Finale

The final morning 

We loaded the bus on our last 4 hr ride to Casablanca.  To everyone’s surprise it was covered with a marine fog.  A full tour of the  Hassan II mosque which I picture on my first afternoon when it was sunny.  This time we toured the interior with our our personal guide and learned a lot about the Islam religion and their relationship with mosque.  This is the 2nd or 3 rd largest mosque in the Muslim world and will hold 25,000 people on the inside and another 40,000 outside in the courtyard.

That evening I had a beautiful suite on the top floor of a Spa hotel and took it easy.

So Morroco as a new experience for me and I must admit, even the experienced traveler that I am, I could have never made it without a group and guide.

I think 8 full days were  a little too much for me, but the highlights of the country are spread out and it takes a while to drive the country.  One could fly in and out of Marrakech, and just skip Casablanca and commute by local air to Fez and or Tangier and see most of the country. But the only way to get to the Desert and dunes is by driving and I would not have given that up.  Watching the sunset and rise over the desert sand will stick with me for a long time.

Our tour director Bren and her company Cherg Expeditions of Marrakech was wonderful handling every little detail. 

Photos Here

The Desert to Marrakesh

We left the desert camp driving south to Marrakesh.  We were between the two ranges of the Atlas Mountains which contains an elongated oasis.  Oasis are areas of vegetation in the middle of the desert where there is a water table running bellow the surface that the vegetation has found.  These appear near mountains as they contain the runoff from the snowpack.

The largest film studio in Africa is along the way and we stoped for a quick photo op. You can see the list of films and tv shows that were produced here.  Then onward to the Kasbah where the film people stay.  This is a very historic Kasbah as it is the oldest documented one in the desert of Morocco.  There is a small structure built at the top of a 300 ft hill which we climbed.  This had been constructed as a money exchange when built thousand years ago.  Recently it suffered damage due to the earthquake.  You can see the damage and we saw more damage along the roadway as we crossed out of the Atlas range into Marrakesh.  There we checked in to a wonderful riad for a 2 night stay.  We had a big group dinner of Tangine and Couscous which is the native dish.

The following morning we were the first to visit a Berber pharmacy.  This would be what we call naturopathic and they put on quite a sales demo.  It reminded me of the “sham-wow” commercial.  The guy must have sold us 2-5,000$ worth of product in 45 minutes.  The Jardin Majorelle which is a beautiful man made garden which reportedly was a favorite spot of Yves St Laurent.  Another historic riad and then lunch near the town square.

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A Camel Ride

 Possibly the highlight of the trip    

Was a camel ride through the dessert to a camp in an oasis. First we drove south and crossed  a branch of the Atlas  mountains.  This mountain chain cross  Morocco from NE to SW and was the source of the infamous earthquakes last month.  We didn’t witness any damage as that was all in the far southern region of the country 

We stopped in a small roadside village for a presentation of Berber music and couscous followed by a large lunch.

Then it was onward to meet Clyde the camel for an hour ride across the desert.

We watched the sunset from a sand dune and then into our camp.  This is a luxury camp with full toilet, large shower and large comfortable bedding.  Dinner was served in a wonderful dining room.  We closed the evening at the campfire listening to some Berber music under the night sky.

Click Here for the Camel

Morroco

 Followings my Lisbon visit,

I boarded a most comfortable commuter jet to Casablanca

Morocco,  a drive to a magnificent hotel; Le Casablanca and a walking tour of Casablanca. The boardwalk at the beach reveals the  massive  waves of the Atlantic ocean.  Then a visit to large mosque.  Casablanca is the largest and commercial center of Morocco with a port that can handle 350 ships simultaneously, but its not the capital. That would be Rabat. The hotel was very luxurious and and opulent.

The following morning we met our guide for the trip; Abdul. In case your are wondering how a bus tour works; one loads up on the bus every day and the guide narrates the entire day.  Multiple stops during the day for attractions, refreshments and WC breaks.  The bus has good wifi and charging ports.  

The terrain inland from Rabat to Fes  is arid and hilly.  Remined me of the Texas hill country.  One main difference; olive groves as far as the eye can see.

When we arrived in Fes, the real adventure began.  We spent 2 nights in a Riad which is deep in the medina.  The baggage  was handled by local porters who met us at the Riad.  We had to walk ~20 minutes through very narrow streets in a line as to not get separated and finally arrived  at our lodging which was through a small door behind the non descriptive walls.  Once inside it was apparent that this had been a family home in the past with multiple bedrooms and open air sitting rooms.  Today riads are used as hotels while in the past they represented homes for the privileged.  The kasbah refers to a walled city typical of ancient civilizations while the term medina is often interchangeable with kasbah..  So, we walked  through the kasbah past several  open markets and merchant stalls to our riad.

How bought that for some arabic.  By the way, the majority of inhabitants are not arabs but berbers. The berbers are the one of the original populations of what is now Morocco.  Followed by the Jews and most recently(hundreds) of years the arabs.

There are only ~4000 jews remaining in Morocco  due to the many that fled during the Vichy occupation of Morocco during WWII.  Most berbers today have acclimated to modern society and are indigenous in the middle class.

I must emphasize before we leave this topic of kasbahs that there is absolutely no way I  could walk through the kasbah independently.  The width of the walkway was about 8 feet and there was 2 way trafic of people, carts and motorcycles.

We left Fes the second morning for visit to the the romain ruin Voulibilis which was a film site for”The Last Temptation of Christ” and a then a visit to a private cave where Mohamed prepared and served us berber tea.

Photos

Lisbon

 Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and is situated at the mouth of the Rio Tagus  which actually originates in Spain.  The river empties into Atlantic ocean and thus is the home of a large marine industry which happens to be the 2nd largest industry in Portugal.   What is the largest, well that would be tourism.  

Since tourism is my new profession and since I have never visited, this felt like the time to book a premium seat and make my way.  It also happens to be on the way to Morocco which actually is the main destination of my journey.  More on Morocco in my next note.

I arrived after an overnight flight on Air France with a 55 minute connection @ CDG.  I cant really recommend that itinerary . It would have been 90 min if the flight had left IAH on-time.

To the hotel and I picked up a SIM card for my phone so I would have all the portable data I require for my Google Maps. First evening was spent in a British Gin restaurant where I dined on beer and Octopus.  I don’t like Gin. I do really like fresh octopus marinated in EVOO.

Tues, I felt fresh and spent the entire  day on 2 different Hop On/Off bus routes.  If you follow my travels you will recall that I am a big fan of these for the fist day In a new town. I don’t get off, I use them for the narrated tour of the city. I didn’t realize how spread out and diverse Lisbon is.  Modern building at the site of the World Expo of 1998, to the cruise terminal on the bay front of old Portugal where the cathedral and Royal Palace overlook the ocean.

Wednesday I was picked up at my hotel and joined 6 other Americans for a day trip to Sintra and Cascais. Sintra is the home of one of the oldest fortresses that the Moors established when conquering the Iberian peninsula.  From there we drove along the coast to the Cabo da Roca which is the most western point in Europe. Then on to Cascais for lunch on fresh Cod and a relaxing afternoon stroll along the waterfront.

The food in Portugal is seafood based with an abundance of Atlantic Cod and Octopus and more pastry shops than banks.

The next day I relaxed, did laundry and got ready for the next leg.

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