Wandering Amerrickans

We had an earlier morning than I originally anticipated because we were driving back to Abu Dhabi to drop the car and catch our onward flight to Doha, Qatar but there were still so many roads closed and highway lanes blocked that what should have been a drive of less than one hour, was taking upwards of two / two and a half. 

Billy always uses Apple Maps and I tend to use Google Maps (and had read Google Maps was better in the UAE) and when comparing the route suggestions between the two, the discrepancy was substantial – almost an hour; but since Billy was driving we went with Apple. It wasn’t long before we ended up in horrible bumper to bumper traffic with no police presence directing cars, clearly no rules of the road being adhered to and absolutely no consideration for other drivers whatsoever. Seven lanes of traffic were being funneled down to two – It was every man for himself and we were about to be eaten alive. I was feeling pretty good about the fact, contrary to almost all trips, I had taken out full insurance from the rental company -a no excess policy.

Once finally through the chaos, I checked the maps again and noticed that Google was showing a less than 45 minute drive from that point on while Apple now showed more than two hours still to go (we were losing time). I could see on the maps the highway ahead had serious issues but Google was showing smooth sailing so Billy relented and we took Google’s advice. Well. Thank goodness we did because it was spot on. The detour that had been showing, that worried Billy, was actually through some sort of processing plant area (we never saw a sign for what it was and it is not labeled on the maps) that is typically closed off by a checkpoint and gates but today it was open, I assume so traffic could reroute and maybe ease the horrible congestion that was on the highways between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In any case, we were thrilled.

Our flight from Abu Dhabi to Doha was a quick 44 minutes – I think the shortest jumbo jet flight (we were on an A350) any of us have ever taken. We arrived at our last stop for the trip – our 12th hotel in 14 nights and wow, was it something. It was sheer elegance in every way, including the Qatari purple Lamborghini parked out front. The opulence was a bit much for us; we felt like we were in Paris (and later found out that that was the inspiration for this lavish hotel). It was gorgeous, don’t get me wrong but the formality was really more than I am comfortable with. I had chosen it only because of a credit we had through Amex taking the total cost of our one night’s stay to $80 (included with that was a $100 credit for food and breakfast for two) so we actually profited from the stay…

Funniest part of it all, at least where we are concerned, is we decided to use the credit for lunch and when I said to Billy I was going to have a beer with lunch, the waiter looked at me wide-eyed and immediately apologized informing me it was a dry hotel- the owner, he said, had promised his father he would never serve alcohol…oh well! It was clearly a very conservative hotel – the only one we stayed at that had a copy of the Quran and a prayer mat in the room.

Since we had only a short time in Doha we decided to try and see some of it. From the hotel we took a short walk to the National Museum of Qatar, an architecturally stunning building.

From there we took an Uber to the old part of town – Souk Waif where the majority of the shops were closed but that was alright because it allowed for a better feel of the place. We found it very strange, almost uncomfortable when we walked into a section that was like a Petco on steroids with hundreds of cages of all types of birds (including roosters, canaries, parakeets, and guinea hens); rabbits, mice, fish; tortoises and puppies (to which I would not look). 

From there we crossed to the waterfront and walked along the harbor where all the dhow boats were docked. The boats were in various states of repair but all of them leant an air of authenticity that we had not felt since we left Morocco.

Continuing on, we entered the Museum of Islamic Art at the perfect time, finding the air conditioning a sanctuary from the warmth we were just beginning to suffer from. 

We checked out various galleries, including one on Iranian textiles and one on the various forms of jewelry and adornment found throughout the Muslim world. It was pretty neat to see so much stuff from Morocco and to watch a short documentary on a silversmith from the Tiznit region, the same area we had been in and where the bracelets we had purchased in Tafroute were from.

Since Jenny had a very early morning flight out back to Edinburgh, we decided on an early dinner. Billy found a restaurant that was on the rooftop. affording beautiful views over the old part of Doha with the impressive skyline of the modern city, far off in the distance, though it was obscured by smoggy air.

Dinner was good, if not a bit comical. The entire time in the UAE and now Qatar it was as though things were completely lost in translation and not because there was a language barrier like in Morocco. It was just always very odd in how so many things got so screwed up even when we clarified them (or so we thought) to begin with. Like Jenny asking for no balsamic, the waitress repeats the order and then her meal arrives topped with balsamic. Or when she ordered shakshuka and the waitress asked if she wanted it Arabic style with a sunny side up egg or Turkish style with scrambled eggs; she said Arabic style and it showed up scrambled (again the waitress had repeated the order). Or tonight when Billy ordered a Heineken and a glass of wine, the waiter repeated the order and fifteen minutes later (as we were still waiting) he asked us if we want to order drinks, we reminded him we did (he had written it down and repeated it to us) and then he comes back with a Corona. I could go on and on but it happened at every meal we had. It almost became a guessing game of what would come screwed up each time. It never angered us, we just found the whole thing so strange.

Qatar is clearly far more traditional and way more conservative than any of the other places we have been on this trip. Almost all the women wear black abayas with a hijab and the overwhelming majority cover their face, leaving just their eyes exposed. All the men wear white thobes as well as white or red and white headdresses secured with an agal. Here even the young boys dress similar to the male adults. During Ramadan (typically thirty days) we were told, there was no alcohol allowed anywhere except in your hotel room or private residence.

