Morocco was not a country that particularly attracted us. When we decided to take a trip, we considered different options. We wanted to be at a place that it was not far away and that has a good weather. This is how we are encouraged by Morocco.
We bought the plane tickets. Once we fixed the origin and destination, we prepared the route. At first, we thought about renting a car but there were people who did not recommend it to us so we decided to move by train and bus. We booked the hotels, all of them riad of the medinas.
Day 1 - Assilah
We got up at 10 o'clock, without hurry. We have woken up several times but in general, we have slept well. At 11 we check out and we take the transfer. In 5 minutes we are in T3. We changed to dirhams. They charged us a bestial commission. The truth is that we never change money at the airport but this time, I do not know why we did it. Of course, we will not do it again.
We pass the control. We have breakfast there, buy cigarettes and go to the boarding gate. We wait 20 minutes and embark. After landing we pass the immigration without problems. The Tangier airport is very small. When leaving the terminal we take a taxi. The rates to the main cities are already fixed and appear on a poster. We see that the one to Assilah is 200D. We ask the driver, who tells us that it is up to the bus station. Even our hotel tells us that they are 250D.
The trip lasts half an hour. The guy drives very fast and advances in that way, but we have no problems. The driver only slows down when we pass through a police checkpoint. We have to give us the directions of where the hotel is.
We arrived at the hotel. The room is small but fine. The hotel has a small lounge with sofas where we had tea. It's 3 in the afternoon and we go to the train station to buy tickets for tomorrow to Fez. It is about 15 minutes from the hotel and we have to go by the side of the road. We bought tickets for the train at 11:13 in first class. As the trip is long (4 hours), we prefer to be comfortable.
We go to the medina. On the way we only see men. Where are the women? The medina is walled. It is very beautiful The houses are white and blue. Here tourists are there, but there are not too many people. We passed the map because it is impossible. They are all very narrow streets and most have no name.
We left the medina after a couple of hours of wandering around and we sat on a terrace. We had a beer, which we thought they would not have. It's 7 and it starts to get cold so we decided to go to the hotel for a jacket. We had a few beers in the hotel lounge. This time they are alcohol-free.
The reviews of the hotel restaurant on the internet are good so we decided to dine here. We started watching the football match. The owner tells us that in Morocco they are mad soccer fans. At 9 we had dinner. The owner tells us that the cuisine they make is more modern than the typical Moroccan dishes. We appreciate it because we are going to finish the couscous and the tajin up to our noses.
We had some aubergines with hummus, a couscous with octopus and a black couscous with squid. It's all very good but the couscous fills a lot. It is that in the end, it is like eating bread. We had coffee in the living room (it looks like our house) and at 10:30 we go to sleep. For the first day, it has been quiet. Assilah is a calm city and, for what the hotel has told us, the least Moroccan of all the cities that we will visit.
Day 2 - Fez
We got up at 9. We've slept pretty well. We went down to breakfast. We see more guests. We had breakfast very well, with several typical Moroccan sweets. We go to the train station. We wait on the platform for about 15 minutes. We have to wait where the first car and ours is the last, so we have to run.
In our seats there is a girl and all her luggage, so we sit in another. The trip lasts 4 hours but we do not do anything heavy. We arrived in Fez at 3 in the afternoon. A taxi driver with a sign with our name wait for us. We had booked it with the hotel because they charged us the same as a public taxi there.
In 15 minutes we reach a parking lot where the owner of the hotel wait for us. A boy takes our backpacks and takes them in a cart. We follow the woman through narrow streets full of garbage. The hotel is at the end of an alley that is scary.
The road to the hotel has been quite shocking, including the dead rat in the corner of the alley. Still, the hotel is very good. The room is spectacular and huge. I think I had never been in such a large room! The truth is that the house is beautiful. We went up to the terrace. There are some very good views of the medina.
At 4 we went for a walk. We have read in the Lonely Planet guide that we have, and the lady of the riad has confirmed it to us, that it is very easy to get lost in the medina. Right away we realize. The medina is a tangle of streets crowded with people, stalls, and trash, which are equal among them and none has a name. Removing the map is silly because it is almost worthless.
