Adventures in Morocco

in this post...how to visit Morocco hassle-free

Morocco!!  A quick trip from London - sun and setting foot in Africa!  But...how to plan a trip there? To be honest the thought of coordinating travel in such a culturally different country overwhelmed me a bit.  I seek a budget friendly itinerary, and this takes a ton of my time as I scour TripAdvisor and Booking.Com and guide books and it adds up to hours of planning.  For Morocco, I know that business is conducted a bit differently, prices can vary greatly, there is a lot of haggling, and quite honestly my sense is that it would be very easy to be taken advantage of.

So for the first time ever, the Larson gang went on a tour-operated vacation.

We used Epic Morocco, which I found in my Frommers guidebook highly recommended.  They are seen as an environmentally-friendly, support the locals, sustainability type organization, taking adventurous visitors off the beaten track to experience the beauty and unique character of Morocco.
They organize a private tour for you and your group based on what you want to do - tailored to your wish list.  They specialize in adventure-type travel in Morocco.

http://www.epicmorocco.co.uk/

They were easy to work with, friendly, and budget conscious as well...it's possible that you save money, because you are not being taken advantage of!

27th November 2013:

On arrival in Marrakech we were met by a driver (felt quite exciting to have one of those people at the exit of customs holding a sign with your name, ha!) and taken to the edge of the market, where he dropped us off to a man with a cart, who put our luggage in the cart and brought us to the Riad El Borj within the walls of the famous Medina, right in the heart of the Old Town of Marrakech.  We had to pass through the busy market place center where there are snake charmers, monkey trainers, orange juice stalls and every kind of handicraft.  We didn't know, at that point, that you should not point or look more than a second at anything or you become the target of their sales.....

our luggage carrier

we could not make it through the Place Jemaa el fna without having the kids get monkeys put onto them, once this happens you must pay them!

Later, we were told not to point, look or smile at anything - if you do, they assume you want to make a transaction with them!  Try to get two boys to walk by monkeys without looking at them....

Riad

we loved the mint tea that they serve you where ever you go 

we stayed in a lovely annexe in the riad, our own little riad really

the kids loved picking a couple oranges from the orange tree in the courtyard

The restaurant Au Portes du Monde included a full buffet of moped exhaust from the street during your meal

We learned that Marrakech is called the "pink" or "rose city" because the buildings must be in the pinkish red that you see.  Now they often use concrete but apparently it must eventually be painted to blend in. These hues of red, ochre and pink, rising up out of the dusty plains to the north of the Atlas Mountains draw you into the ancient centre, a UNESCO Heritage Site is said to be the second largest medieval complex in the world, after Cairo. The medina (old town) of Marrakech is a beguiling labyrinth of alleyways, souks (markets) and workshops where little has changed since the Middle Ages. Truly we felt like we had traveled back in time.

Riad El Borj

63 Moulay Abdelkader,
Derb Dabachi
Marraekch

That first afternoon/evening we settled into our Riad which was lovely and then wandered and explored the area a bit.

28th November:  

After a leisurely breakfast on the sunny terrace, we were met by a guide who escorted us on a half day walking tour of the Marrakech medina. We began with the Ben Youssef Madrassa, then the museum of Marrakech, and then through the souks - including old leather markets that function just as they did in the medieval times with men working by hand and piles of leather ready for trading. Of course we weren't surprised when we were introduced to a carpet shop ("very fair prices" we were promised....yep, not for this budget!!)  and meandering through the markets we ended up at the world-famous Jemaa-el-Fna square.   This was where we traversed the first day and the boys had monkeys placed upon their shoulders (for a fee of course, which is demanded after they place them upon you).

Leather markets

after I took this photo the guide suggested that I refrain from photography of people....he said that individuals end up on websites (who would do such a thing?  oh, me I guess!) and postcards and guidebooks and that it is unfair to the local people.  So, I tried hard NOT to take pictures of people, but I really wanted to - especially the children....most places we went kids roamed freely, dressed in somewhat dirty clothes....usually saying "dirham, dirham" which is the currency of Morocco

I find their doors interesting

We learned that a typical Riad is a wall-enclosed home with a small courtyard inside.  The exterior of the home does not have windows, just the openness and windows towards the courtyard.  We also learned that it is customary to have quite plain, boring or even run down exteriors,  You keep your possessions and any wealth on the INSIDE of your home and masked to the outside world.  Quite opposite of Western culture it seems!

That afternoon we were driven to the Agafay Desert, situated 45 minutes or so from Marrakech. It's not a true sand dune Sahara type desert...but it's a desert nonetheless and we found it breathtakingly vast, strange and beautiful.   We also met up with another family from ASL who has a son the same age as ours. The drive there was curious - along the road there was so much trash, and some sights that make your heart break - run down "houses" and children walking around barefoot, most people looking slightly dirty (dry, dirt roads and walkways make for a lot of dust), tending small herds of livestock or digging in the brown, rocky dry land, digging in trash piles etc...it was humbling.

That afternoon we met up with camels at the camp for a late afternoon camel trek!  Josh didn't care for the camel ride and ended up walking part of it; Jonah nearly fell off his camel....

The Scarabeo desert camp was enchanting, something we have never experienced and may never again.  Riding the camels was exhilarating! Then to return to these beautiful tents and a campfire and home cooked tagine in a candle-lit tent....wow.

