A few of us leaving Marrakech later in the day walked to Menara Garden in the morning, a popular local hangout. We unknowingly took the less scenic route through the industrial area on the way over but its lagoon and villa-style pavilion offered a peaceful retreat. The view of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains in the background was incredible; too bad it was a bit hazy that day. We walked back along Mohammed VI Ave. It is lined with well-manicured shrubs, flowers, and has many high end hotels and very expensive cars. I had my last Moroccan chicken couscous served in a [View Full Entry]

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In the morning we had guided tours of Koutoubia Mosque, Saddian Tombs and Bahia Palace. The Moorish-style mosque dated back to the early 12th century and was a model for the Hassan Tower in Rabat and the Giralda in Seville. If you look carefully, the minaret is topped by four orbs instead of three. The extra one was offered by the mother of the Saadian sultan Ahmed el Mansour Edhabi in penance for fasting days she missed during Ramadan. We had a quick walk through of the souks before reaching Jemma El fna. Some people say that you have not been [View Full Entry]

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A short drive today took us to Marrakech. It is one of the four Imperial Cities. It is also known as the Red City because of the terracotta construction of many of its buildings; city of gardens for the many gardens. My first impression was not favourable because it was noisy and air was polluted from tailpipe emissions. In the afternoon we walked to Majorelle Gardens, the resting place of Yves St. Laurent. The visitor area was much smaller than the garden’s confines on the map but it was a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of the city. The [View Full Entry]

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In the morning we walked along the beach back to the medina. Essaouira is also known as “Windy City Africa” and draws hundreds of surfers. In addition to wind surfing, you can also kite surf, sail, quad or if you haven’t had enough of camels yet ride camels. I was going to buy a rug if the price was right. After visiting a few shops J&M got a large rug for about 1/3 of the asking price. I figured I could piggyback on the deal and get something that looked nice. However, like a guidebook pointed out, many shops are willing [View Full Entry]

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Early morning hike from the gite back down to Imlil was invigorating and we encountered a Berber shepherd and his herd of goats. It was back on the road again, driving through Marrakech to reach the seaside town of Essaouira. Along the way there were many argan aka goat trees, a thorny tree whose nut is much valued for everything from dip for homemade bread, protection for skin and acne treament. The argan tree only grows in Morocco and Mexico and due to over exploitation argan forests here are slowing receding. Hopefully with the UNESCO designation of world biosphere reserve, the [View Full Entry]

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Another long drive today took us into the High Atlas Mountains with some stunning scenery along the way. Our starting point was Imlil, a village filled with guides, hikers and equipment rental places. We had a 1 - 1.5 hr leisurely walk through some mountainous terrain, flowing streams with fresh snow runoffs, and fields of wild flowers - Irises, poppies etc - to reach a village called Armed where our gite (guest house) is located. We could see Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa at 4165m, in the distance. The gite was better equipped than I had expected - [View Full Entry]

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Even after a thorough cleaning last night - albeit with a weak shower - I still had sand everywhere. We made a quick stopover in Dades Gorge. There are rock formations called “monkeys’ fingers” that look more like gorillas’ fingers to me. Our destination today is Ait Ben Haddou, along the Route of 1000 Kasbahs and Ouarzazate, an area for many film productions such as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Alexander. Apparently a new video game called Prince of Persia also used this area as its backdrop. Ait Ben Haddou itself is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage [View Full Entry]

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I heard the morning call to prayers around 05:00hr (must have been from Merzouga) and got up for another sunrise in the desert. This one was better because it wasn’t cloudy. It was back on the camels again to go back to the auberge for breakfast and get cleaned up. About half way back I was kind of numb from the waist down from camel riding but I decided to tough it out. Some people decided to ditch their camels and walk instead near the end. After a quick breakfast and a refreshing shower we were back on the road again. [View Full Entry]

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Some of us got up at 05:30AM to see sunrise over the dunes. It wasn’t terribly exciting because it was somewhat cloudy, but since I was up I figured that I would tackle a 140m high sand dune that didn’t look very far away. The entire trip took close to an hour but it was very rewarding to reach the top! Got back just in time for breakfast which consisted of dates, olives, flat bread, hard boiled eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice. Shortly after we headed out again to check out the desert irrigation system and a quick walk around [View Full Entry]

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Today was a LONG driving day (8:00 - 19:00) because we had to make it all the way to Merzouga. We made a few stops along to way to be wowed by the scenery as we drove over the Middle Atlas mountains and to stretch our legs. Ifrane aka Little Switzerland was one of the stops. Built in 1929 for French expatriate diplomats and functionaries, it was so named because it looks like a Swiss town with its many alpine chalets. We stopped in a small town for a break and ended up eating lunch there. A few people had tagines, [View Full Entry]

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