Luckily there are some signs that indicate different routes we can do visiting certain monuments. We decided to follow one of the signs. After a while wandering around it seems that, more or less, we have placed ourselves. At least we think we would know how to get to the hotel.
After going for a walk, we go to a hotel where we know there is alcohol. We deserve a beer. We return to pay the beer at the price of gold. As we do not want to arrive too late at the hotel and we have not eaten, we decided to take a couple of pizzas to take away and go to the hotel. We are quite far from the hotel so we take a taxi to leave us in a square near the hotel. And it is that one of the advantages, but also sometimes an inconvenience. The cars cannot pass so the taxi cannot leave us at the hotel. I hope to remember the road well!
The first taxi driver we stopped does not understand us so we go for another one. He asks us for 30D and we leave him at 25. We do not feel like bargaining a lot. It has been raining most of the afternoon.
From the square where the taxi leaves us to the hotel, we arrive without problems. We walk at full speed. It's dripping. The pizzas are cold. I suppose that when we get used to the Moroccan medinas, we will move without problems. We arrived at the hotel at 8:30. We had dinner and a Coke and go to sleep.
Day 3 - Fes
We get up at 8:30. We have slept quite well. The truth is that we were tired. We go down to breakfast at 9:30. There is a couple of Italians. We chatted with them for a while. At 10:30 we left the hotel. I drop all the water from one of the plastics that they put on top of the stalls so they do not get wet. I got it! We have to go back to the hotel to dry because it has soaked my pants.
Our first destination is the tanneries, the area of the medina where leather is worked. Before we went through a brass shops area. We do not have a hard time finding tanneries. As soon as we arrive, a boy hits us to go to his terrace. In this neighborhood, the shops have a terrace from where we can see the famous wells with colors.
We try to get rid of the boy but he is very insistent. In the end, we got it. We do not go to any terrace because we do not want to be persuaded to buy something. And in Morocco, we throw ourselves half the time saying we do not want anything and half haggling.
After wandering around for a while without having any idea where we are, we reach one of the main streets. These streets are Talaa Kebira and Talaa Sghira. He's been carrying around since we left the hotel. We are fully drained and that we wear a raincoat.
On these streets, there are a lot of people and everyone is walking very fast. And, every so often, we have to step aside because a donkey is loaded with things or a man with a cart. We have already learned the phrase balek balek, which is what they shout for one to step aside.
In these streets, there are a lot of stores. In fact, there is practically nothing else. At the end of these streets (they are parallel) is the area of the restaurants, next to the Bab Bou Jeloud gate. We had a mint tea. The truth is that we are not tea drinking but we must recognize that this is very good.
We left the walls of the medina. We decided to go see Bou Jeloud gardens. They are closed so we continue to the Jewish quarter (Mellah). After a couple of laps without really knowing where we are going, we managed to locate ourselves. The Jewish quarter is like a new medina. The streets are wider and paved.
We reached the door of the Royal Palace. It is the only thing that can be seen in this palace since it is the official residence of the king when he comes to Fez. Then we decided to eat at a restaurant that is nearby and recommended in the Lonely Planet. We eat a sandwich and a hamburger because we are not very hungry. And we have gotten a good breakfast.
After lunch, we go to see the gardens, which are already open. Finally, after 5 hours, it has stopped raining and until the sun rises. From the gardens, we return to the Jewish quarter because we want to visit the cemetery. We have trouble finding it. The admission costs 10D, so we paid and entered. A guide (or an uncle who says he is a guide) accompanies us and explains something.
At the end of the talk, the guide asks us for 20D. That's weird! We return to the hotel to change because we have our feet set. At least, with these walks we have taken through the medina we have already learned a route and arrived at the hotel without much difficulty. We had a coke on the hotel terrace. The sun has come out a bit, although there are dark clouds. Hopefully, it will not rain again.
We left the hotel at 7 o'clock in the evening. We have thought about going back to the restaurant area. We did not think it was that much. It took about 45 minutes and we walk fast. When mosques call to prayer, it is heard throughout the medina. As it does not rain, we are much more comfortable.
