In January 2016, while visiting our daughter in Spain, we took a side trip across the Straights of Gibraltar to Morocco. It was an amazing 5 days!
After researching tour and travel information, we decided to take an independent private tour as we were limited to approximately five days. We booked our tour through Back to Morocco Tours. We were so glad we did. The communication and service were excellent, and our guide, Ibrahaim, was very flexible and catered to our every need.
Day 1—Arrival & Chefchaouen: After taking the ferry from Gibraltar, Spain, to the Tangier Med ferry terminal, we were met by Ibrahaim and proceeded to the mountain village of Chefchaouen. Chefchaouen is known as the blue city for its centuries-long tradition of painting the medina (old town) walls blue, a tradition brought by Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition.
After checking into our hotel, Riad Assilah, we began exploring the Medina. The old town section of the Medina comprises a series of winding alley-like streets where vendors sell a variety of locally made crafts and products. The main streets lead to the town square, Place Uta Hammam, where there are additional shops, artisans, restaurants, and the local mosque. While exploring, we met two brothers who were painting and selling original artwork depicting different scenes within the Medina. We enjoyed meeting them, and, of course, we returned home with several paintings.
Day 2 – Fes: This morning, we awoke early and prepared to depart for Fes. The previous night, the hotel offered to prepare breakfast for our drive to Fez as we were leaving before they served breakfast. However, the hotel staff arrived early and prepared a full breakfast, especially for us. After more food than we could possibly eat, we loaded the car and began our journey to Fes. The route to Fes is a scenic drive 3 1/2 hour drive through the Rif mountains. Of particular interest were the traditional garb worn by various sects throughout the region.
After traveling through the mountains and across the plains, we finally arrived in Fes, also spelled Fez, around noon. The diversity of the city was quite surprising. The juxtaposition of donkey carts against gleaming, modern buildings and traditional regional dress mixed with Western-style clothing was most interesting. Shortly after our arrival, we met with our guide, who led us on an afternoon tour of the Medina.
The Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers an area of approximately 15 square miles (if I recall correctly) and is considered one of the most extensively and well-preserved towns in the Arab-Muslim world.
We entered the Medina near the souk (or market). The first stop, of course, was lunch! Our lunch consisted of lamb kufta (similar to spiced meat wrapped in a pita shell) and magrhebi (Moroccan green tea with spearmint leaves and sugar). There was also the option of a shot of anise in the tea, which we declined. After a brief lunch, we continued our tour of the Medina, which we found fascinating. We saw a variety of traditional Moroccan delicacies of which I no longer recall the names.
Numerous artisans, including the two pictured above, graciously allowed us to photograph them. As we were wandering through the maze of cobblestone streets and alleyways, someone on a motorbike drove through the narrow, crowded streets, apparently a frequent occurrence there, but I couldn’t help saying Bond, James Bond!
Continuing through the Medina, we approached a large wooden door, which we entered and began climbing a small, rather poorly lit staircase. My wife and I looked at each other as if to say, “Where is this guy taking us?” As we reached the top of the stairs, we entered a larger open area that turned out to be the showroom of the world-famous (which we hadn’t heard of before) Chouara Tannery.
The tannery produces and sells various items, including wallets, purses, hassocks, and luggage. These products may be crafted from animal hides such as goat, camel, ram, and cow, all dyed by hand using natural animal by-products. Their leather goods are available in various sizes and colors and are exceptionally well-made. We purchased an unfilled hassock, which was convenient to pack in our luggage for the journey home. The leather pouf we chose is crafted from camel skin, featuring a meticulously hand-carved design, hand-stitched beadwork and seams. Visiting the tannery was a highlight of our trip.
After hours of exploring the Medina, we reunited with our driver and headed to Art Naji, a renowned pottery manufacturer in Fes. Located about ten minutes away from the Medina, they offer a complimentary tour ending at the factory store. The staff showcased their work without any sales pressure. Our guide detailed each stage of the pottery-making process.
After an exhausting day of travel and sightseeing, we were eager to retire to our hotel for some rest. Upon entering the hotel, the exquisite tile work and the grandeur of the establishment took us by surprise! Recovering from our initial astonishment at the lobby’s splendor, we made our way to our room, which was equally impressive. The room was so spacious that a single photo couldn’t capture it entirely, and we mused, “This must be how royalty lives!” Out of curiosity, I checked the rental price for the room, expecting it to be between $250-$300 USD per night, but astonishingly, it was only about $125! After check-in, we savored another delightful Moroccan meal at the hotel’s restaurant and started planning the next day’s journey—a day-long drive to the Sahara Desert!
Day 3 – Off to the Sahara! Once again, we were up and on the road early. The drive from Fes to Merzouga, on the Sahara Desert’s edge, takes approximately 8 hours. While it was a long day, we made a few stops, which made it rather interesting. The first was in Ifrane, a famous Moroccan winter resort town resembling an alpine Swiss village. There is a small town square with lovely picturesque fountains. After a brief stop there, we continued on our journey, with our next stop being in the middle and high Atlas Mountains, where we stopped to see and feed the wild Barbary Macaque monkeys.
