It started with a plan to visit the vast Sahara Desert passing by Marrakesh, but we ended up going further, all the way to Chefchaouen.
Some background information: Morocco is in North West Africa. The Moroccans can be broken into five groups. From the south, there are Sahrawi Moroccans, Shelha Moroccans, Amazigh Moroccans, the mixture in the middle, and up north the Riffian Moroccans. There are many cultures; mainly that of Arabs, Berbers, and Sahrawi (desert people). Weather varies from desert heat to icy cold snow in the Atlas Mountains. Kingdom of Morocco (as it was called back then) was the first country to recognize US’s independence from The British.
Now that we got the background information out of the way, we can finally dig into the fun stuff.
Marrakesh
The first city we (me and my two younger brothers) visited after we got there was the famous Marrakesh city. This city is famous among tourists not just because of the snake charmers, the ruckus and noises of the Jamma El Fenna, or hundreds of years of culture pot, but because it was the window to the Sahara Desert. Everyone who wants to visit the Sahara, usually starts from Marrakesh.
We stayed at a nice hostel in Marrakesh. We shared the hostel with travelers from Europe. I was totally surprised to meet a girl from Mexico that was doing an internship in Spain - all the way from Mexico...The hostel owner is of Sahrawi origins, he was very kind and made us Moroccan tea at least three times a day. Around sundown he would take out his Guembri (a guitar-like instrument) and would play for us. I really enjoyed my stay at the hostel.
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| Moroccan tea with mint |
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| Enjoying the late afternoon breeze with a cup of tea |
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| Hostel co-owner |
After three days in Marrakesh, we decided that it was time to head out for the desert (Merzouga). But before we went to Merzouga, it was only fair to make stops in famous cities and places.
Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate
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| Ait Ben Haddou. Many famous movies visited here |
Have you heard Ait Ben Haddou? Most likely not, but I bit you have seen it before if you have watched Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Prince of Persia, or The Mummy.
Ait ben Haddou was so beautiful and very calm. Built just from mud which kept the inside very cool during the scorching summer heat. After much inspection and studying its history, we decide to keep going and not waste too much time.
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| Friendly lad |
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| Mud bricks they use to build the houses |
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| Lunch time? |
We made a quick stop in Ouarzazate which is not far from Ait Ben Haddou. It was extremely hot, not much to do, but again, it was quiet and calm and we were told it is much better during the winter rather than the July weather (I guess we were one of the crazy people to go during July).
Dades Gorge
As we left Ouarzazate, our road became less horizontal and rising at angle as we started approaching the ‘Little’ Atlas Mountain. Night was upon us as we approached Dades Gorges or Boulmane Dades. Dades Gorges town is very famous for its zigzagging road, we made a short stop and kept going deeper into the narrow mountainous road to a hidden oasis. Once we got there, we stayed at a hotel (there were no hostels) located on the side of the mountain. And to our surprise, it started raining. The temperature in Ouarzazate was around 43C (110F) and in the high mountain at the Dades Gorges valley, a good 21C (70F); what an incredible change in temperature.
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| Paradise in the mountains |
Todra Gorge and the Town of Tinghir
We woke up early morning and headed for Todra Gorge and the Town of Tinghir. Todra Gorge or Todgha Gorge and Tinghir were as cool as Dades Gorges even though we were descending the high grounds. The city of Tinghir is where the Todra canyon was located. Tinghir was a berber city for the Berber Moroccans who speak Tamazight rather than the Moroccan Arabic. They were white skinned and some had green eyes which was fascinating knowing that Morocco was an African country after all. There were small rivers through Todra canyon that made it even dazzling. But we could not stop here for long, as our goal was the desert.
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| Tradition vs Modern |
Merzouga, A Door to the Sahara Desert
The terrain changed from mountainous to savanna-like then to the desert. The only narrow road was covered in sand as the wind blew it from side to side. There were plenty of shrubs and dry plants. There were also so many wells that have been dug-out but now were dried without any water.
