Time to say goodbye to Morocco & Africa. High speed train to Tangiers- ex ferry crossing/ should be in Tarifa Spain to watch kitesurfers by afternoon. HA! So much for plans. Mother Nature had other plans. High winds cancelled traditional ferry crossing & we had to adopt Plan B. Taxi 50km to a different port in Morocco & take a huge ship to a different port. We arrived in Algecerises around 9:30 & found a nice hotel-whew! A hot shower felt amazing. Ready to explore—Cádiz Spain here come.

Such an adventure on many fronts.

First time we have taken a tour. Loved meeting new friends from around the world. Loved Intrepid Travel small group(13) and their mild adventure format. Desert camel ride & overnight. Guest house stay. Hikes. Excellent local guides- Zaid. Layla, Jihad. And Hassan our leader.

Loved wandering Morocco- Todra Canyon, High Atlas, Essaouira, Tangiers, Marrakech, Chefchaouen.

Amazed by diversity. Mountains & snow to Sahara Desert dunes to Atlantic Ocean beach. Diversity of people, from very cosmopolitan to goat herders. From shiny Mercedes to mule carts. From lovely homes to modest clay mud abodes. Morocco as a country seems to be embracing ‘moving forward.’ High speed trains, lovely stations, education. And, yet get ready —really ready to bargain with your taxi driver! 😄 And the aspiring F1 taxi driver I described earlier -the swerve &screech were real. As was him letting us off .5 miles from our riad & then aggressive negotiations over taxi fare – after it had been agreed upon. We finally relented – as we don’t want retaliation 😄

The souks in Fez/crazy.

Road closed by snow in Atlas Mtns- unexpected.

Amazing people & food. Marvelous!

YES – I do suggest you experience it yourself!

Morocco’s train stations are wonderful. Sunny, bright, cafes. All the good stuff

Rabat,Tangier, CasaBlanca all had great stations

It was suggested to treat ourselves to a visit to this fabulous hotel. Beautiful gardens& building. & great Kir 😄

The last stop on our tour. Bustling. Not-too-big. Fun. Vibrant.

Started with a city tour & saw a bit of the market. Please zoom in to the market to get an idea of the activity.

Then next day toured historical sites. Intricate ancient tile work – amazing.

Next, spice market

A land of contrasts – last night in high Atlas Mountains – we froze – tonight at beach – we could have swam in Atlantic. Tho – we had dinner instead! 😄

Essaouira – we stayed in Medina(walled old city,) and the sun was shining & it was lovely. Had fabulous fresh fish for dinner & then toured city with Zaid the next morning.

I really should have done more homework before this trip. I had no idea of the varied terrain we would experience. Today we are traveling to the High Atlas mountains – and what an adventure we have in store…

I will start with the easy – snowy mountain tops – blustery winds- hiking to our guesthouse.

Ok – the rain& wind subsided by next morning – and we went for a walk to the community.

Ok – Ellen,Iyad,& Greg hiked a few thousand feet while we toured village & rooster!

Still smiling – good job you three!

In the last blog post – Fez, there is a 17 second video of the tannery.

I very strongly suggest that you look at it. It has views of the vats, drying hides / snd most importantly of the workers & the neighborhood. Here hides from sheep, goats, cows, & camels are tanned. They use processes that have been around for centuries. Such a privilege to get this glimpse. (Yes, pigeon poop is part of the process 🤣)

Let me know your thoughts.

Between the blue city & desert there was 2 days in Fez. One of 4 imperial cities in Morocco. At one time, a capital city. Large. vibrant. Beautiful with a crazy Medina. One could get lost in the Medina & tske hours to emerge.

The Medina is a walled city that has been around since JC. Alley ways are tiny- 3’wide in some spots.

They sell everything – yes – it really is a camel’s head that is being offered in one stall. Clothes, food, brass, pottery, rugs, everything!

We stayed over night in this small town. Scenes ftom the upcoming movie Odyssey are filmed here.

The Medina – walled neighborhood/ stunning & crazy windy – like blow you off top!

Sunrise & sunset – gorgeous.

Wanted to share a photo of our nice & modest room here.