Doha, to us, was far more interesting than the places we had been in the UAE. There clearly is a very modern side to it, but there is also an old side, a more authentic side. We had really only come here as that was where I could get us home from on mile redemption tickets but we ended up enjoying our brief time here more; it left us with a bit of curiosity.

Jenny’s flight left on time to Edinburgh, and we would be following basically right behind her five hours later on our way to London. We had to stay the night there before we could continue on to Boston in the afternoon. I decided that instead of holing up in a Heathrow hotel, we would spend the evening and next morning out in the country. It was an excellent decision – the hotel and grounds were lovely – originally built in the 1700s as a hunting lodge for the First Duke of Marlborough.

It is always sad when one of our trips comes to an end. This one was a whirlwind but there was never a minute we didn’t enjoy it. We had a lot of laughs, especially when Billy led the Frenchman to the pot of gold after dinner in Dubai (too difficult to share but put here as a reminder for us). Traveling as a family has always been one of our greatest joys.

All For The Burj

As planned, we wasted little time departing from Fujairah. We all agreed we were glad to have seen a totally different side of the UAE but it all felt a bit off, especially with all the Russians. Even driving out there was little life on the streets and odd monuments and statues here and there.

Unlike Morocco where we had fairly long drives every day, our drive times in the UAE have averaged two hours on perfectly maintained highways. Yesterday we traveled in three different emirates, today we traveled through the last four on our way to Dubai, the last night of our UAE trip – a fast one for sure!

Our first glimpse of Dubai city (both the emirates and and the city carry the same name) caused audible gasps of incredulity when the skyline emerged from the very smoggy air. The Burj Khalifa, even from miles and miles away awed upon initial sight! In actuality, the best way to fully grasp just how incredibly tall it is, is from far away so you can see just how much it dwarfs the other skyscrapers.

Driving in Dubai is certainly a bit chaotic and while the roads are in excellent shape, the traffic patterns are pretty strange but Billy did a great job. I drove the whole time in Morocco because of all the twisty roads but since UAE was pretty much straight shots Billy has been the driver.

As we got closer the full scale of the Burj’s size became quite apparent.

Our hotel tonight is the JW Marriott Marquis, the second tallest hotel in the world at 72 stories (It lost its number one ranking a few years ago after another hotel was built in Dubai and its spire topped the JW by three feet).

We grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading out for the Burj. I had originally thought we would go up to the top of it but I decided not to buy tickets ahead of time. I think it was a good idea because the smog/sand/haze was so bad I don’t think we would have seen much through it.

Dubai feels oceans away from the conservative world we have been passing through; there is a feeling of mass tourism here with venues built and created strictly to entertain. The mind blowing fact is Dubai did not even have electricity in 1960 and buildings didn’t start replacing Bedouin tents until the 1970s! Now there are over 100 shopping malls and 650 hotels – all in the same amount of time I have walked this earth. Just absolutely incredible!

We walked around the base of the Burj Khalifa, taking it in from the different perspectives, chasing down the right angle as the sun illuminated it.

The one thing Jenny wanted to do in Dubai was see the Burj (check) and have a delicious meal. I had gone back and forth about where to eat, a place with a view of the Burj or the restaurant up high in the Burj with a view of the city but in the end I chose a view of the Burj and I chose a place that we could also see the fountain show, an added bonus. I had made reservations months before and asked for a table outside with a view. The table we got had to have been the best in the house!

We sat a few minutes before six and caught the first fountain show. It goes every thirty minutes so by the time we left, we had seen six of them. The added, added bonus was I had no idea that the Burj Khalifa is also the world’s biggest LCD screen so we got an additional light show.

Funny thing is part way through dinner Jenny said that as nice as the trip has been to the UAE (posh hotels, fancy meals and all), it is all a bit of a let down after Morocco. She said she felt the same way on our trip to Cambodia following Myanmar. Billy and I agreed with her on this front. We knew going into it the UAE was not going to be our cup of tea but what we didn’t know was just how much we were going to love Morocco.

And just for fun… I love my silly girl…

Like a Fever Dream

Our plan was to wake up at 5:30 this morning to watch a falconry show but we had a bit of a rough night as our villa lost power at 2:00 AM followed by a beeping sound that started, It was 3:30 before maintenance got everything fixed and we were able to fall back asleep. But, I woke up on my own at 5:30 and decided to go watch it because, when in Rome…

Falconry has long been important in this part of the world and has been practiced by the Bedouins for more than 4,000 years. In fact, the falcon is the prominent feature on the UAE national emblem. This morning we were going to be watching two Gyrfalcons show off their speed and agility. It is done early in the morning before the heat of the day can take a toll on the birds.

The audience is warned not to stand up as the falcons come swooping down literally off the top of your heads.

Falconry for hunting has been outlawed in the UAE but as a sport for competition it is soaring (pun intended) with 7 million AED and 73 cars up for grabs.