We go to the hotel where we were yesterday to have some beers. Then we go to dinner. It is 8:30 and we are not very hungry but we do not want to arrive too late at the hotel, lest we forget the road as well as we think. We had a skewer and a chicken tagine.
We take a taxi to the R'Cif square. From there we walk to the hotel. It's 9:30 and almost all the stalls are closed, but people can still be seen. Yes, little and almost all men. In the alley of the hotel, there are a couple of groups of kids that, really, impress a little. We arrived at the hotel and at 11 we go to sleep.
We liked Fez a lot, even if time has not gone together. The medina impresses a little at first through the streets, the number of people, the smells. But, once overcome, it has a charm that, without being beautiful, is special.
Day 4 - Meknes
We get up at 8:30. Tonight we have slept very well. We go down to breakfast at 9. Today we have breakfast with a couple of Italians and a family of French with small children. We had a great breakfast with coffee, juice, scrambled eggs, croissant, pain au chocolat, pancakes, oranges, and strawberries.
At 10 o'clock the gentleman of the riad accompanies us to the parking where the taxi driver waits for us. The Italians come with us. We suppose that to make some excursion because they are mounted in another taxi. The road to the parking lot is pretty filthy.
At 10:20 we arrived at the train station. There are enough tourists. We bought the tickets to Meknes. We take first class for 30D each. The train is already on the platform, so we ride. They are compartments of 6 seats, which are very good.
Shortly after being seated, a tourist comes to tell us that we are in the wrong coach. We go to the other. There are already people in our compartment and soon another girl arrives. The trip lasts only half an hour, so it flies by. We arrived at the Meknes station. Before taking the taxi we bought the morning tickets to El Jadida. It costs us 185D each in first class. It may seem expensive but it is 6 hours of travel.
We take a taxi. The gentleman tells us things in Arabic. We smile at him and from time to time we nod. The hotel told us that the taxi has to cost us 20D. We have asked the taxi driver when riding but he tells us he has a meter. In the end, he charges us 10D, so the guy is good because he could have taken the 20D we told him.
It leaves us in the main square of Meknes, el-Hedim square. We walk to the hotel that, as it is in the medina, the taxi can not arrive. The hotel has sent us a map and we arrived without problems. The streets look cleaner than those in Fez.
Since it's 12 o'clock we cannot check in, so we leave our backpacks and go. We take a walk around the medina and the souks. Since it is Friday, all the stalls are closed. There are not many people either. We passed through the el-Hedim square, the main square of Meknes.
We go to the imperial city, passing through the main gate of the walls. We take a walk and have a beer in a bar. We have to do it inside because on the terrace they cannot give us alcohol. As we drink beer, a waiter stands in front of us to pray.
We take a walk outside the walls and return to the hotel. It's 3 in the afternoon and we can go up to the room. The hotel is very good. It has a very nice patio and terrace, and the room is very good. We return to the imperial city. We entered the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail (when we have been before it was closed).
We take a walk through the narrow streets of the imperial city. This is a labyrinth. There are no shops or stalls or anything, so it is difficult to have landmarks. And every 10 meters there is a fork. A couple of times people tell us where to go.
We arrived at a kind of square but, as we have no idea where we are, we decided to retrace our steps. A child hits us and starts to guide us, although we do not understand anything. We got out of the labyrinth. We give a couple of dirham to the kid.
We go to the Jewish neighborhood. Well, actually we tried it because we got into a huge market that we did not go out of. Here there are people. We have a mint tea at one of the terraces that overlook the main square. Now it is 6 o'clock in the afternoon. There are much more people than in the morning.
There are many stalls and people singing and telling stories. We return to the hotel for a jacket because it starts to get cold. We had a coffee and an orange juice on a terrace in the square. We think they're going to nail us but they charge us 22D. Compared to what we are paying for beers, it seems cheap.
We go to the hotel because dinner is at 8 o'clock. It is very early but we have not eaten since breakfast. The narrow streets at night impress because they are barely illuminated and with so much alley it seems that someone is going to leave to scare us. For dinner, we have harira, a soup with chickpeas, meat tagine and apple pie. It's all very good. We have tea on the terrace and at 10:30 we go to sleep.