We were kept comfortable thanks to the AC in the vehicle. The heat outside the desert was unbelievable. Mirages were all over the place as we looked outside the windows; no wonder why people can go crazy in the desert – I swear some of the mirages on the road looked just like a small body of water.
As we got closer to Merzouga, we could see many advertisements for housing and vehicles that are desert equipped. We kept driving until the end of the road, where we came to a stop at the Merzouga village. We joined guides that would safely take us inside the desert and bring us back the next day. We were joined by 12 others from difference countries. There were 5 people from China, 2 guys from Germany, and 1 from each of these countries: Italy, Spain, USA, England, Brazil.
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| Camp group |
We spend the late afternoon, all 15 of us, drinking tea while the guides prepared the camels, gathered food for dinner, and whatever else they need. Some of the staff went ahead with quad bikes carrying tents. We were told that we should carry at least one liter water bottle, preferably frozen. Some bought two and others bought only one. I bought two just in case.
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| More mint tea |
Each of us got their own camel. Some camels looked angry while others looked relaxed. Luckily, I got a very relaxed camel, can’t say the same for one of my brothers (he told me the camel was so angry he tried to bite the camel that was in front of him for no reason). We broke to two groups, lined up each on their camel. With directions from one of the guides, we set out on our camels under the slow setting of the sun. There was absolute silence, and from time to time we hear the howls of the warm wind of the late afternoon. The only foot prints on the desert were the ones our camels left behind. I kept recalling the movies I watched and books I read that had to do with desert, like the movie Prince of Persia or The Alchemist book by Paulo Coelho. It was such a great ride going through the Sahara Desert. I wondered how many people traveled this desert since the start of time, and I wondered if it were to speak, what will the desert’s tale be about? I thought our ride was going to be around 20 minutes – I was wrong, it was about 45 minutes.
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| Our camels await in the distance |
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| There I was...standing |
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| There I was...with my arms open |
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| Camels from another angle |
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| With the bros...and the American girl on our left side |
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| Not sure if an albino ant or that's just how desert ants look like |
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| The sand of time |
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| Speaks for itself I guess |
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| Sun down |
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| Same orange backpack from SEA |
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| We split to two. The other group |
I did not realize how bad the heat was, until we reached our camp; my throat felt dry and harsh like sand paper and I wasn’t even walking!! The desert is beautiful but it can be dangerous. We got to our encampment just before sunset. Our tents were set up right next to a giant sand dune that was at least 400 meters high with a side length (hypotenuse) of almost a kilometer. First thing we did was race up to the sand dune before sundown. Everyone joined in, but only couple of us made it all the way to the top (me, my two brothers, two Germans, English, Italian, and Spanish guys), the rest settled for a smaller dune on the side of the big sand dune. On the top, we could see Merzouga’s faint lights from the distance. On the other side, looking past the infinite dunes, we could point out the Moroccan-Algerian border. It got dark very quickly and a light warm breeze floated past the sand dunes as we got down. Believe me, getting up was not the tricky part, it was tiring, but not tricky, getting down was the tricky part – especially in the dark, one wrong step and you will a rolling ball of sand until you hit the leveled ground.
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| Our camp |
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| Our camp from the top of the biggest dune |
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| My brother who does track too this. He beat us all. I'm the first guy in the pic |
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| English guy in the panorama pic |
When we got down, the guides made us some tea and we got together around small tables sitting on hand-crafted berber rugs, drinking our tea, sharing stories, and observing the bright moon (the stars came later that night after the moon had disappeared). For dinner, the guides became chefs and made us a berber-style Tajine just beside the tents. Five people around each Tajine, it was better than the expensive food we had in Marrakesh.
