The trip has been planned well in advance. Flights and hotels have been booked and confirmed. The count down begins, weeks turn into days, days into hours. It's the day before we leave for our long journey, and we have to start packing. I am still not excited, packing has become such a chore. This never used to be like this, maybe it's age or maybe I am worried about my dad, who was not well. There is always the worry of the unknown.
We flew with Emirates. We went with Save Travel and the package was R26 800 pp.
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| Casablanca airport |
We are ready to be picked up and taken to the airport. We arrive at King Shaka and we fly Emirates. I think to myself that in two weeks, the journey will be over, this is a bit depressing. Then it is time to board, and we are on our way. Excitement starts to creep in. After 16 hours of travelling we finally arrive at our destination, Casablanca. Unlike India, you are not escorted to the hotel building, you have to check in yourself. Check-in proceeds without a hitch. Our hotel room at Kenzi Basma was clean with a comfortable bed and pillows, and the bath area was spacious. We had a balcony that overlooked a beautiful block of flats. We checked out the area to the left of the hotel, it seemed a bit run down, with the smell of urine everywhere. However, the hub of the city lay in the opposite direction. There was live entertainment in the city square everyday. Further along lay more shops and eating places. The Habous District and souks were across the busy street. Thanks to our smart phone we managed to locate other places of interest. We took a taxi to the Morocco Mall and Anfa Place. The malls were not worth a visit, but you could walk to the beach from Anfa Place. I must admit that it was with deep trepidation that we took taxis - knowing that we will be ultimately ripped off, and that did happen in Morocco. But we learnt the hard way - we needed to set a price first.
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| Chefchaouen |
The next leg of our journey took us to Chefchaouen. It was a five hour drive across mountains and rural territory, and then we arrived at this beautiful blue city perched beneath the Rif Mountains. We had to tip the two baggage carriers 40 dirhams to carry our bags up the steep flights of stairs to Riad Gharnata, our abode for the next three days. Our room was in the form of a duplex with a steep climb to the bedroom upstairs. the room was so tiny that we couldn't move around the room without knocking our knees onto the bed base. We were taken aback by the stunning room and courtyard décor. Breakfast was served in the courtyard in front of our rooms. At night we could hear the children play and the calls to prayer echoed in the mornings. The entrance to the medina was lined with restaurants, and you couldn't walk past here without being accosted by young men wanting you to eat at their restaurant. It was also their chance to flirt with the young women passing by. I did have a bit of a tummy bug here, having had their soup, which I am sure was laced with beef. I did feel guilty about throwing up in the beautiful ceramic sink. I bought my first batch of cherries here. There were shops galore, and the prices were reasonable compared to the other cities that we visited. It did rain the second day, and it got bitterly cold and we wondered what we were going to do. But we did venture out of the medina in the afternoon.
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| Fes |
Fes reminded me of a desert, as most of the buildings were a golden brown in colour. Our room at Hotel Across was spacious and had a balcony with a good view of the city. The bathroom had a lovely magnifying mirror - very handy for applying makeup. All the hotels that we stayed in Morocco did not provide bottled water, nor did they have a kettle. Luckily there were shops or supermarkets close by where we could purchase water. We found Fes to be a bit of a disappointment, but we did find things to do. We took a taxi to the old medina, but an arrogant tout spoilt this trip for us. We did return via the beautiful gardens of the Jardin Jnan Sbil, but received wrong directions to Bab Boujloud, and eventually gave up going to the medina. There were a lot of poor children selling tissues on the streets and I was deeply touched by one of them sleeping on the pavement in the blazing sun. At night we used to take a walk around the hotel. We always felt safe. Families and children used to gather in the parks, and with the appearance of street markets, the place became a hive of activity. The sun used to set around 9pm.
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| Jemaa el-Fna |
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| Atlas Mountains |
The drive from Fes to Marrakech was the longest we have ever undertaken - a full nine hours. I was worried about my back and knees, but luckily there were no issues. And we did a lot of walking. The walk to the Menara Mall took fifteen minutes, and we were staying in Marrakech when the temperatures were soaring to 42 degrees. We decided that we will spend the afternoons in the hotel and venture out during the afternoon. We visited Jemaa el- Fna in the afternoon, and it was still a blazing 36 degrees. Luckily there were restaurants around this centre, and we could cool down with a drink. It was so hot and while sitting at the restaurant, I kept thinking to myself how I was going to step out into the heat. When we walked into the souk areas, it seemed much cooler as they were shaded. It was a pleasure to walk around the souks, as the roads were wider, and nobody hassled you. But there were a lot of motorbikes. The Jemaa el- Fna was an unforgettable experience.
We were free on our last day, and we decided to book a tour to the Ourika Valley, which included a trip to a Berber village, a hike below the Atlas Mountains, and lunch. The hike was strenuous and I stopped halfway, hubby and the rest of the group managed to climb all the boulders to the top. I waited at one of the restaurants scattered along the foothills of the mountains, next to a mesmerising waterfall. The scenery was spectacular and lunch was scrumptious.
It was soon time to leave this beautiful country. We had a wonderful time here. Our driver picked us up an hour late, and we arrived at the airport two hours before departure time.
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