My crew slept in until almost 9:00 when we were scheduled to do a short nature drive to try and see some oryx up closer and a stop by the stables to see some of the Arabian stallions they have.

After a delicious lunch, we started our drive for the emirates of Fujairah, on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. Still running into after effects of the rain.

If you ever look at a map of the seven emirates you will notice they are nothing like our states with contiguous land within one defined border. Instead, there are blips of land here and there, some on one side of the country, some on the other. Fujairah is mostly on the coast – it actually interrupts Oman’s border.

As we got closer to the coast and approached the Al Hajar Mountains, the geography became familiar. I had been so captivated by the mountains when Jenny and I were in Oman and that same feeling returned. The biggest difference this time though was there was a lot of green starting to show.

Emiratis only make up about 11% of the population of the UAE with Asians (particularly those from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan) making up about 83%. Nowhere yet, was this as obvious as it was here as we passed mile after mile of oil depots.

The area had an almost dystopian feeling with workers in blue jumpsuit uniforms lined up or riding on busses being moved from one area to the next. The huge electrical infrastructure was unreal here.

One thing that has really stood out to us is how incredibly clean all of the UAE is – even the highways have no trash at all alongside them. In all fairness, Morocco was exceptionally clean in most parts, there was the occasional area we passed through that was highly littered but really we were impressed by it.

Our hotel for the night felt like we had stepped back in time to the late 70s early 80s of Holiday Inns dominance in the beach resort world. On top of that, it was a bit strange as almost everybody there was Russian. Signs were posted in Arabic, English and Russian; even the Emirati sundry shop owner spoke Russian. Nothing at all appealed to us so we quickly decided we would get out without dilly dallying around tomorrow.

Been There, Done That

What a difference a day makes. The views this morning were gorgeous.

Jenny had two requests when we decided that we would also visit the United Arab Emirates on this vacation- The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi being priority number one. Our plan was to get there before the crowds so I had purchased tickets for early morning entry weeks ahead of time.

The Grand Mosque is a site to behold, an incredibly beautiful building that is often likened to the Taj Mahal; it is simply stunning – an architectural masterpiece.

The main prayer hall wows and is home to the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet (having taken that title from the Grand Mosque in Muscat).

But what wowed us the most was the serenity it affords the visitors – at least when you get there early. Twenty four hours a day, the Quran is being recited live, over loudspeakers, in an almost singing voice; the mams taking turns in two hour shifts. They locate themselves in the mausoleum where Sheik Zayed, the founder of the nation, is buried in a simple unremarkable grave.

We felt so lucky that we had the place almost to ourselves because when we were leaving, people were literally pouring in.

From the Grand Mosque, we started our drive out into the desert of Abu Dhabi emirate to the Al Maha nature conservancy, where we are going to spend the next night. We quickly ran into flooded highways, and the remnants of cars stuck overnight. At one point I had the window down when I heard a car coming up fast next to us. I immediately hit the window up button but it was too slow for the SUV that was plowing through the water. Thank goodness I leaned forward because our car was completely doused, including the interior and me. Needless to say we got a great laugh at my expense.

Al Maha had contacted us to tell us that if we were coming in from Dubai that the tunnel was flooded and we would have to go around but lucky for us we were not however we did see exactly what it was they were speaking of – absolutely unreal.

The road into Al Maha washed out so badly that they had told us to park down at the gate and they would send a land cruiser to come and collect us. We got a laugh when we pulled our little Toyota Camry in next to a bright green Bentley SUV. But not as much of a laugh as we did when we got up to the hotel and saw that somebody had abandoned their McLaren because it couldn’t make it out on the road. He said he would come back for it in a few days…

it was obvious once we arrived how much damage the hotel had actually sustained from the record rainfall. It was reported in the news that nearly twice as much annual rainfall fell in 24 hours – a new record since record keeping began 75 years ago. We got very lucky with our timing and that we were able to land between storms!

The staff showed us a video of the spa, a river of mud and water coming in one door and going out the other; walkways were damaged; fences were mowed down, huge gullies having been eroded into the sand. Clearly, the villas were also inundated with their individual pools taking the brunt of the floodwaters, but our villa was superb, the view was fantastic and the staff assured us they would get our pool up to snuff in a few hours.

We lounged poolside, watching all the little gazelles moving about in our vicinity and Arabian oryx off in the distance.

The hotel had provided a sketchbook and oil pastels along with an easel for anybody who felt so inclined. Of course, Jenny did, so she sat and drew for a while.

At 5:30 we assembled in the main building to begin our camel track out for sundowners. Jenny and I were surprised that we could convince Billy to go with us though Jenny was a bit apprehensive as well. I was going to do it, no matter what, because… well… when in Rome. We had planned to take a camel ride when we were in Jordan a few years ago, but the rain came and being wet on a soggy camel didn’t sound so appealing then.

Any concerns about controlling these notoriously ornery ungulates was quickly dissipated when we reached the loading point. The camels were all tied together with the camel master leading the way- two to a camel except for me I got my own!

The ride out was about 20 minutes and we got very lucky to ride up on a small herd of Arabian oryx (al maha in Arabic). They were the inspiration for this preserve, having been reintroduced (brought in from Arizona) as a way to save them from extinction here. Luckily the program has been quite successful.

