Morocco Days 1-3

On Saturday we boarded a plane to Morocco. It is a major holiday week in Basel so we decided to use the time to get away. It was great to land in a place where it was 70 degrees instead of 30 (although I think the weather in Basel has much improved since we've left. Hmph). Morocco is a place I never thought I'd visit and knew very little about, so this was definitely going to be an adventure.

We decided to spend the first 3 days of our trip in the city of Marrakech. I had read that there were a lot of interesting things to see and do there. We stayed in the Medina (also known as the "old city") in a traditional Moroccan Riad. When we arrived, the Medina seemed so hectic. It was full of people going about their daily lives of shopping, cooking and visiting. The streets were tiny and very maze-like. As we walked to our Riad (you had to walk because a normal sized car could not fit through these streets), I was wondering where the heck we were going and how were we ever going to find this place again. Along the streets were all these doors that seemed very random to me. We later found out these are all houses. The place where we stayed was one of these random doors but the door opened up to a beautiful, tranquil hotel with 12 rooms and a pool in the middle of it all. It was basically a bed and breakfast but Moroccan style.

We spent one day with a tour guide who took us to all the major sites. It was a fascinating day. Marrakech is so intricate. We visited the Botanical Gardens, the street markets and the Djemma el Fna square. The markets were especially interesting because our guide said everything is made in Morocco and as we walked deeper into the stalls, you saw all the goods being made. There was everything from tanning leather to painting pictures. This is where all the local people shop for shoes, clothes, dishes and other necessities so it was a busy place. The colors were incredible and I was amazed at the sheer volume of stuff within such small spaces.

Exploring the native plant life

The Markets

All Olives!!!

Our second day was spent visiting the Ourika River Valley. I wasn't sure how the day was going to go because it was a lot of time in the car. I'm so glad we went. This was my favorite day so far. We went from a dusty, desert city to a lush valley with the snowy Atlas Mountains in the background. Along the drive we saw the Berber people (considered the first people in Morocco) tending to their animals and homes. We saw a lot of women farming and donkeys carrying cart loads of goods. There were handicrafts for sale on the side of the road and lots of goats, camels and horses to see (Mickey's favorite!).

We arrived yesterday in the seaside city of Essaouira where we will spend a few days relaxing and visiting the beach. We accidentally left our stroller in the back of a taxi yesterday so we won't be doing any long walking treks (and yay! I get to go stroller shopping when we get home) but that's ok. We are definitely enjoying the beauty of the ocean and having some down time together. Hopefully the second half of our trip is as wonderful as the first. Pictures and an update to come.

xoxo