Morocco DIY
I write this report to magnify the beauty of Morocco. A land not so far away, yet already very exotic, where I would never have thought to find such a wide and wonderful variety of landscapes. The timeless charm of the medinas, the narrow streets clogged by donkeys, the thousand trades shops, the colorful bazaars, majestic mosques, sweet hilly landscapes, magnificent mountains and canyons, charming desert dunes, iimpetuous ocean . A soft trip, a completely different world, in only a couple of hours by plane, with little expense.
Itinerary: Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Rose Valley, Todra Gorges, Merzouga, Fez, Meknes, Rabat, Essaouira, Marrakech.
Exchange Rates: 1 Eu = 10.68 dirhams
In December, the weather is pleasant during the day, a little chilly in the evening, taking into account that many budget accommodation do not have any heating. Blankets are available, on request. I really felt cold only on the night spent at the Dades gorges (the temperature in the room dropped to 5°C). In tents at Merzouga there were no problems.
I mainly used the affordable public transport, and bought only a single excursion from a Ouarzazate agency, Talila Tours, including Valley of Roses, Dades, Todra Gorges and Merzouga. You just have to walk along the main street, and touts will approach you. You need to haggle. I would like to emphasize the extreme friendliness of the Moroccan people, with whom it is easy to get in touch in many situations, on buses, in bars, on the street, in the squares. In the souks the vendors are not as pushy and annoying like in Egypt. In the many craft businesses lost in the maze of back alleys, ancient arts survive, in the capable hands of tailors, carpenters, carvers, bakers. Only a few gallant compliments but nothing vulgar or offensive, from the other sex. Even single women feel safe, if they just respect the basic rules of common sense
A tolerant Islam, great openness and curiosity, no hostility, towards the foreigners, this is what is perceived immediately, and stems from the conversations as soon as the contact becomes deeper, defensive barriers fall, and the interlocutors become kind enough to grant the privilege to share their thoughts. Religion and politics seem to be one thing only, the Palestinian issue is not a taboo, but on the contrary is the main argument of conversation, immediately after the usual pleasantries. Almost all the people I’ve talked amiably to have relatives in Italy, some of them are happy and well integrated, with a stable job, other ones are not so lucky. Knowing these stories, listening to the successful experiences, of pain, of separation, of loneliness, of nostalgia will make me look differently at the reality of the immigrants I encounter every day in Italy.
I buy from Atlas Blue a Milan-Marrakech-Milan flight ticket with a certain advance, December 22 and January 5 are the dates. I pay 172 Ee in August, including taxes, when queueing at the check-in I will find out that some peope shelled out up to 600 Eu.
December 22 – Marrakech
Comfortable flight. I’m intrigued by the presence of a handsome young man sitting next to me on the other aisle side, to whom especially all other men devote compliments and smiles. A little boy stopped at the toilet exit tells me he is Zebina. Noticing my quizzical expression, he explains he is a well-known soccer player. I share a taxi to the city center with two other Italians, the first negotiation, 40 dirham is my share. I find a room at Hotel Ali, mentioned on the Lonely Planet, 160 dirhams. I choose a quiet interior room with a window overlooking the stairwell. The hotel is on one side of the famous Djemma El Fna Square, next to the post office. I have dinner at the stalls on the square. I can choose among many dishes, the individual cost of each dish is little, but the portions are tiny. Total cost 35 dirhams. At dusk the square is transformed by magic like Cinderella at the ballroom, it is full of life, storytellers, jugglers, snake charmers, dancers, healers with their traditional medicines, hawkers of all kinds, diverse humanity, and especially small crowds of onlookers. Today I begin a long series of mint tea tastings, the national drink. It costs 12 dirhams, at Argana, renowned and quite expensive stylish cafe / restaurant, frequented by many tourists. On another bar located in the same square, La Brasserie du Glacier, much more essential and attended only by local men, most of the time intent on watching soccer games on tv, it costs 10 dirhams, and it is served with sugar aside
December 23 – Marrakech
I meet an Australian girl who contacted me in the “travel buddy” section on Lonely Planet website. With her, Donna, I go to the station to book for the next day a bus to Ouarzazate, 65 dirhams. The terminal is next to the walls of the medina, therefore reachable zigzagging through the narrow streets with pinkish color.
