Morocco has always been on our bucket list, and when the opportunity arose during our Europe holiday, we thought it would be a great idea to add it to our itinerary.
An easy flight in from Barcelona to Casablanca a day prior to the tour allowed us to have a look around Casablanca on our own. We were greeted at the airport by Intrepid, and chose to stay at the same hotel as our tour group for simplicity. The team were waiting outside the arrival area with a large Intrepid sign to make it easy to find them in amongst the crowd of other transfer companies.
A late arrival allowed us to go straight to sleep and get up to explore by foot in the morning. It’s an easy city to walk around if you wanted, especially where we stayed. Markets selling all sorts of wares and foods, it allows the senses to explode with excitement. Lunch at the famed Rick’s Cafe before meeting our Intrepid guide Mohammad and our 10 other guests on our tour.
Our city tour of Casablanca covered all the sights, including the amazing Hassan II Mosque, which is one of those places that truly explodes the mind, with the intricacy of the tiling through this enormous structure – and then onto Volubilis for a wonderful tour of the ruins and the street stalls along the highway. Fes was our final destination for the day, where we had our first stay in a riad. There was traditional housing which has a few different levels and often a rooftop terrace to enjoy the views. Riads would house the extended families plus the animals on the lowest level - thankfully ours no longer had the donkeys!
Fes was my favourite place, with its small winding streets with stalls and shops throughout. Don’t forget to give way to the donkeys pulling the carts, as they will just knock you over if you get in their way. Our first night here was a traditional dinner with amazing dishes cooked in the local tagines and the chance to get dressed in local attire for a group photo. You won’t go hungry on this tour - but thankfully nothing is wasted with the local families using any leftovers wisely.
Morocco means amazing doors to me - so, so many beautiful doors and I have many photos of them all! There are many different connecting laneways so staying close to the guide for us was essential or we would still be lost within them. Fes has an amazing traditional tannery where you can look at the process from above and learn how the leather is coloured in the traditional way. They hand out a large sprig of mint for you to use while looking, as the smell is anything but pleasant!
Intrepid use midsize 12-seater vans for their trips around Morocco, with luggage packed in the back - so smaller suitcases are a great idea, as you are climbing stairs to your rooms in the riads – plus the cobblestone streets are not easy to drag bigger suitcases on. On arrival, Intrepid arranged for donkeys and carts to carry our luggage but on departure it is often up to you to pull it back to the van, which can’t get into the old towns due to the narrow streets.
Off to the desert we go, we wrapped ourselves up in local scarves before departing to help with the sand we were about to experience out there. So much fun and again the colours are amazing!
Although some of the days are long in the van you stop many times along the way for comfort, lunch, photo opportunities and greeting the locals on their stalls.
Our desert camp arose from what appeared like nowhere with no signs on the highway to be seen, our driver just took a left turn and into the sand dunes we headed. We were staying in this amazing desert tented ‘hotel’ with ensuites in our tents and the traditional set up, was one for the imagination. It was pretty windy when we were getting ready for our camel ride, so Mohammad helped us all tie our scarves to protect our faces from the sand before we headed off into the sand dunes for a sunset that won’t be forgotten. Truly amazing!
The landscape throughout Morocco is like nothing I had seen before - and the sheer volume of photos I now have can pay testament to this. Every bend and every mountain top show the beauty of this vast, barren landscape.
Toudgha El Oulia was our stop when heading back toward Marrakesh from the desert - and as it turns out, it’s where Mohammad was born and lives. A beautifully green location along the river between the mountains, offering another perspective we had not seen. It's a beautiful small town, but with so much to offer if you wanted to explore, and even rock climb the amazing mountains that surround it. I found another ‘friend’ selling his scarves and he wrapped me up, and made us all so colourful! Honestly, if I had room in my suitcase I would have bought more.
We passed by the rose water factories and amazing oil region where we may have picked up some wonderful products (they were only small). Then, onto Marrakesh we go.
Wow, what a city – so many market stalls and a huge main square where you can be charmed by rattle snakes, city sellers, a food store offering cooked sheep heads (a local delicacy as the lineup was never ending) and alike. We could have definitely spent more time here with so many different areas to explore, but our tour was coming to an end and it was time to head back to the land of work.
Intrepid’s small-group tours take you into areas many of the larger coaches miss, and with only 12 people on the tour you will all get along so well, and get to know each other and make wonderful new friends from around the globe. Their staff really can’t do any more for you, and any requests you have they will do their very best to help with.
So many colours, stalls, amazing people and views – Morocco is tempting for the senses in all the right ways! For the shoppers, there is so much to choose from - rugs, oils, leather goods, spices and pottery which can all be shipped home for you at a small cost :)
Travel far and wide and explore this amazing planet we live on.
Cathy.