in trees, and then in an argail oil cooperative to see a demonstration of how argan oil is made. This actually is not the time when goats get up the trees to eat argan nuts, but a couple of entrepreneurial farmers got them into the trees so tourists buses stop and they can collect some money from them. It was quite an amazing site. Essaouira is a beach resort city. Even though it’s low Season now, there are lots of mostly French tourist and lots of shops catering to tourist trade. Lunch was fresh fish by the harbor. We picked the fish from the ice display and they barbequed them for us. We spent the afternoon walking all the shops and buying some more Moroccan stuff. Prices here are lower than in Fez or Marrakech, and the selection is pretty good. Then back to our riad, which is located at the tip of the little peninsula so with our corner room we have a 180 degree sea view. We asked if we could get wine with dinner and were told no alcohol here but bellboy/doorman said he would take us to where we could buy some. We followed him down many dark alleys then through a doorway and up 2 flights to a restaurant which had a bar and sold us a bottle of wine While traversing the alleys we saw a man with a bag of cat food feeding a group of cats. Morocco is definitely a cat country. There are hundreds or thousands of cats in every area and all look happy and well fed.

Day 13 Marrakech

We had breakfast on the terrace then met with our local guide for our walking tour. The first stop was the main Koutoubia Mosque built in the 12th century. We could only see the outside of the mosque because the French rule that no nonbelievers are allowed to enter. Then we walked through very lovely mosque gardens to the Jewish quarter. It’s interesting that the gardens are immaculately maintained, but the paths, steps and fountains are in terrible disrepair. After that, we walked to the cemetery where the whole royal family was buried. They all died within a short period of time of bubonic plague around 1600, The graves (3 separate sets – one for male kings and princes, one for females and one for children) were hidden until the early 20th century when the French found them and opened them up. Afterwards, we went into the Bahia palace built by a high official for his favorite wife. Each site was accompanied by a lengthy explanation of its origins and history. Our guide took us to a natural pharmacy where we got a demo of all kinds of spices and herbal remedies and beautifying products. We are skeptical about their effectiveness after surveying the appearance of the local populace. After lunch at the famous Djemaa El Fna square, we separated from the guide and toured the souk ourselves. It is overwhelming – 50,000 separate vendors. It’s hard to focus on anything because there is so much of everything all around and people constantly grab you to come in and bargain. We did manage to buy a few things, but decided that buying in smaller cities and smaller souks or stores is a lot less exhausting. After a short rest in our room, we went out again, this time to explore the modern part of Marrakech. We came across a lovely huge plaza (Marrakech Plaza), which led us to the main avenue full of nice high-end shops and restaurants. Quite a contrast with the old medina. After dinner we went to the main plaza where thousands of people were gathered to eat and watch performers.

Day 12 Crossing the Atlas Mountains

Dinner at the hotel last night was a shock. When we checked in the hotel was empty but when we came for dinner there were hoards. Tour busses had arrived. Breakfast the next morning was with the same hoards and soon after, we started our drive to the mountains. The scenery was stark and beautiful. We could see mountains covered with snow. We stopped and Bo bought a tagine for 1/14th the price they were asking at the factory in Fez that our tour guide took us to. We stopped in the town of Ourzazate, where movies such as Lawrence of Arabia, the Gladiator, the Mummy, Jesus of Nazareth and many others were filmed. We stopped for lunch and when we ordered 2 chicken pastilles they said they were out so we selected something else. Then they came back a few minutes later and said they had them. We think they got them from the restaurant next door. Then we started toward Marrakech. We took a quick detour to take a look at a very picturesque Ksar Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified village that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Unfortunately, Bo was the only one who wanted to walk through the village but she was outvoted so we just looked at this amazing place and went on. The drive on very steep and narrow road through the High Atlas mountains was treacherous but we reached the peak at Tichka Pass (7,000 feet). The drive down was even more scary. We finally arrived in Marrakech and after fighting the traffic got to our hotel. It is a converted mansion (riad) and unbelievable. It looks like a dump from the outside but inside it is beautiful.If you ever travel to Marrakech, Riad Moucharabieh is the place to stay.

Day 11 Sahara to Gorges

Woke up at 6:30 in prep for our 7 am camel ride. We got on our camels and were led by two guides to the top of dunes to see the sunrise. The sunrise was beautiful and the camel ride was once in a lifetime experience. Interesting, but probably not to be repeated. When we got back, we were served breakfast in the tent compound. Then back to Erfoud to meet with Rachid and continue the tour. The drive towards Quarzatate and the gorges was absolutely stunning. This must be the most beautiful part of Morocco --- red mountains with clay-colored villages clinging to the slopes and surrounded by the greenery of the oases. We passes many little towns with most of the buildings being pinkish-clay color, but surprisingly, most of the doors are turquoise green. We stopped at the Todra gorges to admire the view and take pictures and then drove to the city of Dades, our home for the night. We checked into the hotel (a big Kasbah on the hill) and then walked all the way down to the city center. It’s definitely not an attractive city. We met a young Berber man who showed us his bakery, which unfortunately was out of bread. Then we discovered another bakery that was just baking a new batch so we walked around the city market and came back when the bread was ready and hot. Delicious.