The rest of the day is dedicated to visit of the city, with lunch spent on the terrace of the Nid de la Cicogne, 20 dirhams, and free panoramic view. For dinner, instead, we prefer a terraced restaurant in the medina, from which we enjoy the flow of life in the souk underneath, a simple meal of couscous and vegetables costs us 50 dirhams
December 24 – Ouarzazate
We leave at 10.00 and arrive at 15.00. Our battered bus, the seats filled with dust, magnificent in its filth, trudges on the Atlas hairpin bends. Sense of extreme freedom, striking landscape, difficult to take photos because of the curves and bumps. We settle at the Hotel Baba, 100 dirhams, located near the bus terminal. The hotel has large sized rooms, clean and very bright. There is hot water. We book for the next day with Talila Tours a trip to visit the beauties of the area, the Valley of Roses and Dades, Todra gorges and Merzouga. The initial request is 1300 dirhams, we negotiate until 1000. I suggest to write, on the contract you will sign, all the services you have agreed for, not to have any unpleasant discussion later. Unfortunately we do not have much time to dedicate to Ouarzazate, and our tour of the city is rather hasty, we skip the famous Kasbah, and film studios. We dine deliciously at Massimissa Restaurant, in the center.
December 25 – Valley of the Roses
A jeep with driver and guide picks us up at our hotel, Our travel mates are a Dutch couple about ten years older than me and Donna. He is a professional photographer, and travels with the complete equipment in a big backpack, the wife is a very interesting lady, that kind of hippy style who does not dye her hair, and wash them with the egg yolks, just to give a general idea. The final destination of the day is the hotel Au nom du Rose, the route to arrive there will be very interesting. The first stop is in Ait Ben Haddou, location of many famous films. Luckily we arrive early in the morning, and it is practically deserted.
The next stop is Skoura, for a quick lunch and a visit of other kasbah. Small groups of curious children trot behind us, at a safe distance. Then, the rough and beautiful route through the valley of roses begins. The sun peeps in a while, the color shades of the canyon are great, the heart jumps, I can only remain speechless in front of this natural masterpiece
In the afternoon, already quite late, considering that it is winter time, we stop at the canyon of Ait Larbi where we undertake an excursion into a steep gorge, climbing the rocks and tucking in some narrow passages, which require free climbers skills
The two Dutch are accomplished climbers. In some points Donna and I are literally grabbed by the elbow and lift by the guides through narrow walls where we have not been able to ascent. We reach the end of a rocky ridge which offers a spectacular view, but the sun has gone down. We express to our guides our concerns about the difficulties of the trail, they reply they have studied us and judged us as suitable. Given our modest weight, they knew that they would have been able to lift us with their arms, if necessary, as it happened. If we had been fat and old, well, they would have canceled the trail. The fact is that we are two clumsy spineless. Donna recently survived to cancer, she takes every night at least 7 or 8 tablets, and therefore is justified. Regarding myself, however, I have no excuses.
I open a small parenthesis on the personal story of Donna, who rather than staying home and cry, goes tirelessly from one corner of the world to the other one. After having learnt about her illness, she sold everything, and left, following the philosophy of “if I have to die, at least before I want to take some satisfaction”. Long before, in hospital, she met the great love of her life, another cancer patient. As soon as they finished chemiotherapy they traveled to India, and from there to new lands. But he could not survive a second relapse. Going back to Donna, any country you can think about, well, she has been there, she traveled by train from Moscow to Beijing, visited Dracula’s castle, volunteered in Uganda’s primate center, admired the volcanoes of Bolivia and the high peaks of the Andes, crossed the Beagle Channel… .. We arrive to our hotel it’s already night, we dine in a common room, heated by a gas heater. The rooms are cozy, and equipped with modern bathrooms with hot water, but unfortunately they do not have heating, so it’s very cold. Despite a mountain of blankets, I am cold, and can’t sleep.
December 26 – Todra – Merzouga
We take our way to the Todra Gorges, a majestic sight, a solemn nature. In the area they have built some hotels. Finally there is a strong sun whose rays dart among the rock ripples vivifying everything. We are left free to wander a bit on our own, photographing herds of sheep and their Berber shepherds carrying baskets of herbs, then leave again to Erfoud, where we leave the so-called civilized world to push us in the desert till Merzouga. We stop at some points to observe fossils. The desert here is nothing but a vast expanse of compact and reddish gravel
We arrive to Merzouga before sunset, we get off at Auberge Soleil Bleu
Immediately Donna and I rush to the first dunes to see the sunset, but unfortunately the wind has risen, and the visibility is poor. Tonight we sleep in tents, on some mattresses placed on the floor. Luckily I have my sleeping sheet
The shared bathrooms are decent, and I can take a nice hot shower. It’s not cold and and we rest well
December 27 – Merzouga – Erfoud – Fez
“God created lands covered with waters so that the man could live on them, then created the desert, so that the man could find his soul” (Tuareg proverb)
We wake up it is still dark for the camel ride. extraordinary experience. The rising sun, the sudden changes of color from pink to ocher, the shape-shifting of the sea of sand, the sinuous curves of the dunes, the long shadow of the few shrubs and camels, an exceptional vision.
