Morocco. Our first time to Africa. New adventures. Memories to be made.
They always say it is about the journey not the destination and for our 2
week adventure, truly it was the journey that made the trip. With so
many destinations we wanted to hit, we did lots of research to how best
to get from Point A (Malaga) to B (Seville) to C (Marrakech) to D
(Tangier) to E (Cadiz) back B (Seville) to go to F (Lagos) back to B
(Seville) to continue on to F (Ronda) and end up where it all started -
Malaga. We didn't want to miss a thing. So to get from Seville to
Marrakech, we took the direct flight with Ryan Air.
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| Airport |
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We were originally going to take the non-local bus from the airport to city center, but ended up sharing a cab 5 ways and it was actually cheaper than the bus, a lot faster and made some new friends that way.
Wandering The Streets of Marrakech:
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| First look |
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| Huge Storm Over the Medina |
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| View from our Riad's Rooftop - BEAUTIFUL |
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| Yup, those are cobras |
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| Big Square, Big Square |
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| Setting up shop for the day, every day |
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| Sweet Treats for Little Nugget (me) |
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| Leather District in the Medina |
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| Double Decker tourist bus, cars, horses and donkeys all sharing the same roads - Look both ways applies here |
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| Moroccan Eats |
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| The origin of our chicken from the pic above? | | |
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| Local Butchery in the Medina |
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| Shoes for Days |
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| No pictures can do justice walking through an alley with horse/donkey and buggy, motorbikes, cars, pedestrians, bikes - and shops spilling out with merchandise on all sides. It is awesome. |
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| Fresh Squeezed OJ is a thing |
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| Cobras - One of the many activities you can enjoy in the square - Monkeys, Henna, Trinkets Galore ... |
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| Marrakech takes pop up restaurants to a whole new level - they set up, cook, serve and break down EVERY DAY |
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| Yard sale outside the Medina Walls |
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| Ladies, all those cute sandals we like so much - these are the faces of those who make them. |
Riad BB: Impossible to find. The story goes like this: Walk around
the Medina with our travel packs with really bad directions & no map
for 3 hours. Sky ready to bust open with the storm of the century. Ask
every other Riad if they know this Riad, answer is "No". Keep walking.
Start thinking, do we just find another place for tonight? Head back to
main square to start from ground zero with our directions again (for the
millionth time). Find a "tourist office" ask them if they know where it
is, or if they have a map. No map but follow their general directions,
still no luck. Go back to the "tourist office" because it is dark now, I
don't want to spend the night on the streets - beg them if they can
call or walk us there. Some guy asks a few other guys some basic
directions - and he kindly walks us to the Riad. On the way - we notice
he's pretty popular, everyone is saying hi - come to find out, it's not a
tourist office, but a Police Office. Super nice guy - would not accept a
tip and we made it to our Riad. Oh and the Riad is seriously 1 minute
from that office and the main square.
Travelers Tip: A lot of Riad's offer to meet you at a location and walk you to the Riad. Suggest going this route if the Riad offers it. Ours did not offer this service. Also, don't be afraid to stay in a Riad, they are very affordable, often very modern and updated and in the heart of the city.
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| The alley we searched hours for - never would have found it on our own |
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| To try to find this door - I promise it say Riad BB on the door |
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| The Courtyard of our Riad |
So - lucky me, I work for an awesome children's medical charity and Morocco is one of the countries we work in. During our time in Marrakech, there was a medical mission going on at the same time. Chris and I had the opportunity to participate and see so many beautiful smiling faces.
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| I helped make that sign - cool to see your work in real life! |
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| Familiar Faces |
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| We had fun playing before his surgery. |
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| Loved play time with these cuties as they wait for surgery. |
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From Marrakech, we headed North to Tangier.
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| Modern Train Station in Marrakech |
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| Night train in our sleeper car on our way to Tangier. We had top bunk. |
