Morocco: Into the Desert

Road Trip to the Desert

We set off early the next day. We quickly wound our way out of Fes and into the countryside. Little did we know that our drive would start and end in a fog. Almost at the very start, the altitude increased quickly and we were soon driving into a foggy mess. We could barely see the road in front of us. We did see one accident and it wasn't surprising. Our ultimate goal for the day was to get to Merzouga, a town right on the edge of the Sahara Desert. But, we had one important stop first. As we descended out of the fog, we closed in on Azrou in the midst of the cedar forests. This area is famous for the Barbary Apes that live there. In fact, the Barbary Apes only live in Morocco and Gibraltar. I had researched back at home and found a very handy post on Tripadvisor about where to spot the Barbary Apes. We turned off of the main road and kept our eyes open. We soon got to a small parking spot where we saw some Barbary Apes. A local sold us each a bag of peanuts. I love seeing monkeys in the wild but it is always a little intimidating. They began by gingerly taking the peanuts from our hands but soon there were monkey fights breaking out amongst them.

So nice and polite at first

Slightly more demanding

Monkey fight in the background

At one point, I had one on each side of me hanging onto my pants. One of the little devils jumped for the peanuts and I dropped my camera (which thankfully survived). I thought I was also about to lose my drawstring pants!

Right before I nearly lost my pants

With out need to feed the monkeys, done, we continue on toward the desert but not before driving past another of the top spots to see the Barbary Apes. There were loads of tourists so I was glad we had made the first stop. We were lucky enough to see a mother and baby cross the street in front of us.

Barbary Ape and baby

The farmland was very picturesque as we descended.

Field near Azrou

On the road to Merzouga

Traffic jam

Soon though, the farmland turned to a more rock and desert landscape as we snaked through canyons. It was interesting and beautiful to see the foliage along rivers.

Swath of green in the canyon

Town in the canyon

City gate one town before Merzouga

Unfortunately, we were running low on time. We had to be in Merzouga by 4:45 to take a camel ride into the desert for a camping trip. As we closed in on Merzouga, we entered a dust storm. Our vehicle swayed with the wind as we slowly crept along the road thanks to the decreased visibility.

Barely visible van in front of us

Camel crossing

We made it just in time! We had chosen Sara and Ali's Desert Palace to camp with and we didn't regret it for a moment. Sara and Ali met us at a nearby hotel and quickly wrapped our faces with scarves to protect us against the sand. We saddled up on our camels and were off on an hour and a half journey.

Eddie getting his face wrapped

Camels getting ready for our ride

I had taken a camel ride in Israel a couple of years before. And while that was fun, it was really more to just say you had done it. There was something romantic and adventurous to actually be taking the camels to our campsite. The dunes rose up to meet us as our camels carried us on. There was a peaceful silence once we got out of town.

Dunes

Camel ride

An "usie"

Sun beginning to set on the dunes

Camel tracks

We were very pleased when we finally arrived at our destination. The camp was beautiful and our tent had a proper bed. Nearby were some bath houses and they had proper toilets and showers.

Arriving at camp

Tents

We were very lucky as we were the only two guests. They gave us a beer while we waited for dinner and Eddie and I were off to play in the dunes and relax in the hammocks. 

Dinner was fantastic. Tajine after tajine we stuffed ourselves until we couldn't anymore. It was really enough food for 10 people and we felt bad that we couldn't eat more.

Just part of our tajine meal

Following dinner, Ali, the cook and our camel guide played traditional music as we relaxed.

Enjoying some traditional music

It was a jam packed but amazing day. From Fes all the way to the Sahara!

Morocco: Funky Old Medina

Fes: Funky Old Medina

We wound out of our tiny neighborhood on the edge of the medina to begin exploring. Fes has a very beautiful city wall that encircles the narrow streets that rise and fall over the local terrain.

Wall around the medina

 Farm and pasture land surround the city of Fes which is reflected in the markets.