Back to Erfoud, chaotic and dusty town celebrated by Salvatores in the “Marrakech Express” movie, Donna and I say goodbye to the rest of the group and jump on a bizarre bus, a wreck held together with wire, with destination Fes, cost 100 dirhams + 10 for the luggage. Long journey, we pass through stunning scenery, it seems to be in Utah, and pretty Swiss style villages (Ifrane)
Following local customs, since there are no two vacancy seat close to each other, we sit next to people of our own sex. I launch myself into daring dissertations with the ladies, veiled and not, who sit beside me. If I do not remember a word in French, I tinker with the Piedmontese. The dialect of the valleys which surround my town is very similar to French. We get to Fez at 21.30. We head to the Hotel Cascade, located right next to Bab Bou Jeloud, the main entrance door to the Medina. We pay 140 dirhams for a double with shared bathroom. Some hotel attendants sleep on the ground, protected by some screens. There are only some dirty squat toilets on our floor. The shower area is on the ground floor. In each cabin there is very little space and I have to organize with plastic bags to hang on to the various hooks not to flood towels and spare clothes, but it’s ok, and I don’t give a damn .. We have dinner at the Le Kasbah restaurant, in front of our hotel, for 40 dirhams. It ‘a really fascinating place, tiled rooms with traditional geometric patterns, ethnic lamps, delicious.
December 28 – Fes
We have breakfast with 20 dirham on the terrace of our hotel, blessed with a magnificent view of the city
I yield to Donna’s insistence, and we hire a guide to visit the medina. so we spend 125 dirhams each to follow for 3 or 4 hours an elderly gentleman who escorts us around to know the main places of interest, which we could have visited by ourselves without any problem. Second mistake of the day: we ask our guide to lead us in a “typical” restaurant. With this this term we would mean a restaurant which is “typical” for the locals, a rustic and cheap one, instead he leads us into a hyper-tourist place, although beautifully decorated, filled with package tours groups. We realize frightened the cheapest course costs as much as our room, and we run away like hell, followed by our guide who justifies (correctly) saying that we are tourists, and he took us in a “typical” restaurant for tourists.
Clarified the misunderstanding, we laugh over it and consume food from a stall in the street; after having taken leave of the guide, we start to wander on our own at random among narrow streets clogged with donkeys, and we arrive to the souk of the dyers following the smell
I am shocked to see the conditions in which these men work, immersed with bare arms and legs in colored pools without any kind of protection. The smell, given the season, it is not very troublesome, but they assure me that with the heat I could not resist for long
We have dinner with 40 dirham in a restaurant right below our hotel. Fez breathes typical North African culture, thanks to the colorful fountains, elegant gardens, majestic mosques and ancient medersas. The University gets great prestige in the Muslim world and it is second only to the Al Azhar one in Cairo
December 29 – Fes
After another hearty breakfast at Cascade, we dedicate the morning to visit the very crowded Fes El Jdid and the Mellah, and then reaching a view point from which we enjoy a beautiful view of the entire old city. In the afternoon, shopping in the medina, and dinner in the same restaurant as yesterday, where with 30 dirham I devour a nice vegetable tajine. I notice with relief and satisfaction that the Arabs seem to love and respect a lot cats, which look healthy, not fearful and well-fed. In fact, it seems that the Prophet Muhammad cut off part of his cloak not to wake up the cat who slept over it.
December 30 – Meknes
By bus (18 + 11 dirham for luggage) we reach Meknes. After wandering a bit we find a room with no bathroom at Hotel Toubkal, in the new part of the city, at 150 dirhams. So and so. With an urban bus we reach the Place El Hedin, in the old area. Something that should look like Djemma el Fna, but smaller, and less flashy. After a brief tour in the medina, we go to Koubbat As Sfara (admission 10 dirhams), the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, Heri Es Souani and the Agdal basin (10 dirhams)
Dinner at Sandwich Rossignol, chickpeas soup for 6 dirham.