After a long day of driving, we arrived in Merzouga, on the edge of the Erg Chebbi Dunes in the Sahara Desert. After arriving at our hotel to drop bags for the night and wash up, we were escorted to our awaiting transportation, CAMELS, for an overnight trip into the desert. We thought getting on the camels could be a challenge; however, that was not the case. Staying on the camel was the challenge!! When you get on a camel, they are sitting on the ground, and it is very simple to swing a leg over and get on. The challenge comes when the camel stands up. First, the camel stands on his hind legs (about 5 feet in the air), suddenly throwing you forward! Then, the other part of the equation… you guessed it… the camel stands on its front legs, throwing you backward! We’re not entirely sure how we managed it, but we hung on… yeah!
Upon our arrival and settling in at the camp, we enjoyed a wonderful meal in the dining tent. The camp hosted approximately 10-12 tourists, some staying just for the night and others for several days. Following dinner, the camp staff, all members of the local Berber community, set up a bonfire for us to enjoy.
We all sat around, talking, listening to singing and drumming, and, of course, star-gazing. We had never seen so many stars in our whole life! Unfortunately, we were not able to photograph them. Then, someone brought out ingredients for s’mores, yum, and I had the opportunity to teach a young lady from Columbia how to make s’mores. She was very excited to learn “from a real American.”
As the drummers took a break, they spread out among their visitors and taught us about their culture while we shared with them questions about America and our culture. I assume others had the same types of conversations. After 20-30 minutes, the drumming resumed until people began wandering off to their tents.
The tents and bedding were made of layers of heavy blankets placed over a frame. We were told to bring heavy clothing, such as cold-weather Under Armor, to sleep in, as the desert is very cold at night. We had planned well and were very comfortable.
Day 4 – Return to Fes: The next morning, the entire camp was awoken early to observe the sunrise in the desert. Everyone was very excited to see it, and it did not disappoint! As we stood atop the dune watching the sunrise, someone pulled out their phone and began playing the theme from The Lion King! It was very timely, and everyone laughed, a wonderful memory. Afterwards, we packed up and returned to the hotel, where we dropped our excess bags. In the interest of time, we took a jeep and went 4 wheeling through the desert on our return. Upon our return and a quick shower, the hotel had prepared a wonderful breakfast, which we ate outside with the Sahara as the backdrop. It was beautiful!
As we began driving, we asked if we could buy turbans at a local shop. We stopped Depot Nomade, a cooperative where local Berber women make items in their homes, such as scarves, rugs, etc., sell them at the cooperative, and each gets a share of the collective profits. We quickly discovered that the turbans are not likes hats per se, but a long, narrow piece of hand-dyed fabric that is folded or tied in a specific way. The fabric comes in every color and design that you could think of. We enjoyed interacting with the staff and learning how to tie them. Then, we saw the rugs.
OMG! They were eager to show us a huge room consisting entirely of hand-woven rugs in every style and size imaginable. We were seated on one side of the room while the gentleman and his assistant pulled one rug after another from piles of carpets and shared the significance of the design and colors. He was clear that we were under “no obligation to buy anything” (yes, we knew it was a sales tactic) while we learned about the rugs and saw all the beautiful ones. We truly did not feel pressured, but yes, we bought a rug! How many times would we be in the Sahara Desert in our lifetime? After making our purchase, a wallet and the headscarves were now “gifts,'” we headed back to Fes.
The trip was rather uneventful, but we did run across one unusual sight: several people standing in the road (in the mountains, miles from anything). Wheree soon discovered a car had gone off the road into a ditch and was resting on its side. I joined our driver as he got out to assist then we (about 8-10 people by then) lifted the car out of the ditch and back onto the road. Then everybody, including the car in the ditch, hopped back into their car and went on their way, a unique experience.
We arrived in Fes at dusk, checked into our luxurious hotel, and bid farewell to Ibrahaim, our driver, as we prepared to catch the train to Tangier the next morning.
Day 5 – Return to Spain: The hotel arranged a taxi for us to the train station. In Morocco, train tickets can only be purchased in person at the train station; there are no online purchase options, so we were a little nervous and wanted to ensure we were early to avoid any complications. Since the difference between a first-class ticket and coach-class was minimal (about $5.00 per person), we purchased a first-class ticket. Coach is much as you would expect, open seating on each side of the train with 3-4 seats in each row. However, First class compartments can hold up to 6 people. Most people travel coach-class so we ended up having our compartment to ourselves.
The trip back to Tangier was scheduled to take 5 hours. Much like the ferry, train schedules seem to be more of suggested times rather than set schedules. The ferry back to Spain was scheduled to depart at 2:00, and we were scheduled to arrive in Tangier at 1:00; however, due to the numerous stops at seemingly every little village, we did not arrive in Tangier until 2:30! We were very stressed!! We quickly caught a taxi for the 10-minute ride to the ferry terminal, ran to the ticket window, out across the pier, which was quite long (and praying the whole way) and finally onto the ferry. As we collapsed into our seats, the ferry began to pull out; we made it!! Sadly, our amazing journey to Morocco had come to an end.
We look forward to returning someday!