Camels are at least twice as wide as a horse or at least, so it seems. It is an entirely different concept riding along with your legs just dangling and nowhere to rest your feet. Riding them was a little disconcerting; I felt with every step I might fall off, though Jenny apparently rode like Rose did in “Titanic,” both arms straight out soaring like a bird. Getting on and off is especially awkward, not to mention quite a site!

I will say camel riding is one of those things that I can now say been there done that – I don’t need to do it again.

Sundowners was glorious – sipping champagne on the dunes, watching the sun sink slowly behind the hills. It put on quite the show for us. We opted for a ride back in a Land Cruiser, instead of on a camel – one of the ways we could convince Billy to go with us, not to mention after a few cocktails it was probably a very good decision!

Dinner was a delicious five course meal set in a beautiful location with impeccable service.

By the time we got back to the room, the pool had been cleaned up as best as they could and before we knew it Jenny jumped in and enjoyed a late night swim…

This is the Desert, Right?

With all the tension in this area of the world, we had been prepared to abandon ship at any moment. Reports of air space opening and closing, as well as drones and missiles flying had us a bit concerned but we felt fairly confident the airlines would steer clear of any dangerous areas – perhaps a bit foolish but…

Our flight from Paris to Abu Dhabi was rough. We experienced some of the worst turbulence we have ever experienced as we began our approach into Abu Dhabi, so bad the pilot actually pulled up out of the approach and we ended up circling at least three times before finally touching down on the rain soaked runway. Needless to say it is a miracle that neither Jenny nor I got sick, though I can say with certainty, it would have only taken one more go around before things would have turned ugly. Five hours later, I still feel a bit queasy.

Picking up the rental car, the agent warned us to be careful as there was some rain and he said the streets here flood and the cars can quickly hydroplane. We pulled out of the garage in a drizzle and I kid you not, not even five minutes later and we were in a deluge that I have rarely seen. The highways were quickly inundated, cars were getting stuck in the deep floodwaters left and right but Billy kept our little sedan on the road and moving forward. 

We arrived to the St Regis to a bit of chaos from all the rain; they had buckets everywhere to catch the water pouring in from all the leaks but the staff was wonderful, welcoming us with dates and Arabic coffee; they upgraded us to a fabulous corner suite with jaw-dropping views (when they could be seen) and allowed us to check in hours ahead of time.

I had bought tickets ahead of time to visit the Presidential Palace, a working palace not a residential one. It is a formal space where the President receives foreign heads of state in his role representing the UAE in all international relations. The UAE, a federation made up of seven emirates was founded in 1971, after gaining their independence from Great Britain and changing their former name, The Trucial States.

 We got a small break in the storms and made our way there. Once through security, they bus you over to the main building to tour that on your own.

The palace was beyond opulent and absolutely stunning. We loved looking at the display of the gifts the President has received from other countries but were a bit embarrassed by the gift given by the US – a stainless steel eagle (the symbol of or own country). The one good thing is the weather seemed to keep many people away so the crowds were quite thin.

Back at the hotel, we grabbed a couple of drinks in the bar before noticing another wave of bad weather was rolling in off the Persian Gulf.

Once it hit, we had no idea how bad it was going to be but when we poked our heads outside, we thought we should go watch it from our room on the 33rd floor.

Once again, a slight drizzle quickly turned into a complete deluge and then the wind picked up literally blowing the rain and hail completely horizontal. At one point the windows looked like someone was running a hose over them and any view was completely wiped away.  What a crazy day to think we were in the desert but there was so much water it had no place to go.

Trying to catch a taxi to dinner was next to impossible as the streets were completely overrun. We ended up offering an Uber guy cash to take us when we dropped someone off at the hotel.

Dinner was completely over the top, our own fault. Our total meal for the one night was ten times what we paid for each night’s meal in Morocco – the single most expensive meal we have ever had…and I would only categorize it as very good…

What a complete contrast this part of the trip has already been to Morocco. We have noticed it in so many ways.

Here’s Looking At You Kid

The entire reason we came to Casablanca was because Jenny said she really wanted to see the Hassan II Mosque, the only mosque in all of Morocco that we could visit. Besides the mosque, there wasn’t much else in Casablanca worth taking time from other places so I planned it so we could tour the mosque this morning before our afternoon flight on to Abu Dhabi via Paris.

I had read it was best to get there first thing in the morning so that is exactly what we did, queuing up at 8:30 for the first mandatory tour at 9:00.

The mosque is spectacular, built over seven years with laborers and artisans working 24/7 in 8 hour shifts. All the materials were sourced in Morocco except two from Italy -the 260 chandeliers (Verano glass) and two small carrera marble pillars on either side of the mirhab (the positional niche facing mecca).

The mosque holds over 25,000 worshippers inside (with an additional 80,000 outside) and boasts heated floors for winter and a roof that can slide open on nice days. The craftsmanship was magnificent and it was fun hearing the sources as many of the areas of Morocco that we had just been in.