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| Tajine - hands at the ready |
Traditional Music followed. The night just began when the guides who are also chefs turned musicians beating on their berber drums and qraqebs (iron castanets). They sang songs that were long passed through the ages, every word represented something meaningful in their tradition. I, of course, had to grab qraqebs and drums and give it a go as well. It was a great hour or so before everyone dispersed as some went up the high sand dunes again with their smart phone lights following one of the guides and others just laid down on their backs observing the night sky. I had to wait until 3am to see the sky without the moon light and I was not disappointed. About half of us stayed awake observing the other half of the Milky-way galaxy, the beautiful shinning stars flickering, making the night sky as beautiful as it can be. From time to time a shooting star would appear. It was very quiet, time became insignificant, and everything slowed down, slowly my eyes closed.
Was I asleep for 5 minutes? That was the question on my mind when the guides came about waking us up so we can set out back to the village. I realized I had slept for over an hour. It was around 5:30am when we were all ready to go. One end of the sky became navy blue, a sign of the sun creeping in. The mornings were colder compared to the day, but perfect for us to set out. Another 40 or so minutes and we were back in the tiny village at the edge of vast Sahara Desert.
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| Mezouga town from the top dune |
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| Waking the camels in the morning to we can leave |
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| Sunrise |
Breakfast was ready when we got there. Moroccan tea that was very strong (which I liked) and Msemmen which was like the Indian Roti Canai I had in Malaysia. This was served with side dishes of organic butter, jelly, olive oil for dipping, and black olives – great breakfast after a 45 minute back-aching ride.
On the return trip, we took a ride directly to Marrakesh – only stopping for lunch and bathroom break, the vehicle ride was around 11 hours.
From South of Morocco to the North
From Marrakesh, we took a train at night directly to Grand Casablanca. We spent couple of days in Mohammedia city and Casablanca city, enjoying the beach in Mohammedia and the hustle and bustle of Casablanca – the commercial city of Morocco (and yes, that is where they based the 1942 famous movie “Casablanca” on).
Larache
With time to spare, we decided to go to Chefchaouen city in the north. We decided to take the long way to the north bypassing several famous cities such as Rabat the capital of Morocco and Knetira. We decided to stop and see Larache. Larache, a small city, very good for relaxing and laying low, but most of the people go for the beach; we already had enough beach time in Mohammedia so we only stayed in Larache for lunch and left on the train to Tangier.
Tangier – Door to Europe
Tangier was a very famous city not just in Morocco but in Europe. Many people from Spain take a 45-minute boat across to breath-in the African air in Tangier. They take the steps of the Andalusian shepherd Santiago from the fictional book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, walk the narrow streets, and visiting old shops with dazzling colors of spices and fine cloth making.
Yes, the traditional side is still there, but the other half of Tangier can be mistaken for a European city. The city is influenced by its closeness to Spain, it is so close you can see Spain from Tangier harbor. We almost took a boat to Spain, but with the lack of time, we decided to spend the late afternoon in Tangier, walk around the city and enjoy the moment.
Tetouan – The City on a Hill
We took a bus around 6pm from Tangier to Tetouan. This was supposed to be an hour ride, but because the bus is slow and stops randomly to pick or drop people, we ended up getting to Tetouan at 8pm. The city was situated on a hill and small narrow roads lead up the center of the city. Only small vehicles can take the narrow steep roads. We did not stay long in Tetouan and took the same bus that got us there. Our goal was Chefchaouen the blue city on the mountain. We were not sure if it was a lively city or not, so we really wanted to get there before midnight and start our search of finding a place to sleep.
Chefchaouen – The Blue City on the Rif Mountains
We were fortunate to get to Chefchaouen around 9:30pm. Our bus was the last to enter the city that night. The road from Tetouan was a savage one. By the end of it, I had a migraine and felt like vomiting due to the abrupt, waving movements of the bus and the extreme change of temperature from hot to cold weather as the bus ascended the Rif Mountains.
