MOROCCO
Intrepid Travel Tour -
Casablanca to Marrakech
by Tracie Kelly-Freiberg
Here's my Intrepid
Travel itinerary from Casablanca to Marrakech in February of 2011. You can book a similar trip online with G Adventures - Highlights of
Morocco through the link below.
Madrid - I flew British Airways from Vancouver to London to on to Madrid.
I stayed at the Madrid Hilton Airport which was very nice. I then flew
to Casablanca, Morocco on Royal Air Maroc.
Casablanca
- arrived in afternoon and checked in to Hotel Guynemer, which was basic
accommodation, including mice in the walls. It was about $20 Euros
and a 45 minute cab ride from the airport in to the city. Make sure
it's a real cab with proper documentation. That evening I wandered
about and visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral and then went with the group
to dinner. The next day the group visited the Hassan II Mosque,
which was gigantic. It's the third biggest in the world after Mecca
and Medina. It has a stadium roof that opens in the summer.
That afternoon we took a train to Rabat.
Hassan II Mosque, third largest mosque in the world
Rabat -
capital of Morocco. Spent the afternoon on a guided tour and then
took the train on to Meknes.
Rabat
Meknes - We
stayed in a fairly nice hotel, Hotel Majestic. The next morning, we
did a self guided and went for delicious camel burgers, which was great
experience. You buy the meat at the butcher and take it to the grill
to have it cooked. We visited the Moulay Ismail Mausoleum and
a granary. In Meknes we picked up our shuttle bus and driver, which
we used until Essaouria. We left late day for an hour ride to
Volubilis.
Moulay Ismail Mausoleum, Meknes
Volubilis - That same afternoon we had a
one hour guided of the Roman ruins. After the tour we took our bus
an hour and a half to Fes.
Volubilis
Fes - In the morning a
local guide took us on an extensive day tour. Inside the walled old
city (Medina) we visited a Medersa - a school wall and open door. They learn religion and language.
Then we went to a city viewpoint and then to a ceramic & mosaics
works. Then we went back into the Median (the walled old city) and visited
a scarf shop. After that we visited the world famous tannery. For
good views of the tannery, you had to visit a leather shop. We also
chose to add on a visit to a carpet shop, despite warnings of aggressive
selling. It was a fun experience, but then I wasn't the one who
bought the carpet. next we went to a traditional clothing store and tried
things on. The men had a Jelaba party - the men in Morocco all wear these on a regular basis.
We stayed in a hotel
Tannery, Fes
Midelt - The next morning we
headed the Middle Atlas Mountains. We saw a Barbary Ape on the route
at a spot where tourists stop. It's north Africa's only
monkey. We were very surprised to see snow, but it's not un usual
for the Atlas Mountains. We stopped at Casbah Myriam to see the
embroidery workshop. We arrived in late afternoon at our
accommodation in Midelt. We then walked to a smaller town called
Bremmem. On the way By there was a massive canyon and snow covered
mountains in the background. At the hotel in Midelt we had chicken
tajine.
Canyon near Midelt
Merzouga - The next morning we drove 5 hours
to the Sahara desert. We left the bags at an auberge and took day
backs on a one hour camel trek to the camp in the Erg Chebbi Dunes.
We got there and watched the sunset. The local camp residents made
us a meal of chicken tajine. Our tour leader carried a birthday cake on
the camel for one of us. We had a camp fire under the stars and drum
music from the locals. It was freezing cold that night in our wool
blankets. After a sleepless night I climbed the dunes to watch the
sunrise. We then backed up and rode the camels back to breakfast at
the auberge, which was wonderful.
Sahara camp near Merzouga
en route to Todra Gorge
Todra Gorge - After Merzouga we stopped after 2 hours at
Tinejad and visited the Museum El Khorbat, which had historical Berber
artifacts. We then traveled 2 hours to the Todra Gorge. Our
accommodation was about 10 minutes from the Gorge. The Gorge is
along the main road. We were tired and ate at the hotel. We
stayed two nights. The next day had optional activities - walk
through local area or hike to mountain area up. I took the leisurely
walk along the river, watching people tend crops and doing laundry.
We were invited into a local woman's house to see carpet, but this wasn't
an organized activity. The whole group met at lunch time at a local
kasbah for lunch. The rest of the day was free. Some did rock
climbing, but this isn't for beginners. That evening some went to a
bath house. The next morning at the hotel there was no power, but
breakfast was still supplied (stoves aren't electric). We then drove
4 hours to Benhaddou, but stopped at Ouarzazate, film capital of Morocco
where we had lunch and toured Atlas Studios.
Ait Benhaddou- We stayed at a kasbah called the Maison d'hotes la
Fibule d'Or. We walked to the top of the fortification, which was a
caravan stop. That night we watched a cooking demonstration on cous
cous and tajine by the hotel owner and his wife.
Aroumd - In the morning we went through Tizi N'Tichka
Pass. It's very twisty turny road up to 2,260m during our 5 hour
drive. At the end of the road was Imlil. There we left our
bags and took day packs to our rooms, which was a one hour hike or pay for
a mule ride to Aroumd. We had lunch and took a difficult 4 hour
round trip hike up to a shrine in the Toubkal National Park. Some people
book entire holidays here. We had dinner at the jite (shared
accommodation) and sat by the fire playing cards.
Essaouira (essa where a) - In the morning we walked an
hour back to Imlil, gathered our stuff and drove 5 hours to Essaouira by
driving around Marrakech. Our shuttle bus and driver left us at this
point for the rest of the trip. We stayed at a riad called Riad Hotel dar
el Qdima, which is a house with a courtyard. It had a Spanish feel
to it. They carry your luggage in wheel barrows into the walled
city. We had an orientation walk in Essaouira and then went to a roof top
cafe to watch the sun set over the Atlantic. We had crepes for
breakfast. The next morning a local guide gave us a tour in the morning of
the fishing boats and the medina (walled market). We also visited
artisan coops for silver and thuya (wood). The afternoon was free
time and I chose to pay for horse back riding on the beach. We had
seafood for dinner.
The next morning was free time and we wandered about shopping. This
town was beautiful. At noon half of us met our tour leader at the
riad and we went to the fresh fish market in the medina. We wou
We bought fish, squid and prawns then took it to the nearby grilling station
where they cook it for you. They have tables and beverages. This
was the best food of the trip and that's saying a lot as the food was
excellent on this trip. After lunch we collected our stuff, hired the
trollies again to take us to the bus stop for the trip to Marrakech.
Marrakech
- It was a 3 hour bus ride to Marrakech. We walked 10 minutes to the
Hotel Corail, probably the nicest hotel on the trip. We went to the
central square, Djemaa El Fna where there are over 100 food stalls.
The tour included sampling from various stalls, such as udder, sheep face,
snails, chicken, veggie kabobs, lamb and breads.
Sheep face
Snake charmer
The next morning was free time and I paid to join a city walking
tour. On the tour we saw historical and cultural sites. We
shopped in the medina after the tour and wandered the square which has
performers like acrobats and snake charmers during the day. An hour
before sunset we lined up at the entrance to the Grand Balcon Cafe Glacier
and luckily were able to get a table for the perfect view of the sunset
over the Djemaa El Fna. A perfect Marrakech moment ending our trip.
In the morning I headed back on Royal Air Maroc to Madrid.