Thanksgiving dinner 2013!

Breakfast 

A big bonus of sleeping in the desert is that there's no loudspeaker shouting out the first call to prayer of the day at 5am sharp.  All the other places, yes indeed, at 5 am you have someone literally screaming in your ear.  Well, from a loudspeaker outside your bedroom anyway!  It is shocking for us who have no expectation of such an alarm.

Here's my embarrassing (yes I am totally ignorant!) question:  Are Muslims often tired from being awaken like that on a daily basis?  Do they all naturally become morning people?  Do most of them actually get up at that time and start their day?  Do they like to be woken up at 5am everyday of their life?

Omar, our guide for the last 3 days, was proud and honored of his Muslim religion, as were all those we met.  They cannot imagine any other way.  They feel the women are honored and respected and protected and their families are very happy.  They appreciate the morning prayer and it doesn't seem to bother them in any way.  Omar told us that any woman he married would certainly convert to Islam and would love it, and that his mother would embrace her as one of her own.  Touching and sweet...

29th November: 

Omar took us to Terre D’Amanar, which is an outdoor adventure centre which features a series of aerial traverse circuits (for all abilities), between pine trees, bridges suspended over vast chasms, and the longest zip line in Africa. 

Imlil 

In the mid-afternoon we set back on the road to the Atlas mountains, Omar's homeland.  

The village of Imlil lies at the base of Jebel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa. The draw of the surrounding High Atlas peaks has transformed this small village into a bustling trailhead but without eroding its character. Set in picturesque walnut groves and watered by the streams of the Atlas, Imlil is a bustling village known as a launching point into the Atlas Range. 

Our luggage carrier to our kasbah there really are not cars in the village, only on the outskirts

We stayed in a beautiful rustic Berber lodge. The guest house was decorated in local style and is well-known for its excellent home-cooked Moroccan meals.  We learned that Omar grew up in this mountain village, one of 8 children.  Most of he and his siblings finished through high school, but none went to university.  The Berber population is an agriculturally based tribal community which does not value academics but contributing to the family work.  Typical signs of poverty - missing teeth, bad eyes, unattended children, clothes washing in the river, men sitting idle at a small stand with a box of fruit...we all paused at the sights, and felt like we were walking among a National Geographic spread.  The people are proud of their heritage and do not yearn for Western consumerism.   Even Omar our guide said, "Everything anyone needs is right in the village".   Doesn't that sound lovely?

30th  November:

Omar met us at our Kasbah about 9am for a full day hike into the Atlas Mountains and through some of the local villages.   

We took the "Loop walk" which was a 30k circular route over the Tamatert Pass and into the Tacheddirt Valley, which is home to the highest village of its size in the High Atlas Mountains. The zigzagging path took us to the river, then over another pass to the village of Aguersiwal, prior to rejoining the Imlil valley and hiking back to Douar Samra. 

The day took around 7 hours to complete, hiking at a moderate, steady pace.
We had 2 mules for the kids to rotate upon.  Josh refused to go downhill on the mule.  Only uphill.

Women collecting grasses from the mountainside.  Our guides gave them water and some of our lunch.  The people value community and share generously with one another.

Men wear long cloaks with a pointy hood

Yes the rooms were beautifully decorated in traditional Moroccan style.  In fact we met the 2 French interior designers who oversee the decor.  I was a bit disappointed though because I thought it was just the locals who put it all together.  

Douar Samra 

Douar Tamatert 

Imlil 

Atlas Mountains

1st December:  Goodbye Morocco.  
During the daytime the sun shone and we found ourselves in t-shirts, but in the evening it became cold quickly.  Our friends stayed at a hotel with a heated pool and spent lots of time swimming and lounging in the sunshine.  Locals told us that Morocco is a "cold country with a hot sun".  

Everywhere we went we were greeted warmly and offered mint tea.  The food consisted of mouth-watering tagines and couscous and kebabs.  The kids loved the food.  We ate tagine or couscous every evening and they never tired of it.  There were wonderful salads as well - a typical tomatoe/onion Moroccan salad and an eggplant salad.  We once had a delicous lentil soup.  For breakfast every day there was homemade yogurt, honey & jellies and homemade breads (flatbread varieties and a crepe-like bread), sometimes porridge, hard-boiled eggs.  And there was always fresh squeezed orange juice.  

This certainly was a journey we won't forget.  Two of our nights the lodging did not have electricity.  Having local guides who were truly native to that place made Morocco come alive for us, and I feel like we had an off-the-beaten path experience that we had never done before.  I would highly recommend it.  And I won't pretend to take any credit for planning any of it; I'd highly recommend Epic Morocco.  They will tailor to your needs and budget.  

Saying goodbye to Omar at the airport

Here is what the kids wrote in the journal of "what I will remember about Morocco":

Sunshine!
Habibi, shokran, salam (honey, thanks, hello)
mules
Atlas Mountains hike
tagine, couscous, mint tea, breakfast yogurt and breads, fresh orange juice
Jonah almost falling off his camel
mule carrying our luggage to our lodging
Thanksgiving dinner in the desert
souks
meeting up with the Coes
Omar
smelly mopeds/pollution in Marrakech
crazy driving/bad roads
accropark ziplines and aeroladder
freezing pool in Marrakech
mountain hike through remote hillside villages