The bus stop was about 10-minute car ride from Chefchaouen city. Just like Tetouan, big vehicles like busses could not go all the way up to the city. We had to take a vehicle like the tuk-tuks in Indonesia. We were lucky to find one tuk-tuk just waiting on the edge of the bus terminal. We were told that there were two parts of the city, the old blue city with traditional houses and extremely narrow streets only for walking, and the new city with modern houses and streets. We went with the old city of course. The tuk-tuk driver was kind enough to even show us places where we could stay. I figured he would only show his “favorite” places so he can act as a third man, but we were not in a situation to bargain too much. We visited three places and we decided to go back to the second one as it was closer to the old city center with restaurants and shops. We were thankful to him and gave him his fair share. One thing I learned from the South-East Asia trip is that it is always better to enter a city during day than night, unless of course you already had a reservation. This is because you will be less tired, and eyes are open. It was around 11pm when we finished our dinner. More than 15 hours of travel and stopping at three cities with throbbing migraine adding salt to injury – sleep was the only thing on my mind.
It was until morning in the next day that I realized how beautiful the city was. We went out for breakfast at a traditional café. We had scrambled eggs, black olives, olive oil for dips, bread, tea (for me), avocado juice and orange juice (for my bros), cheese, and organic butter for dips – for three people, just under $5. As I drank my mint tea, I looked around and realized how beautiful and peaceful the city on the Rif mountains was, not to mention the clean misty air of early morning. The walls of the old city were covered in a soft light blue color. Before we could enjoy our walk, we had find a new place to move to, because the one we got at night was already booked by others for the next couple of days. There were many hostels and apartments all over the maze-like city, and they were easy to spot during day than night. By 11am, we had already found a new place that was still within the old city border and moved our backpacks there. It was essential that we knew which narrow roads we take to get back to our place. I mean really, it was like a maze – some of the narrow roads were a mere 6 feet in width and there were probably hundreds of narrow roads and plenty of stairs in the old city, all colored in light blue – getting lost was extremely easy, especially at night.
The center of the old city was full of fancy restaurants and shops with traditional and modern clothing and souvenirs. We spent the whole day walking around and getting lost to find what cannot be found (I took the last line from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie #3…Captain Barbosa), seriously you must get lost to find things you may never find if you stick to the same routes. But it has become less enjoyable when the afternoon heat took over. It became so hot, that many people returned to their mud-made houses, which were very cool and comfortable inside without the need of an AC. During the night, the temperature dropped, and we enjoyed the night life the city offered. Many great restaurants dazzled the tourists and if you get close, the restaurant workers will try to force the menu on you so you can settle for their restaurant. Compared to the first night I had in Chefchaouen – migraine and feeling sick, the second night was beautiful and extremely peaceful. The city was like a gem glittering on top of a mountain.
Did I mention that many young folks come for cannabis to this city? The city is infamous for the cannabis fields not far from it. Many locals bring food to the table through their cannabis farms deep in the Rif mountains and you really need a trustworthy person to guide you in, because the federal police tend to easily find novice searchers. If you are lucky, you will stumble upon a field of cannabis plants and get a top quality…well enough about this.
On the third day, we went up a mountain opposite the city of Chefchaouen, it was not easy due to the extreme heat, but the view from the other side was worth it. We then visited the new city (modern Chefchaouen) and enjoyed some nice fresh fruits from the street market. Before we called it a day, we bought tickets back to Mohammedia. We enjoyed another peaceful night having dinner in an open restaurant enjoying the carpet of stars away from the hustle and bustle of modern cities. We woke up early morning the next day, again, enjoying a great organic breakfast. Our bus was ready to leave by 11:30am. We took the short way back to a city south of Chefchaouen (which I forgot its name), and a train straight to Mohammedia, again passing Rabat, the capital city.
A great adventure has ended, and a great summer has passed. The highlight of this trip is the desert which I can never forget. I will gladly go again, the people I meet always made my trip extra memorable.
Next Stop:
Amsterdam