Meknes is an interesting city but it is a pity to have seen it on a holiday. After the chaos of Fez, this is very quiet. Tomorrow a long day awaits us for the train journey.
Day 5 - El Jadida
We get up at 7:30. Today we have slept worse. And that we cannot hear anything. We go down to breakfast at 8 o'clock. They have their coffee ready for us. The breakfast, as always, is fantastic. We have coffee, orange juice, yogurt, croissants, and pancakes. We went to the El Hedim square to get a taxi. We do not have problems because many people pass through here.
We arrived at the train station. It charges us 14D. We arrived half an hour before the train left. We see some tourist. For a change, our seats are occupied but we do not even bother asking. After a while, we realize that, or there are people who travel without a seat or slip from the second to the first class. It is usual to have to change places because someone claims theirs and we all move in a chain.
The trip is not very heavy but it is more than that of Fez, and that is almost an hour less. We went down to Casablanca because we have to change. We have to wait an hour and a half. We left the station and had tea and coffee on a terrace. They see tourists but not many.
We go back to the station and buy some potatoes and some cookies, which is our lunch today. At 2:30 in the afternoon we take the train to El Jadida. So far the trains have been punctual. This train has no compartments and is not that comfortable. A woman with a burka travels behind us. We do not see many with a burka but enough to attract attention. Well, only one already catches our attention.
We arrived at El Jadida at 4 in the afternoon. Outside the station, there are many taxis but in 2 minutes they fill up and we have to wait. We ride in one that, without realizing it, is shared, so ask more people if they want to go up. Soon we picked up a man. We tell the taxi driver the address.
At first, he hesitates but he seems to know how to go. We arrived at a school that is next to the hotel, but we do not see it. The taxi driver asks another and finally leaves us at the door. We do not know how much the trip is but we give it 20D because we do not have any more change and the man has taken care to bring us to the door.
The hotel entrance is a little peculiar because we can see that the building is old but the room and the bathroom are fine. It's 5 in the afternoon and we go for a walk. We go to the Portuguese city, which is the most touristic place here. Along the way, we began to see more and more people and places.
The road is nice but it is not very big and the most beautiful is seen in an hour. We take a walk outside the walls. The streets are chaotic because there are hundreds of people. We do not see many tourists. We try to drink something but the bars are a little gloomy, in which there are only men. We return to the Portuguese city because we have seen a terrace that looked good. We had some beers. We return to pay them at the price of gold.
We dined at a restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet inside the Portuguese city (La Portugaise). We had tagine and coffee. We walk back to the hotel because it is 10 minutes away and there is a street full of people. Of course, as we move away from the main street people and street lights begin to disappear.
We have tea on the hotel terrace and sleep. Today the trip has been long but the day has turned out well. El Jadida is a passing city because it does not have much to see but enough to spend the afternoon. We have realized that Morocco is not a country of great monuments or things to see. It is a journey to wander around and get to know another culture in a relaxed way.
Day 6 - Essaouira
We get up at 8:30. At night we heard rain raging. When we go down to breakfast it does not rain and the sky is more or less clear. We had coffee, juice and the typical Moroccan pancakes. We left the hotel at 10:30 am on the way to the bus station. The hotel girl tells us that it is best to take a taxi but we decided to walk because we have time. The bus departs at 12:30. We found the bus station without problems.
Mind you, there are a lot of food stalls and people outside. We bought these bus tickets online. We go to the window and we give the girl the printed paper that we carry with the reservation. It seems that this is the first time she has seen such a paper and she is not sure what to do.
At the end a child helps, type in the reservation code and our reservations appear on the screen. But when we go to print it gives us an error. We use the legendary restart trick but it still does not work. In the end, she gives us a couple of handwritten tickets, so we do not know what our seats are. Of course, we suspect that here it does not matter.
It's 11 and we go to have coffee on a terrace. They charge us 10D, which is quite expensive. At 12 we go to the station. As there are no signs or screens here, we do not know what our bus is. We only hope that it is not one of those who is at that moment parked because it looks a little dusty. It does not seem that anyone is going to endure a trip of more than 2 hours. And much less than 5, which is ours.
