Morocco

BeckyAfrica

Morocco is an easy country to revisit and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing how much some of our favorite spots had changed since our last visit. Tangier helped kick off our Moroccan adventure and we marveled at the difference from 22 years ago – the incessant touts harassing tourists in the labyrinth medina are long gone and this port city was now a pleasure to explore on foot. From Tangier, we hugged the coastline to the fishing village of El Jebha before cutting up into the interior mountainous road leading to Chefchaouen. Staying overnight in this gorgeous blue city was the right call because it has become swamped with day trippers in the years since we first stumbled upon it. We took advantage of the peace and quiet that early morning provided to explore the nooks and crannies of Chefchaouen without the hordes of tourists that arrived just a few hours later. A day trip to God’s Bridge in Talassemtane National Park was an unexpected highlight as we hiked past beautiful waterfalls and swimming holes. Next up was a jam packed day where we squeezed in the Roman city of Volubilis (Roman ruins and mosaics), Moulay Idriss, and Meknes (don’t miss the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail) before we made our way to Fes. While in Fes, we took a day trip to Tazekka National Park which was completely missable. The day trip to play with the Barbary macaques in the cedar forest of Azrou was a worthwhile adventure so it made up for the disappointing excursion to Tazekka! However, the true highlight of Fes was getting lost in the medina which we thoroughly enjoyed. Fes was also the starting point for our overlanding adventure with Madventure. Goodbye independent travel and hello group travel! From Fes we journeyed to Todra Gorge where hiking the High Atlas Mountains and into the gorge was a highlight. Then we drove to the mud built city of Ait Benhaddou before making our way to Marrakesh. This lively city was just as we remembered with maze like souks, a lively central square with snake charmers, water sellers, and musicians, plus plenty of palaces to explore. After Marrakesh, we stopped by the weekly Sunday market at Had Dra before making our way to the seaside resort town of Essaouira. After bidding this lovely town goodbye, we left all creature comforts behind and entered into Western Sahara which entailed long drives and back-to-back days of bush camping. Mauritania is up next and we can’t wait to get our fill of sugary dough balls which are our favorite memory from our trip there 13 years ago!

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