Thursday, September 18, 2014

Next Stop - Marrakech, Morocco


Morocco. Our first time to Africa. New adventures. Memories to be made.

They always say it is about the journey not the destination and for our 2 week adventure, truly it was the journey that made the trip. With so many destinations we wanted to hit, we did lots of research to how best to get from Point A (Malaga) to B (Seville) to C (Marrakech) to D (Tangier)  to E (Cadiz) back B (Seville) to go to F (Lagos) back to B (Seville) to continue on to F (Ronda) and end up where it all started - Malaga. We didn't want to miss a thing. So to get from Seville to Marrakech, we took the direct flight with Ryan Air.
Airport 

We were originally going to take the non-local bus from the airport to city center, but ended up sharing a cab 5 ways and it was actually cheaper than the bus, a lot faster and made some new friends that way.

Wandering The Streets of Marrakech: 
First look
Huge Storm Over the Medina
View from our Riad's Rooftop - BEAUTIFUL
Yup, those are cobras
Big Square, Big Square
Setting up shop for the day, every day

Sweet Treats for Little Nugget (me)
Leather District in the Medina
Double Decker tourist bus, cars, horses and donkeys all sharing the same roads - Look both ways applies here
Moroccan Eats
The origin of our chicken from the pic above?

Local Butchery in the Medina
Shoes for Days
No pictures can do justice walking through an alley with horse/donkey and buggy, motorbikes, cars, pedestrians, bikes - and shops spilling out with merchandise on all sides. It is awesome.
Fresh Squeezed OJ is a thing
Cobras - One of the many activities you can enjoy in the square - Monkeys, Henna, Trinkets Galore ...

Marrakech takes pop up restaurants to a whole new level - they set up, cook, serve and break down EVERY DAY
Yard sale outside the Medina Walls
Ladies, all those cute sandals we like so much - these are the faces of those who make them.
 Riad BB: Impossible to find. The story goes like this: Walk around the Medina with our travel packs with really bad directions & no map for 3 hours. Sky ready to bust open with the storm of the century. Ask every other Riad if they know this Riad, answer is "No". Keep walking. Start thinking, do we just find another place for tonight? Head back to main square to start from ground zero with our directions again (for the millionth time). Find a "tourist office" ask them if they know where it is, or if they have a map. No map but follow their general directions, still no luck. Go back to the "tourist office" because it is dark now, I don't want to spend the night on the streets - beg them if they can call or walk us there. Some guy asks a few other guys some basic directions - and he kindly walks us to the Riad. On the way - we notice he's pretty popular, everyone is saying hi - come to find out, it's not a tourist office, but a Police Office. Super nice guy - would not accept a tip and we made it to our Riad. Oh and the Riad is seriously 1 minute from that office and the main square. 

Travelers Tip: A lot of Riad's offer to meet you at a location and walk you to the Riad. Suggest going this route if the Riad offers it. Ours did not offer this service. Also, don't be afraid to stay in a Riad, they are very affordable, often very modern and updated and in the heart of the city.
The alley we searched hours for - never would have found it on our own
To try to find this door - I promise it say Riad BB on the door
The Courtyard of our Riad
So - lucky me, I work for an awesome children's medical charity and Morocco is one of the countries we work in. During our time in Marrakech, there was a medical mission going on at the same time. Chris and I had the opportunity to participate and see so many beautiful smiling faces.
I helped make that sign - cool to see your work in real life!
Familiar Faces
We had fun playing before his surgery.

Loved play time with these cuties as they wait for surgery. 

From Marrakech, we headed North to Tangier. 

Modern Train Station in Marrakech
Night train in our sleeper car on our way to Tangier. We had top bunk.