The minaret is 690 feet tall – the second tallest in the world (behind one in Algeria) and can be seen from many parts of Casablanca. In the basement is the wash room, a gorgeous area of fountains and tile work, where the faithful go and clean themselves before praying – a very precise ritual of washing hands, forearms, and face three times each, always beginning on the right side.

We were very surprised that women were allowed in the mosque without covering their hair, though out of respect Jenny and I both did. Morocco surprised me in how culturally traditional it was as far as dress went. From the time we left Marrakesh until the time we got to Casablanca, I think I could count on one hand the number of Moroccan women who did not completely cover themselves. The vast majority left their faces exposed though I saw quite a few with full face coverings (niqabs and burqas) as well. The same went for the men, I rarely saw a man that was not dressed in a jillaba or burnous.

The mosque was fantastic! I took our planned second night from Imlil which removed our trek yesterday to make it work but we all agreed we were very happy with that decision and getting to see it.

With just two hours to kill before needing to leave for the airport, we decided to take a quick walk from the hotel passing through the old Medina. We were pleasantly surprised that we did not get hassled. It is actually against the law in Morocco to hassle tourists but locals are fair game; however many vendors do not heed the law. 

Casablanca is far different in almost every way from what we experienced and saw in the other parts of Morocco. It is far less traditional in style of dress – the number of people dressed in a more western style of dress far exceeded the numbers dressed more conservatively, including most women without their hair covered. There is far less traditional architecture, it being characterized more by colonial architecture and modern buildings – a cross Jenny said between Beverly Hills and Mexico City; I liken it more to Buenos Aires with all the once lavish building now crumbling in a serious state of disrepair, but unlike Buenos Aires it is immaculately clean.

People were constantly on the move unlike most of the small towns and villages we saw where people were either completely absent or were sitting somewhere in the shade – except for when we drove through on market day and of course, Imlil. The weather in Casablanca was glorious with temps in the low 70s – we had similar temps at the coast in Douira but with far more humidity. Even though Casablanca is also on the coast, there was no humidity felt. 

The only thing I knew about Casablanca before coming, was what I learned about its place in history during WWII from the movie, a required watch in Dr. Collins’ 12th grade English class. There is a place here called Rick’s Cafe, and as I understand it, it is just like the one in the movie – if we had had more time, we would have gone in and looked for Sam.

Our drive to the airport was rather interesting. Apparently, the king is in Casablanca for three days and the highways were crawling with police for 30 kilometers outside of the city, every overpass had four officers standing with another set of officers stationed on the ground below. Every maybe 1/8 mile there was another 2 or 3 patrol cars and/or motorcycles positioned. Every small offshoot on the main road leading to the airport had a police officer standing. It was a beyond extensive and really quite something to see. 

Our flight departed from Casablanca airport (originally Nouasseur Air Base – the American air base used to stage all US aircraft for the European Theater during WWII) for Paris, where after a 2 1/2 hour layover we caught our six hour flight to Abu Dhabi.

All three of us loved Morocco – we especially loved how unbelievably friendly everyone we encountered was, in a most authentic way. Our visit was appreciated every stop we made – we never felt nor saw any anti-American sentiment. There was some vocal disbelief that America is looking at electing either “an old man or a conman…” Most reacted, upon hearing we were American, by holding a closed hand to their heart – a gesture meant to show respect and gratitude. This trip, once again, dispelled a lot of myths and gave us a much different perspective on Moroccan men, specifically. Billy said today, they we never witnessed anyone yelling or encountered anyone in a bad mood; everyone is grateful and appreciative – from our tuk tuk driver, to the children whose pictures Jenny took, to the  man who owned a little roadside store where we stopped for water, to the old woman Jenny gave coins to who was begging on the streets – all thanked us profusely, kindly and most importantly sincerely.

The natural beauty of Morocco resonated not only through our eyes with every new scene we saw but through our hearts with every new hand we shook. 

Shukran Morocco for a wonderfully beautiful trip; we would happily return.

Picture Day

I got up before my crew and headed out for an early morning walk to see some of Imlil without the utter madness it was yesterday.

There is a beautiful river that runs through town. I imagine at this time of year it is typically running harder but Rashid had said they did not get any snow this year at all. Normally they would have received up to 15 feet of snow on the mountain tops and a few feet in the village; there should still be snow in the shady spots right now he said, instead it was seventy degrees.

After breakfast, we had invited all of the children of the village to come for an instamatic picture if they’d like. The first to show up were two adorable boys – maybe 5 and 7 years old. The youngest one had on a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt and when I said basketball and pretended to dribble and shoot, he immediately imitated me – so cute!

One by one Jenny took their picture individually, then group shots (one for each child), then the ladies had their pictures individually, then together, then they asked if they could have one with me, then they said Billy should join in and finally they asked for one with Jenny. That was the only time I asked if I too could take a picture of them. I did not want to intrude on the fun they were all having getting the photos (and they were having so much fun) and certainly did not want them to think we used that as a way to get their photo.

Before leaving home, I had read there was no reason to buy your train tickets ahead of time so in the interest of having a small amount of flexibility I didn’t. But when I decided to go ahead and buy them yesterday, since we felt pretty certain of our plans today, I couldn’t buy any – they were all sold out. Turns out, today is the final day of the vacation and everyone who came to Marrakesh for vacation would be leaving today to go back to Casablanca- our destination this evening.