Butcher

More of the marketplace

Vegetable stand

Fes is the artisan capital of Morocco so you see everything from metal work to leather goods. The leather goods and the tannery process is famous in particular and was a must on our to do list. A young shopkeeper offered us a tour of a tannery right off the bat. We decided to just go with it. The shopkeeper introduced us to a young, polite boy who took us to the tannery area. In the hotter months, the smell is overpowering and you would need to hold a twig of mint to your nose. During holy times, the dyes are brightly colored. Even without the brighter dyes, the process was impressive. All types of leather are tanned here: cow, sheep, camel.

Overview of the tannery

Hides drying

Dye vats

Following our tannery visit, we roamed the charming streets of Fes.

Narrow street in the medina

Gate into the medina

Common sight around the medina

At the end of a narrow passageway, we tracked down Cafe Clock, a highly reviewed cafe for lunch. It was fantastic. The almond milkshake was out of this world. The top floor terrace overlooked the rooftops of the medina. A mosque was immediately beside our table and we were lucky enough to hear the prayer call as we enjoyed our meal. As a non-Muslim, I find prayer call very moving. In both Fes and Marrakech, it was amazing to hear the echos of prayer calls from all of the mosques in the city. Truly phenomenal.

Mosque beside Cafe Clock

And of course, no trip is complete without a good donkey fight.

Donkey fight

Donkey fight continued....

And kittens....

Kittens cuddling with some camels

Lots of kittens...

Our neighborhood kittens who we fed

We ended our day hiking up to the surrounding hills to see some ruins. The ruins were nice enough but the view back to Fes was incredible. We also managed to snag a wool blanket for a really good deal from a local up there which has now become one of my favorite blankets.

Merinid Tombs

Fes

We ended our day with a late night snack near our riad. What could go wrong with chicken pastry?!?! Powdered sugar. If was so fantastic but the sweetness really threw me. We ended up cutting the tops of our pastry off and eating it last as a dessert. We enjoyed one last view over the city before heading to bed.

Nightfall over Fes

Morroco: On the Road Again!

Day 3 En Route to Fes

After getting up early, we had breakfast on the rooftop terrace and then took a few minutes to soak up the medina before leaving. The roads were pretty quiet and the vendors hadn't started setting up their shops yet.

After our peaceful stroll, we grabbed our packs and wound our way down the medina and back to our car.

Eddie heading to the car

The night before Eddie made a trip changing discovery - the Morocco app he had downloaded before we left had GPS! This ended up making all of the distance. We were on the road with ease. We stopped for one last look back at Chefchaouen.

The countryside was beautiful. There were lots of olive groves and citrus farms with little roadside stands. We made a stop for some fresh oranges. I made an enormous mess with the juice but our car smelled like yummy oranges for the rest of the trip!

Fresh oranges

Roadside fruit stand

Our first stop was Volubilis, a ruin of an ancient Roman town. This town was founded in the 3rd century BC and remained in use until about the 11th century AD. Following that, the sight has apparently been looted and suffered a major earthquake. However, the architecture is still preserved and it is a UNESCO sight today. There were a few other tourists including local Moroccans. We had an enjoyable and quite visit.

At the last minute, we made a detour to Moulay Idriss for lunch. Like Chefchaouen, this town was once closed to non-Muslims.

Just outside the medina of Moulay Idriss

Cat of Moulay Idriss

The central part of town is the mosque where the town's namesake is buried. Moulay Idriss is the great grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. We took a peek at what we were allowed to see. There is a point where no non-Muslims are allowed to go.

Next up, a local offered to take us the overlook of the town. It was well worth the walk. The view was beautiful.

Route through the medina

Mosque in the medina

View of Moulay Idriss

We didn't negotiate the price beforehand and were lacking change so of course we paid more than was reasonable. It was our fault so it was hard to be to mad. We had a great lunch at the square and were back on the road again to Fes!

We finally arrived in Fes. We found parking without a problem and quickly got directions to our riad, Riad Layalina, which was right outside of the medina. The Riad Layalina was fantastic. The architecture was lovely and the people working there were beyond kind. We immediately were served cookies and tea which was followed by a tanjine of tomato and egg. We were stuffed!

Courtyard

Courtyard

Our welcome meal

We set out to walk off some of dinner in the medina of Fes and get the lay of the land for exploring the next day.

As was typical on our trip, we were off to bed so that we could get an early start the next day.