We ask a man who tells us where we have to wait. At 12:20 a bus arrives, something more decent. They tell us what is ours. It does not leave here but it comes from another place and here it stops, that's why it comes with people. We leave the backpacks in the trunk and they tell us that we have to go to the window so they can put a sticker on it. We pay 5D and they give us a couple of stickers.
We got on the bus. There is a couple of tourists. The rest look Moroccan. Of course, we sit where we want because here what the seats are numbered is anecdotal. At 2:30 in the afternoon we stopped in a town to have a drink. The typical 20 minute stop. The site is to see it.
There are several terraces with a restaurant on a street where it seems that a bomb has fallen because the houses are half demolished. We continue our way to Essaouira. It's a bit long and we're already a little tired from so much travel. A little before 6 in the afternoon we arrived in Essaouira. We are in the new part of the city and it shows. We take a taxi that stops by the street and we go to the Bab Marrakech, one of the doors of the medina. It charges us 10D.
We arrived at the hotel without problems because it is close to one of the main streets and there are a couple of signs indicating where the hotel is. The hotel is a riad. The hotel is pretty good. The room and bathroom are clean and has a very nice terrace, with good views of the city.
The woman at the hotel explains several things to see or where to eat. Most of the owners of the houses where we are staying are French. We went out for a walk. It's 6:30 in the afternoon and we go to take the tickets to Marrakesh but the ticket offices are closed.
We take a walk along the beach promenade. There are a lot of people but being a wide street there is no overwhelm. We sit on a terrace to have a beer. At night we enter the medina again. We went up to a very nice terrace with a lot of people and live music. It's on the terrace of the restaurant.
We went out and looked for a place to dine. We cannot find the one we have seen in the Lonely Planet and in one that the hotel woman has recommended us, there is no room. We return to the square where we have seen people (Moulay Hassan Square).
Finally, we enter a one which looks good and also recommended by the Lonely Planet. It's full so we have to wait. We wait at the bar for a table and wait for the dishes. Yes, the place is very nice and we did not have a bad dinner. We leave at 11 so we go to the hotel to sleep.
The trip so far is turning out very well. Essaouira, for what little we have seen, we liked it. There is a lot of people and has little to do with other sites we have seen. Surely it does not look so much like Morocco but it seems like a perfect place to rest and relax.
Day 7 - Essaouira
We get up at 9 o'clock. We have not slept badly until dawn. And it is that all the light enters the room. We went to breakfast to the terrace. We had coffee, juice, strawberries, and pancakes. We go to buy the morning bus tickets to Marrakech. The station is very close to the hotel. They cost us 140D. Afterward, we go for a walk in the medina.
There is a lot of people, shops, and many tourists. But it is not overwhelming. There are narrow streets but the main streets are wider. We arrive at the port where they are selling the fish. Next, to it, there are several stalls where the fish we buy is grilled.
We walk on part of the walls. The views are beautiful and time, at the moment, accompanies. It is cloudy but at least it does not rain. We had a coffee and a juice on a terrace for 23D. We decided to eat on a terrace that has recommended the hotel. It is at the end of the beach, a good walk from the medina. The weather is improving and it is almost clear.
The terrace is full of tourists. I think there is no one local. We eat a hamburger and a pizza with a couple of beers. Here there is no problem to drink alcohol, or inside the medina. We return to the medina. Now the sun heats up. We do some shopping and we have a tea and a coffee on a terrace.
In the afternoon there are a lot more people than in the morning. This happens in all the cities where we have been. We go to the hotel to leave the shopping and we have a tea on the terrace. Then we have a drink on a terrace on the beach. There are fewer people on the walk than yesterday.
We have seen on Tripadvisor a restaurant that looks good. We go to have a look and it convinces us so we go before to a terrace to have a drink and we return to dinner around 21:15. It's full so we have to wait about 10 minutes. The restaurant has a very curious decoration, nothing Moroccan.
It is on one floor and there are several small rooms with 4 or 5 tables per room. We had some ravioli and a lamb tagine. It's all very good. Everything is 320D, including beer and coffee. Then we go to the hotel to sleep because we are tired.
The truth is that we loved Essaouira. It is a very quiet city with a lot of people. I suppose there may be too many people in the summer but now it is very good. I think two days is the right time to see the city and relax.