A bit panicked, I asked our car rental agency if we could drop the car in Casablanca and pay the drop fee. No problem, she said until 5 minutes later she said she was wrong, they had it contracted for this afternoon. But she was very nice and gave us an option of a private transfer, which I gladly took, as it really was our only choice but with one caveat- she had to tell the driver not to drive crazy like all the insane taxis we had passed.

Driving back through Imlil was already getting crazy – at one point three of us, all trying to go in different directions with a mule porter in the middle.

We made it to our meeting spot to drop The Camel off right on time. The Camel you ask? That was what we named our car, a Dacia Duster, because she could seemingly go days without needing fuel. In fact, we stopped to put fuel a second time only because we thought for sure the gas gauge must be broken. We drove 1226 miles and only burned 20 gallons of diesel!

Another highway drive (I am finally a passenger) and a few more sights: busses travel with both their engine cover and their passenger door open…

It took us about 3 1/2 hours to make the drive to Casablanca through flat lands that could easily stand in for Iowa farm country. Pulling into Casablanca felt like a world away from everywhere else in Morocco we have been. It’s huge- 1.5x the population size of Marrakesh, urban, busy and nondescript. I had read there is not much reason to visit Casablanca and frankly we wouldn’t have except this is where we are flying out of and Jenny really wanted to see the mosque here.

Dinner was a total disaster… unfortunate our last night in Morocco but I’m glad every other night has been somewhere on the spectrum from very good to fantastic.

Don’t Go To The Mountains On…

Our night’s sleep was actually good, minus the incessant barking dogs but at least there were no mosquitoes buzzing in our ears!

We had a nice breakfast up on the terrace and enjoyed chatting with a young couple from Colorado who had been there for a week horseback riding. We felt lucky because yesterday the weather was perfect but by 9:00 this morning, a heavy fog bank rolled in and wiped out any view of the ocean.

I actually really enjoyed our stay here; It had a great vibe and the people were terrific. I could easily hang there for a week watching the breakers roll in.

We didn’t waste time this morning as we had our longest drive yet. Today we were going from the coast to the mountains (and I know that’s not saying much since Morocco has A LOT of mountains), an expected five-hour drive.

Within minutes of leaving we passed miles and miles and miles of greenhouses. We were not able to figure out what was in the them but it was beyond extensive.

We planned to drive the fastest route – an actual toll highway that had two lanes in both directions and came complete with full tarmac coverage and sound shoulders. The highway turned out to be a good place to spy more Moroccan things that baffled us – like how they transport items, especially livestock, including cows – on the tops of trucks with nothing holding them in should they hit a big bump.

We crossed from the land of red rock, to the land of yellow rock, to a flat arid plain that was almost white, the whole time we could zero mountains – not even the faintest outline, before we hit the green and started climbing.

It wasn’t long before obvious signs from the earthquake that devastated this area in October were evident. We passed the open fields where so many people are still living in tents and crumbled and cracked buildings. The road was littered with rockslides, some still blocking lanes, and in many parts burying the guardrails. We were basically headed to the epicenter of the 6.9 earthquake high in the Atlas Mountains to Imlil – a town known for trekking, and had we had more time, we would be doing a few.

One thing we quickly learned was not to go to the mountains on market day, not to go on a Saturday, not to go when the temperatures are running 10-20 degrees above normal, and not to go the first weekend after Ramadan – we now know this for next time because had you told me that what I was going to be driving into was the utter chaos we found ourselves in, I wouldn’t be staring at the majestic Mount Toubkal right now. This was by far the most wild driving experience I have ever had.

Mount Toubkal is the tallest mountain in North Africa. It stands at an elevation of 13,671 feet and is glacial year round.It can be summitted via a two day trek leaving from Imlil.

Finding the small alleyway that we had to take to the riad was a bit tricky, but with Billy’s sharp eye, we located it. We parked the car and made the rest of the way on the trail.

The views from the riad were stunning, it is one of the reasons why I chose it. We were warmly welcomed with an offer of tea and enjoyed a conversation with the two brothers who are the owners, Rashid and Ibrahim. They said this whole village is just their extended family. It began a few generations back with just two houses – their great great grandfather’s and his brother. They said they own land across the river in Imlil but they didn’t want to build there because there are too many tourists always coming up from other parts of Morocco.

The riad is really cool, built into the side of the mountain and overlooking the verdant river valley below.

The call to prayer here was incredible, reverberating through the valley…

We had a delicious dinner of salad (a funky salad mixed with banana, apple, grapefruit, cucumber, olives, tomato, and spices but it was really good), the best bread we’ve had on the trip, and we each got our own chicken, lemon and saffron tagine – I told them when they brought it, it was way too much but they insisted and you know what? We ate every last morsel!

