Go Global : September 2014

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.


Airport

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:

First look

Huge Storm Over the Medina

View from our Riad's Rooftop - BEAUTIFUL

Yup, those are cobras

Big Square, Big Square

Setting up shop for the day, every day

Sweet Treats for Little Nugget (me)

Leather District in the Medina

Double Decker tourist bus, cars, horses and donkeys all sharing the same roads - Look both ways applies here

Moroccan Eats


The origin of our chicken from the pic above?

Local Butchery in the Medina

Shoes for Days

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.

Fresh Squeezed OJ is a thing


Cobras - One of the many activities you can enjoy in the square - Monkeys, Henna, Trinkets Galore ...

Marrakech takes pop up restaurants to a whole new level - they set up, cook, serve and break down EVERY DAY

Yard sale outside the Medina Walls

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.

The alley we searched hours for - never would have found it on our own

To try to find this door - I promise it say Riad BB on the door

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.