Day 8 - Marrakech
We get up without hurry at 9:30. Today we have slept better. We go up to the terrace for breakfast and then we check out. We want to pay by card but we cannot, so we leave the backpacks and we take out the money. We pay and go to the bus station, which is very close to our hotel. We paid 10D for putting the suitcases in the trunk. At 12 we went by bus to Marrakech.
After a hour and a half trip, we are at the typical bus stop. In a cafeteria we had a Coke because we had breakfast late and we are not hungry. We arrived at the Marrakech station at 2:30 pm. As soon as we put one foot on the ground, the taxi drivers assault us.
In the end, we go with one that charges us 40D and we take another tourist in the taxi. We stop at the hotel where the owner of our riad has indicated us by mail. From there we walk to our hotel using the mobile. We do not have many problems to find it and that, like everyone, is stuck in an alley.
The riad is very good. It looks more modern than the others where we have been. The room is not very big but it is very good. There is a terrace with jacuzzi and the best thing is the location because it is 2 minutes from the Djemaa el-Fna square. We leave our backpacks and go for a walk. The first thing we see is the famous Djemaa el-Fna square.
In principle, it seems smaller than we imagined but is that we have only seen a part. The square really is huge and there are a lot of people, stalls, vendors, and tourists. We roam the souks. We do not bother to take the map because it is useless.
After a walk, we go to a couple of terraces to have a beer. The medina is less chaotic than that of Fez. The streets are wider and cleaner. We go to dine at a restaurant. We had dinner very well for 220D. From there we go to the hotel because we are tired.
Morocco is liking us more than we expected. Marrakech is a beautiful and quieter city than Fez. Although there are a lot of tourists, it does not become overwhelming. I suppose it will be worse in summer.
Day 9 - Marrakech
We get up without hurry at 9:30. We have not slept well until 7 o'clock. And it is that the room is next to the reception. We went to breakfast to the terrace. Breakfast very good but less abundant than other times. It's raining and it's cold. When we leave the hotel, around 10:30, it does not rain anymore. We go to Bahia Palace. It costs us a bit to find him but we find it. The entrance to the palace costs 10D and is very good.
From here we go to the Badi Palace. Every time we get into some strange street where tourists are not seen, people appear telling us how to go somewhere. The Badi palace is also very good. The admission costs 10D. The truth is that the two palaces are well worth it. The sun has risen so it is already more comfortable.
We have a beer on a terrace. After that, we go to eat. We look for a restaurant where we tried to have dinner last night. We did not find it yesterday and neither do we find it today. We eat at a restaurant that is pretty average but cheap.
From there we see the Koutoubia mosque. It has been very windy so it is not very comfortable to walk because there is a lot of dust and sand. The mosque is very well on the outside because, but as in all, we cannot enter. It has very nice gardens.
We take a walk through the medina following the route of the tanners. The walk, go and return, lasts an hour and a half. A couple of times the kids stick to tell us things and show us the places. I think they do not want money, but we go into their store or their cousin's. As we get past them they get bored and leave. This part of the medina seems more authentic. In fact, there are streets that look like those of Fez.
We went to the hotel to get a jacket. It's almost 7 in the afternoon and it has cooled a lot. We go to a terrace to have a drink. Then we have dinner on a terrace near the plaza. We were yesterday and they gave us a tapas menu. We do not want to dine a lot because we are not very hungry so tapas seems like a good idea. We dined very well for 160D. Of course, the drink costs us almost 300D. From there we go to the hotel because it is 11 pm and we are tired.
Marrakech is a city that is very well. It has a lot of people, a lot of stores but it does not get too cramped. In addition, it has enough things to see besides wandering.
Day 10 - Marrakech
We get up at 9:30. We went to breakfast to the terrace. It does not rain but it is cloudy and it is cool. We went to see the Ben Youssef Madrasa. We paid 60D per person to see the madrassa and the museum that is next door. Both things are worthwhile, especially the madrassa. There is a lot of tourists but bearable.