After dinner, Jenny wanted to take a walk into town since we didn’t get one earlier as she went down hard with a migraine. We asked one of the ladies if it was OK and she asked us, “Aren’t you scared from the dark?” We showed her our flashlights and she then said,” OK, no problem. No o w will harm you here. In this village you are safe.” So we set off. for a walk into the village. This may be a quarter mile, but it was dark. The village was still fairly lively, but your shop was open. People were still coming and going. We found it interesting that we didn’t get very many stairs. None of the men seem to take much notice of us, and we felt very comfortable.

The Coast

Our night was a bit rough… hot without AC and an open window to cool the room let a mosquito in, which of course buzzed all of us to the point Billy had to turn lights on at 2:30 to try and kill it. He never succeeded but thank goodness the mosquito never resurfaced.

It was a bit of a leisurely departure, we had a nice breakfast on the terrace, another great chat with Jean, and then Jenny and Lila exchanged contacts before we headed out dropping Lila off in her village.

As we pulled into town, Billy noticed Mohammed (the shop owner who stopped on his moped yesterday) sitting on a nearby wall; Mohammed noticed us and jumped up and walked over to the car. He asked if we were leaving town and would we come by. I assured Mohammed we were not interesting in buying rugs or anything like that. “No problem. You can come take a look anyhow. We have many many other things too.”

We somewhat reluctantly followed Mohammed to his shop, Maison du Troc, where we walked into a room piled high on all sides with carpets. He then led us into another room that was full of an array of other items including jewelry (which was what we were after and actually where we were headed when he abducted us). Billy and Jenny spent some time perusing it but before you knew it, we found our selves in an even larger room, maybe twice the size of the entry room with rugs piled up just as high and Mohammed giving us a lesson on the various rugs. It was actually quite interesting and his knowledge and respect for the craftsmanship was impressive and…before you knew it…we bought one. A little one but still. Truth be told, there were a few we would have bought and the crazy thing is in Marrakesh the bigger ones were selling for $5,000-$8,000, here they were selling for $450-$800. I am sorry I got so wrapped up in the moment that I forgot to take pictures.

All told we bought 1 rug for me, 1 painting for Jenny (which they removed from the stretchers and rolled up), and two silver bracelets – one for each of us. Mohammed was funny because he said he knew when I said we wouldn’t be buying anything that dad would be saying yes!

As we were leaving, Mohammed overheard that Jenny was looking for apples to eat. He saw her and Billy walking towards the fruit stand but he quickly stopped them, went into a small restaurant (where our Swiss friends were actually dining) and came out of the kitchen with four apples for Jenny, and then refused to accept payment for them.

We finally made it of town at 1:00, backtracking on some of the road we had entered town on, passed through another checkpoint successfully and immediately were blown away by yet another drive through the majestic Anti Atlas mountains.

We are amazed by all the terraces that there are- obviously old ones that are crumbling and some newer or better maintained ones. In such a dry climate, I wonder what they could have possibly grown on all these mountainsides.

By now, you have heard it said that the mountains are incredible and the scenery just stunning but… you are going to hear it again, because it is truly breathtaking.

We stopped for a while to watch a flock of camels and all their little babies, some seemingly wobbling on their stilted legs.

The only stop I had planned was at an agadir – think of it like a modern-day storage facility. Unfortunately, the man with the main key was not there so we couldn’t go in to see it. However, two young boys decided to join us and walk us around the outside, then over to the ruins of another facility of some sort, where we picked up another tour guide.

There was little we understood but the experience was rich and one of the boys found a baby tortoise he showed us, which I loved (as I once had a tortoise as a pet).

As we were leaving a group of older women, all dressed in beautifully colored kaftans, approached the car. We stopped, rolled down the window, greeted them and they immediately approached the car talking and gesturing to us. Jenny didn’t understand a word they were saying, nothing about it was even remotely familiar. At one point, they noticed Billy in the back and appeared to be laughing the two women were up front and the man was in the back. It was a funny exchange, the one lady was so spunky.

Finding our road was a bit of an adventure. It is located on a bluff high above the Atlantic Ocean. Five failed attempts (including two by Billy) to make it up a sandy road before the owner came out to redirect us, with the help of a local guy Ibrahim, that jumped in the car with us to reroute us another way.

The riad is actually pretty cool – in a fun and funky way; it is very authentic in its age and that has been incorporated into the design. You got to love that you don’t need a nightlight because there is plenty coming through the inch-wide cracks in the door, not to mention the three-inch wide gap around the door.

We walked down to the edge of the bluff overlooking the waves and watched the local fishermen, one of who stopped by on his way down to say hello and welcome us. Salah works in the enormous desalination plant that is just up the coast and wanted to know if we could exchange numbers so we could talk from America.

Dinner was abundant, ridiculously so, with a chicken tagine with lemon and olives which were almost too bitter to eat, probably our least favorite of the trip. We had great conversations with one of the friends of the owner, also called Ibrahim, and the owners – a young woman I believe of Moroccan heritage (though she was dressed in shorts and a tank top and a much older French husband who was Armenian by birth). We had a lot of laughs, especially when Ibrahim did his take of the US southern accent.

We figured sleeping was going to be OK as far as the temperature went since there was no A/C, between the air passing through the door and the bathroom window open, we figured it would stay cool. Billy considered opening the bedroom window but when he saw how low to the ground it was, he quickly changed his mind – not because of the fear of human intruders though, but because he figured we would have a pack of dogs in here by morning.