I have to say that Meknes did not impress me much. I preferred Fes.
December 31 – Volubilis – Moulay Idriss
Today we visit some attractions nearby Meknes. A shared taxi (9 dirhams) leads us up to Moulay Idriss and from here, we take a taxi (5 dirhams) to Volubilis (admission 20 dirhams). The site is gorgeous. It is the remains of an ancient Roman city, immersed in a landscape that reminds me of central Italy, gentle rolling hills and verdant cypresses. Beautiful mosaics and triumphal arch.
We trudge back to Moulay Idriss, to visit this holy city which until a few years ago was closed to foreigners. The relics of the Venerable cannot be visited by non-Muslims. We are happy enough to take a tea in the square, aware of being the only Western people around at the moment, and feeling on us the looks of everybody else. Perhaps for reaction to this stubborn isolation, in the souk for the first and only time of my holiday I hear echoing Anglo-Saxon pop music, the wonderful “Let there be love” and Liam Gallagher’s nasal voice powerfully spread among the alleys. We return to Meknes with a shared taxi (9 dirhams) and from there we walk to the hotel. The dinner (it’s an understatement) of New Year (so to speak) is consumed in a restaurant mentioned on the Routard guide, close to our hotel, I manage to spend the crazy amount of 6 dirhams, slightly more than half a euro, for a harira (legumes soup) and a maakouda (potato dumpling). After that, at 21.00 we celebrate wiith tea and biscuits in a very busy bakery, squandering other 9 dirhams. Tired from the long day, we go to bed at 22.30, forgetting even to exchange the wishes.
January 1st – Rabat – Essaouira
In a second-class train (55.50 dirhams) we reach Rabat. We have a few hours time to visit it. The instinct leads us to the sea. The massive ramparts enclose a pretty citadel with immaculate walls, vivid blue coloured doors, orange groves and gardens
Short stop at the souk to devour a tajine, and then run towards Casablanca
A luxury CTM bus with 125 dirham takes us to Essaouira, where we arrive at 1.00. The hotel Donna booked by phone, although she advised about our late arrival, did not honor the commitment. I leave her arguing furiously with the owner, I go on the road and after less than half a second I get approached by a guy who takes me to the house of a friend who has rooms to rent. It is Maghnia, rue Ibn Rochd 30. I do not remember the rate, but I think it was about 170-200 dirhams. The room is beautiful, with 3 beds, furnished in typical style, and it is clear that it does not belong to an anonymous and impersonal hotel, but it has a soul and the taste of wealthy people who own it. The bathroom is shared with the hosts and other guests, and is equipped with every comfort. On the shelves are perfumes and bath salts of the owner’s wife. Often during the short stay I will go down to the kitchen and talk to her, and play with her children
January 2-3 – Essaouira
When we wake up we find out that our house is located right in front of the city walls, and from the window we can enjoy a spectacular sea view, especially at sunset
In the glow of the sun, we discover the town in all its glory. Jimi Hendrix is never wrong. Ramparts and towers surrounding a medina full of shops and carpets, narrow quiet streets flooded with light, white-washed walls, cobalt shutters, thunderous sea
The picturesque, colorful, photogenic harbor is a great ferment of wooden boats, repair of fishing nets, trading of goods
The medina shops sell mostly souvenirs, they are a real feast for the eyes
Everywhere, many tourists intent to observe this riot of colours, and bask in the warm sun
January 4 – Marrakech
By bus we go back to Marrakech. Since tomorrow morning I will be leaving very early, we decide to take two separate rooms. We head in the Derb Sidi Bouloukat area, always near the post office on the Djemma el Fna Square, where there are many inexpensive small hotels. At the Hotel Afriquia, with a nicely tiled courtyard garden, there are two adjoining bedrooms at a cost of 50 dirhams each, the bathroom is outside. It ‘s our last afternoon in the city, and on foot we go to visit the delicious Majorelle gardens. A lush garden surrounds a house painted in vivid indigo
Last pilgrimage in the souk, for the last shopping, and last mint tea in front of a beautiful sunset from a bar terrace. I return to Italy, Donna continues her world tour, Cyprus, Oman, and then the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Since then I have never heard from her. Given her poor health conditions, I like to think she shared with me these 15 days for convenience only, and could not wait to get rid of me as soon as possible
January 5 – Milano
Poff! The spell is over, the carriage returns a pumpkin, I am in the cold Milan…