The sun has already risen so it is comfortable. The two visits have taken almost 2 hours, so we decided to go for a drink before lunch. We go to eat on a terrace that the Lonely Planet recommends. The terrace is very cool, in a chillout plan. We eat a lamb tagine and some tagliatelle with mushrooms. This plus a bottle of water costs us 240D.
We had coffee and dessert on another terrace. The truth is that this country is made for the sweet tooth. We eat a delicious apple pie. Then we take another walk around the souks. This time we decided to follow the green route. Here, as in the medina of Fez, there are colored signs to make different routes. It is more difficult to get lost. Still, there are streets through which we have passed several times. Or is that we all look alike The truth is that with so many positions it is difficult to distinguish.
We went through the hotel to get a jacket because it is 7 pm and cold. We change the area and we take a couple of terraces next to the Badi Palace. In one they pin us 110D for 2 beers. We go to dine at the same place as yesterday. It is a terrace near the Djemaa el-Fna square where there is happy hour and they put tapas for 40D very rich. We had 3 tapas and some beers. All for 320D that, considering the price of beer, is very good. It's 11:30, so we go to sleep.
Marrakech is a city that for a short break is very good. We have been full 2 days and we have seen several interesting things and we have wandered a lot. We have things to see so we have decided that tomorrow, which is our last day, we will stay here instead of doing some excursion to the desert.
Day 11 - Marrakech
We get up at 9:30. We have slept very well and with hardly any noise. We went to breakfast to the terrace. Breakfast, as always, delicious. But he's messing and it does not look like stopping. We go to the Saudi tombs. Here also the price is ridiculous at 10D per person. We are not as long as in the palaces, because it does not have so much to see, but it is very good. It is full of tourists.
We go on our way to the new city. We want to go to a supermarket to buy an argan oil. On the way, we have a coffee on a terrace. Today does not look very good, as far as weather is concerned. On the way, we have to get into a bus shelter because it rains hard. We arrived at the area where all the shops are. As we eat, another storm falls. There is even thunder.
We go back to a terrace for a coffee. As we have our feet set, we decided to go to the hotel to dry off a bit. At 5 pm we go for a walk in the souks. It's Friday and it shows. There are many closed stalls. At least it has stopped raining. We take the red route that takes us through areas where we have not been. We go to have a beer.
Afterward, we make the last purchases and we go to the terrace happy hour where we have been every night. We had planned to dine in the restaurant on the first night but here we are fine and we are not very hungry so we had some tapas that are very good.
There are some girls who belly dance and others who have a tray with candles on their heads. At 10 we leave because we are tired and tomorrow, although we do not have to get up early, we go home.
We liked Morocco more than we thought. In the end, the trip has become a route through cities and not through the desert, as we had originally thought. Walking through the medinas and resting on the terraces has been a very good plan. It has not been as hot as we expected but the weather, in general, has been good at removing a couple of days of rain.
The riad where we have stayed have all been very good. In addition, except for Fez, all were very well located. The one in Fez was inside the medina but about 45 minutes walk from the area of restaurants, and bars. We have eaten better than expected. I like meat a lot, so lamb tagines have been very good dishes. The couscous has made us less funny. In fact, we have only eaten it on our first night. It's not bad but I, personally, get tired of eating it quickly because it seems like bread.
As for prices, you can eat well for about 200 or 250D. The drink is something else. Coffee, tea or orange juice is cheap (between 10 and 20D). The beer is very expensive (between 35 and 60D). Of course, I have to say that I'm not drinking tea but mint tea is very good. And the coffee here is also good. The sweets deserve a special mention. There are a lot and all delicious.
The transport is pretty good. All have left on time and without incident. In the train, we have always traveled in first class and, without being thrown away. The people on the street have scarcely overwhelmed us. Some guy on some street, but not much. Maybe it was that we were mentalized that they were going to overwhelm us more.
Morocco is a country of contrasts. The authentic medinas without channeling and with donkeys as the only means of transport mixed with tourists. I recommend this trip to all, be more or less courageous. There are cities that can be more uncomfortable, like Fez, but others that are very comfortable for anyone, like Essaouira.
I hope you liked the Morocco travel guide. To us, of course, it has convinced us enough to plan another trip, this time through the desert.
