We started our Moroccan adventure with a ferry ride from Tarifa to Tangier.  The afternoon was spent on double-decker buses getting a feel for the city and Morocco in general.  Camels on the beach were just our first glimpse of what was to follow.

 

Day 1-We were met by our driver, Rachid and we started our journey to the blue city of Chefchaouen.  Never would we have imagined how mountainous this drive would be.  In the blue city, we toured the inner city, seeing the communal ovens, the mosque on the hill, and we trekked up and down the narrow, hilly roads. What a gorgeous city.  We finished our tour then had dinner at the riad.  This was our first experience and following an exhausting day of touring, we still had to climb many stairs to our rooms.  The host was very gracious and served a great fish dinner.

 

Day 2-This day we toured volubility, the city of Idriss, Meknes with the large inner city and an underground prison. All were very interesting, unique experiences.  From there we headed to Fes.  Riad Myra was absolutely stunning.  The staff was great, and the food was superb, except we were served portions that were much too large.  

 

Day 3-We really enjoyed Fes.  The medina was truly amazing and we had a super guide for the day.  The shops, tanneries, carpet makers were all fun to see.  And 

Tajines everywhere.  That night we had dinner in a nice restaurant.  We stopped off at an English pub on our way back to the riad.

 

Day 4-This was an 11-hour trek through the Atlas Mountains.  We stopped off at a Swiss-type village, a golf course, and wandered through various towns on the way to Marrakech. It was a long day but saw some awesome sights.

 

Day 5-Marrakech, a city overrun by motorcycles with seemingly no regard for walkers, even in the shop areas.  The main square was interesting with the snake charmers, monkeys, and more tanneries, blacksmiths, etc. That evening Rachid booked us at a restaurant with entertainment, dancers, and a ballet show. He took a video of Marge and Vicky on the dance floor. A great night.  

 

Day 6-We left for Casablanca, with a great highway through to the city.  We spent time visiting the Hassan II mosque then Rachid dropped us off at the hotel. We spent the afternoon at the Mall.

 

Thoughts-Kevin, it was a truly amazing experience. Rachid was an awesome driver, tour guide, and host.  The Moroccan people were great hosts, friendly, and did all they could to make our trip enjoyable.  The road system is way beyond what I could have imagined. I would certainly recommend you and your team to anyone wanting to visit Morocco.

 

There were days we felt like mountain goats with the up and down terrain.  We are fortunate that we didn’t have big mobility issues but it could be a challenge for those who do.  One takeaway would be that it would be nice if there was some indication as to how difficult some of the tours could be.  Perhaps like cruise lines, in your tour information, there could be a rating as to how difficult the walking tours could be. Also, we did not envision how many narrow steps we had to climb to get to our rooms.  In fact, in Marrakech, we had a main floor room but had our bathroom on the second level with a very narrow winding staircase to get up to it.  I will send you photos.

 

We feel very fortunate to be able to see Morocco, and we are taking back many fond memories.  We felt very safe the entire time and really enjoyed the Moroccan people.  We will cherish these memories forever.

 

Shukran (Thank you)  from all of us