Morocco Live

Winding medina alleys lined with pyramids of freshly milled spices, heaps of olives, and stacks of colourful slippers (babouches); camels in the desert and sheep herders in the hills; steaming tagines; intricately tiled walls and towering minarets; and people dressed in djellabas. The images of Morocco that drew me here have come alive in my six weeks exploring the country. But as is so often the case, the surprises and learnings along the way have far outnumbered fulfilled expectations. And most of my best experiences couldn't have been anticipated.

Olives and more

Fresh spices

Babouches

Guesthouse in Marrakech

Moulay El yazid Mosque in Marrakech

My journey began in Marrakech, where I arrived and spent a few days getting my Moroccan legs—exploring the maze of souks (markets), seeking out old palaces, mosques, and gardens, and wandering and eating my way through the famous Jemaa el Fna Square. One of my favourite things to do in the evenings after dusk was watch the traditional musicians and storytellers in the square. Even though I couldn't understand the Arabic and Berber stories, I loved watching the faces of both the storytellers and the crowds circling them, lit by small torches in the darkness, and sometimes having a few lines translated by a friendly bilingual (or trilingual; many Moroccans speak three or more languages) person in the crowd.

Storytime in Marrakech

 

From Marrakech, I headed to a Berber Cultural Centre, a few hours by bus away from the city and located in a small village near a town centre called Imin'Tanoute. Berbers are the original inhabitants of Morocco and Northern Africa with Arabs having arrived at the end of the seventh century. Today, Arabic is the country's first language, although many Berbers still retain their language and other cultural differences. I'd planned to come to the centre to to volunteer, but it turned out there was little work to be done, and so I spent the week with the family there and a few other travellers. 

Baking Berber bread

Learning how to cook in a tagine

Our "guide" for our time at the Berber House, gracious and funny 29-year old Khalid, became a good friend to us all and he did an amazing job keeping us busy, taking us on long hikes through the hillsides and small surrounding villages; teaching us (along with his relatives) how to cook many Moroccan dishes and make Berber bread and Moroccan tea; and bringing us to the local weekly markets, to a nearby school, and to the hammam for a good wash (including a scrub down by the hammam staff). We became a close group quickly and decided to go to a coastal town called Essaouira for a few days together along with Khalid after our stay at the Berber House. We rented an apartment and spent our days wandering the ramparts of the old fort walls, eating seafood, cooking in the apartment, and walking and running on the beach. Afterwards, we were all sad to part ways. However, a gal my age from California and I decided to carry on together. 



Out for a hike



With our hammam host after our scrubs

Inside the Berber House

Imin'Tanout market

Angela and Khalid skinning a rabbit while
Lena picks flowers

Essaouira

Seafood lunch

Angela and I turned out to be awesome travel buddies with similar interests and temperaments. We spent the next two weeks exploring small desert towns on foot and bike, hiking in a famous gorge, staying with a Servas host family for two days, climbing huge sand dunes and running down them, and finishing by hiking and relaxing in a peaceful mountain town at a lovely family guesthouse. It was countless times more fun and easy doing all this with Angela than on my own with great conversations, lots of good laughs, and someone to share the experiences with. We'd both been hoping to find a travel buddy and couldn't believe our luck at meeting at the Berber House within our first few days in Morocco. After Angela left to fly back to her boyfriend's place in Switzerland, I headed north to Fez and Chefchaouen.

Kasbahs and oases near Skoura

Exploring near Skoura

Hiking near Todra Gorge

Servas hosts in Errachidia

Our target





The climb

New friends made on top

 

Picking a hill to climb in N'Kob...

View from the top

Coming down

Mountain hikes

Mountain hikes

Poppies

Fez is known as one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the Arab world and it's old medina area is full of interesting shops, a traditional tannery where leather is dyed in large vats, and many historical mosques, medersas, and other buildings. It's an intriguing place to explore for a few days and I made a few friends there who made the experience for me. From Fez, I headed to the cooler, smaller mountain town of Chefchaouen, known for its blue-washed buildings, a remnant from the Jewish population here in the 1700s who used indigo to colour the buildings of their neighbourhood in the majority Muslim city. Today, Chefchaouen is known as the blue city and buildings all over town take on many shades of the calming colour. Here, I've been hiking, writing, and trip planning in this peaceful setting.

Chouwara Tannery in Fez

Chouwara

Nejjarine Fountain, Fez

Exploring small town near Fez with new friend, Abdoul



Chefchaouen from guesthouse terrace

Streets of the blue city

Hiking above Chefchaouen

Morocco hasn't been without it's challenges, like any other place, with most difficulties presented by persistent touts and tricksters. However, a good dose of patience and some firm, repeated "no's" have gone a pretty long way. The second biggest challenge has been not overeating too much, as the food is just as delicious as I dreamed and inexpensive, too!

It's pretty easy to be a budget traveller in Morocco if you're willing to stay in simple places, bargain, and eat local food. The long distance bus system is also fairly easy to navigate and a good deal. If you've dreamed of going to Morocco, please do. My dreams of this unique country have come true in more ways than I could have imagined.

I plan to end my Moroccan journey in Tangier, the birthplace of one of my travel heroes, Ibn Batutta, who in the 1300s journeyed through huge parts of the world especially for that time period (North and West Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and many parts of Asia). From Tangier, I plan to cross by ferry into Spain and then France, Switzerland, and Italy, insha'Allah.