{"id":2140,"date":"2017-05-26T09:57:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T13:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventurousretirement.com\/blog\/?p=2140"},"modified":"2018-12-06T10:32:19","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T15:32:19","slug":"a-colorful-journey-through-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventurousretirement.com\/blog\/a-colorful-journey-through-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"A Colorful Journey Through Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morocco – A Colorful Journey<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"Tile<\/a>Have you ever wanted to immerse yourself in a non-western culture, something totally different, exotic, and colorful? \u00a0My friend Gail wanted to celebrate her birthday by experiencing a totally different environment from her norm. \u00a0After 2 months of research on Morocco, and with the help of hotel owner from Skoura named L’ma, Gail planned their own private experience. \u00a0Her own trip was less expensive than standard packages and just as nice.<\/p>\n

This article takes\u00a0you through the colorful\u00a0two week tour that she and\u00a0husband Mitch experienced, and what they loved about Morocco.<\/p>\n

Morocco Travel –\u00a0What was different?<\/h2>\n
\"Erg <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fez <\/a> <\/div>
\"Col <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"morocco <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Moroccan <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Camp <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Upon arrival in Morocco, everything looked and sounded different \u2013 the way people dressed, types of houses, how they spoke, exterior environments and their color palette, gardens, call to prayer and what followed, the manner in which men and women interact, sale of food, and more. During this May trip, the skies were cloudless most of the time, and \u201cincredible to see,\u201d according to Gail. \u00a0Gail is passionate about color, texture, fabrics, and their Moroccan adventure provided a feast for the eyes. \u00a0The colors created an impact with “awesome mosaics everywhere.” \u00a0The h\"Fezues are clear, brilliant, crisp, and clean. \u00a0The buildings\u00a0ocre<\/a>, terracotta and beige are the backdrop colors for brilliant cerulean blue, oranges, purples, aquas, and pinks. \u00a0The spices piled up on street contributed to the vivid color palette that is Morocco.<\/p>\n

Various dazzling blues and greens pop in the gardens at Marrakech, especially the Jardin Majorelle, where the deep cerulean blue is said to be taken from the sky.<\/p>\n

Journeying Through Morocco<\/h2>\n

Morocco presents various different environments, from Old Cities, like Medina from 700-800 AD, an UNESCO site with streets from the same time period, and people living in houses built back then, to desert towns, and major cities. The cities are a stark contrast to the vast beige of the desert, and winding stone, green, and terracotta mountain passes. The huge 2,000 meter high mountain passes reveal hairpin turns built as switchbacks. The mountains are dotted with tiny farming villages where you pass people herding sheep. You get a sudden jolt from the collision of modern technology and old time life style, where cows ride on top of the trucks as you drive through the mountains.<\/p>\n

\"Tour <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"morocco <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Morocco Travel – Distinct places visited and highlights<\/h2>\n

FES (or FEZ)\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Their plane touched down in Casablanca, and after being met by a private driver, Gail and Mitch are off on a 3-hour journey to Fes for 3 nights, their first stop in Morocco. Fes is the country’s cultural capitol, known for the walled Medina, an UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is a feast for the eyes with colorful souks (markets or bazaars), and\u00a0Marinid architecture, which is characterized by sculpted stucco and wood with tile facades and courtyards. \u00a0Another interesting fact about Fes is it is home to oldest University in the world.<\/p>\n

\"morocco <\/a> <\/div>
\"morocco <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"marrekech <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Tile <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Street <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Gail selected Fes because it is a major city, yet ancient, where artists and craft guilds\u00a0like weavers, candle makers, metal smiths crafting copper pots, leather, and\u00a0tinsmiths are present. \u00a0All craft guilds are subsidized by the country, and “it feels like the state sanctioned these kinds of crafts.”<\/p>\n

SKOURA<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"DraaAfter Fes, Gail and Mitch flew to Ourzazate, a touristy town where lots of movies with desert scenes have been filmed. \u00a0From there, they took a car ride to Skoura, a smaller, more quaint town. \u00a0Skoura is an oasis in the desert with greenery, palm groves, and mountains, juxtaposed by desert landscapes. Town buildings look like red clay that fades into the surrounding desert sand background. \u00a0The North Africa citadels in Skoura, known as Kasbahs, are among the most beautiful in Southern Morocco. Skoura is referred to as the \u201cValley of One Thousand Kasbahs<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Traveling the Valley of Draa to the Sahara Desert<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Skoura they traveled to Zagora the last city before entering the desert.\u00a0 Zagora is the last outpost of civilization; a good place to hire a desert guide.\u00a0 The road trip traveled along the Draa river, which is surrounded by greenery with the desert backdrop, on their way to a more remote part of the desert than tourists usually visit. The destination — Erg Chigaga in the Sahara Desert.<\/p>\n

\"Erg<\/a>SAHARA DESERT<\/strong><\/h4>\n

After a 6-7 hour drive from Skoura, they arrived at the end of the road where the driver knows the desert track to follow to a camp in M\u2019hamid, which is another drive 1\u00bd hours into a vast nothingness of sand. \u00a0The camp in Ma\u2019hami is set next to the ‘Dune\u2019 \u2013 one of the biggest dunes, Chigaga. \u00a0Sights along the way treat you to camels, sunsets, red sand expanse, and little camps throughout the region. \u00a0It is you and the Sahara Desert.<\/p>\n

You can travel without a guide, as there are signs, but you drive into very hot nothingness. It would be a terrible place to get lost.<\/p>\n

The desert adventure included a day in the desert with one night staying in a tent in a private camp. Gail says, “two (nights) would have been better.\u201d\"Mitch<\/a>\u00a0 They walked the dunes at sunset and\u00a0were treated to a desert full moon. \u00a0Their Berber guide was also their cook; meals included:<\/p>\n