Jean Was Right

Yesterday just as we were pulling into the Traditional House Museum, Jenny got an email that she had been shortlisted for an internship she had applied for – that was great news. The email told her she had 24 hours to complete a written assignment- that was the bad news. I suppose it was serendipity that we were staying two nights in Tafraout because there would have been no way for Jenny to complete the required assignment otherwise – and that’s exactly what she spent the day doing…

Following a very pleasant breakfast on the front terrace, where Ahmed shared a traditional sweet that is served for Eid, Jenny took a seat at a table and began working while Billy and I went over today’s planned drive with Jean, the owner of the inn. When I told him what I had scheduled for us to do, he said it was in his top three favorite things in all of Morocco (number one being the mosque in Casablanca and number two being the palace). He warned that one of the sections of the drive would be on rough unpaved road and instead suggested we do an out and back – we would also get the full wow factor of the views he said since we would see it from both directions – so we planned on that!

It was tough leaving Jenny behind but we were very proud of her for choosing to spend her day doing a written assignment that she could have just as easily taken a pass on.

You know what they say about what a difference a day makes? Well never have I seen that so clearly as this morning when we drove back through the town. What yesterday was a deserted village with locked storefronts and mostly empty streets, today was a vibrant community filled with people shopping and carrying on – Ramadan was over and people were back to their ways of life.

Driving out of town we remarked how the area reminded us of Zion and red rock country. The hills were made up of giant red boulders rubbed smooth by the forces of wind. I pulled over to take a picture and this man comes up on a little moped and stops to ask us if everything was ok. Turns out Mohammed owns the shop that Jean had used for the interior decoration at the inn. He was a pleasant guy and had hoped we would come take a look at his store.

I can say this with no doubt that everybody we have encountered here have been so nice and so welcoming. Villagers always return our waves and greet us with smiles. The only exception has been many of the women who will pull their head covering over the face when they hear or see the car coming, but that’s not to be taken as a sign of unfriendliness, it is cultural.

The only good thing about Jenny staying behind was that I think she would have suffered terribly from car sickness as the road was insane, in more ways than one but the hairpin turns basically brought us to about 5mph. In fact, I never reached more than 25mph for the majority of the four hour drive because not only was I maneuvering tight turns but the asphalt was not wide enough for two cars to pass without running off onto the shoulder and more often than not, the shoulder (sometimes on both sides) was severely undercut or missing altogether so I had to use extreme caution. There were a few times I told Billy that I didn’t know what we’d do if we met up with another car but thank goodness we only passed four the entire time.

The drive had us gaining a bit more than 4000’ in elevation where we leveled off briefly before beginning the descent into Mansour Gorge. If we thought the drive yesterday was spectacular, today knocked it out of the park. The landscape certainly gave off a strong feeling of being out west but that quickly dissipated when we hit the bottom of the gorge and the palm valley oasis. Unlike both the Draa Valley and Tata, where we had been a few days prior, the flora of this oasis was incredibly vibrant and healthy. Perhaps because there was clearly plenty of water as the falaj system was running strong delivering the liquid gold where it was most needed.

The drive through the oasis was magnificent with the lushness and greenery of the palm, olive, and almond trees creating a striking contrast against the soaring red cliffs- all topped off by a blue sky – wow, just wow!

There were villages mixed in here and there built into the surrounding cliffs and a few homes and even a small elementary school (easily discernible by the Mickey Mouse painted on the outside wall) in the middle of the oasis. We saw a few local families enjoying the shade and the waters of the oasis.

And as we came to the end of it, we were happy to say, we got to turn around and see it all again!

Yesterday once we had made it to town, we had sought out an ATM and while heading to our hotel we passed the people from earlier. I stopped the car and jokingly hollered over to them, “We made it!” They laughed and said they had been watching for us. We had a short chat with them, and they were inquisitive as to how we came to be in this part of Morocco, more pointedly because we are Americans. Today, high up on the pass, we ran into them a third time, “You again,” I said. Turns out they were Swiss and again were interested in us being American. Billy told him what Elhoussaine had said about us, we are travelers not tourists. They too were driving a Dacia Duster and he told us they rented it for reminiscence sake because ten years ago they were in Morocco and got stuck on a road (actually the same road we drove the first day) for forty hours after it was overrun by flood waters. The and about thirty other cars spent two nights sleeping in their automobiles while local villagers brought them soup and other food. I could not imagine trying to sleep in this car but I suppose when traveling like this you do what you have to do!

We were back at the inn by 3:30 and Jenny was just finishing up and hitting submit. She and Billy decided to take a swim and relax by the pool for a bit. We later enjoyed a stroll through the beautiful gardens, drinks on the terrace (the weather was just glorious) and I finally got to hear the call to prayer.

We finished our day with another delicious meal of … tagine- chicken with orange and saffron, along with some cinnamon studded couscous. Jenny placed it now in her number 3 spot. The dessert was off the charts delicious- Billy saying it was the best he had ever eaten. I thought of my dad and how much he would have loved it – a rich chocolate mousse with a coffee gelee on top – truly decadent!