MOROCCO. certainly blogworthy.

As our 10 day trip to Morocco with our tow Moroccan friends, Tarik and Hassane, was fast approaching, Kaitlin and I quickly realized that it was not all that easy to prepare for a trip that we had not planned and organized ourselves. Truth is, we’ve gotten very comfortable with OUR way of doing things, and all the more comfortable with being in control of our travel plans and decisions. Giving up that control would prove to be a good test of patience over the next week and a half…
That being said, let me start again by saying that the trip was incredible – unforgettable, eye opening, educational (for everyone involved I think), and eventually even relaxing. The four of us had a great time together, and Kaitlin and I couldn’t have been more lucky to be traveling with Tarik and Hassane in their ‘home’. They made great ‘guides’, although they didn’t like us calling them that… ☺

The two nights of the trip were spent at Tarik’s home in Casablanca. His family was amazing and hospitable, we felt right at home from the moment we walked in the door. Tarik’s mother cooked for us continually, delicious meal after delicious meal just kept appearing… so we kept eating! Kaitlin and I tried to help out in the kitchen, and his mom let us... occasionally. Tarik’s dad spent one day taking us on a great tour of the city, hitting some of the greatest spots – ancient and modern alike – in Casablanca.
tarik's dad

mosque hassane II

trik's family

After two nights, we headed to Rabat to spend some time with Hassane’s family and to attend a wedding of one of Hassane’s high school friends. Upon arrival to his home we were fed (of course) and shortly after the amazing meal, the dress-up festivities began. (Kaitlin and I had NOTHING to wear to a traditional Moroccan wedding. So, Hassane’s sister and family took on the challenge of outfitting us completely – and then proceeded to take the liberty of dressing us up in all kinds of traditional clothing… just for fun? They were so very gracious with us, and let us take LOTS of pictures.) After a good hour of dress up and photo shoots, we got back in our normal clothes, hopped in a car, and headed out to a forested area outside the city where Hassane’s family and a lot of the Berber community in Rabat gather every Sunday to practice traditional music (the Berber people of Morocco could be compared to the Native Americans – they were the tribal cultures that existed long before the Arabs arrived in Morocco. Although many families have moved away from their rural villages and into the cities, they still gather to practice and celebrate their traditional culture.) There was tons to do and see, and the music (a drum beat with singing and chanting performed by a circle of men doing all kinds of crazy shoulder dances) was incredible.

hassane's family

dress up time!

berber dancing

heating the drums

Hassane's friend, sister, and cousin

all wedding ready

can you guess which one is the bride??
(she's wearing orange..)

little girls dancing

The next day, we were off to Marrakesh. This was by far the most touristy city I have seen in Morocco, but it was still great to see all it had to offer. The main plaza in the heart of the ancient Medina was full of stands selling fresh squeezed orange juice and dried fruit and nuts of all kinds. At night the square came alive with hundreds of smaller food stands (hassane ate some snails… we weren’t sure our stomachs could have handled it…), snake charmers, people with monkeys, musicians, henna artists… the WORKS. It was like Morocco’s Disneyland. And the coolest part to me was that the plaza wasn’t full of ‘white’ people! The crowds were mostly Moroccans who had come out for dinner or a bit of entertainment. A very cool setting, even more beautiful at night. The markets of Marrakesh were beautiful as well, but we soon learned to save our shopping for another town since most of the prices in Marrakesh were at least double the prices elsewhere.

lunch in Marrakesh

MONKEYS!

Marrakesh markets

our orange juice guy. just 30 cents a glass.

After two nights, we hopped on a bus and headed down to Essaouira, a small city located right on the ocean. Our seaside apartment was beautiful, complete with breakfast on the terrace each morning. Pictures give a better descrptian that I could…

Our Terrace

view from the apartment

essouaira port

We found a great café, went back twice to enjoy their mint tea ☺

playing with kitties

We spent one whole day on a beach about 20 km outside of town where we ate an amazing lunch of fresh seafood and got to take a stroll on a couple of camels – a very great day.

our lunch spot on the beach

LOTS of shopping in Essaouira, the wood artisans were amazing – really beautiful stuff!

Essaouira sunset
AND, after three nights on the beach, we hopped back on a bus and made our way all the way back to Casablanca where we spent another two nights with Tarik’s family before flying back to paris.

Mailbox in casablanca. a bit confusing...

a couple lengthy busrides

traveling joys: miniature taxis.