Morocco, Day 1

Where to start?!  This trip was . . . amazing!  Looking back at our pictures I keep thinking, ‘were we really there?’; ‘did we really do those things?’  The answer is YES!

We were so lucky to have some pretty amazing travel partners . . . a family of 5 whose kids meshed right in with ours.  Our history goes way back to BYU days when Shannon was my next door neighbor my sophomore year.  Chris and I met, got engaged (Shannon happened to be outside and was one of the first to congratulate us), married, and left BYU.  Just months later, Shannon and Scott met in the same apartment complex, became engaged, and married at the end of the year.  Paths took us various places and lo and behold, we met up again in our London ward.  They no longer live in our ward boundaries, but that initial reintroduction was all we needed to get our families together.  Seeing them at a Christmas party last year, swapping travel stories, and the next thing we knew a joint holiday adventure to Morocco was born.  The only hard part about it was waiting the 6 months for it to actually happen!

Our adventure began at 3:15 a.m. when we got up to get to the airport.  Little did we know it was going to be one of the longest days of our travels.  When we arrived in Marrakech, our tour guide, Nourdinne, and driver, Ali, met us . . . . and we were off!

Emma Ready to Explore Morocco

Even though we were expecting high temperatures while we were there, this initial introduction to Morocco was do-able.  It felt like a pleasant California heat.  Our goal for the day was to get through the Atlas Mountains.

Driving through the Atlas Mountains

This was no small feat.  It seemed like we drove forever!  Then every so often, Nourdinne would have Ali pull over and he’d encourage us to take pictures.  Half the time we weren’t quite sure of what we were taking pictures of.  Eventually we just starting telling him to drive on; we just wanted to get to our final destination.  Part of that was due to some car sickness happening inside our bus.  Cami was the first one hit.  Thankfully, we always travel with throw-up bags, just in case!

Cami Out for the Count

Our stops then became out of necessity, rather than for photos.  However, there were still plenty of opportunities for photos at each stop.

The Cool ‘Teens’

Lunch was a real treat.  We quickly learned this was what we had to look forward to for our entire stay – Fanta, bread, and chicken kabobs.

Bread with Argan Oil

If it got old for anyone, it certainly didn’t get old for Cami.  She continually downed at least 3-4 of these kabobs whenever they were served.

Cami’s Lunch

Kabob Fights

After lunch, Nourdinne took us next door to where women were preparing the argan oil that we had for lunch.

Breaking the Kernels

Grinding the Kernels into a Paste

Obviously, this is a tourist spot, but we hit it on the off-season.  We were quickly understanding why as the heat continued to climb throughout the day to reach 45*C (113*F).

We stopped at the summit Col du Tichka, which means “Pass of Pasture”.  This is the road’s highest point through the High Atlas Mountains at 2,260 m high and links Marrakech to Ouarzazate.

The Summit

Yet another sign that we hit during the off-season.  Shops abounded at the point of the summit and yet no one was there.  If you approached a shop, someone appeared miraculously, but other than that, there was no sign of life.

Lone Road-Side Shop

As we were nearing our final destination (in 10 minutes ‘Nourdinne time’ – could be anywhere from 5 – 30 minutes), we pulled off to the side of the road for more pictures.  No idea what we were taking pictures of, but it was a pretty amazing scene.

Doors in Middle of Nowhere

Chris

We finally reached our riad (hotel) and we couldn’t have been happier.  See that sun-ray, it really did seem that glorious.  We were so ready to be off the bus and rest for the day.

Riad Maktoub

We were told to relax in the lounge area while they got us some refreshments but we refused and just wanted our rooms!

One of the Rooms

We quickly found this was going to be a pretty basic, rustic stay with no working air conditioners.

Emma & Becca’s Room

After feeling a little refreshed, we went exploring the hotel.  It really did have a look and style all its own that was amazing.

Interior of Riad

Hannah Overlooking Courtyard

Eclectic Riad Decorations

The kids went right to the pool to cool off.  Amazingly enough, the water was SO cold they had a hard time staying in for too long.  It was unheated and kept in the shade thanks to being in a small courtyard.

Caleb, Hannah, Dallin, Madeleine, Trevon, Cami, Emma

Caleb, in particular, spent most of his time sunbathing.

If we thought we were done for the day, we had another thing coming.  Before dinner, Nourdinne met up with us, wanting to take us to the Kasbah, an old castle.  We didn’t get too much historical background, other than parts of “Gladiator” were filmed here.

Nourdinne

Ashton’s

The Kasbah in Ait ben Haddou

The Stephensons

As we walked up to the Kasbah, a lone horse rider passed us.  We then saw him again on a ridge overlooking an old arena.  It was an amazing site seeing him against that backdrop.

The Lone Rider

The kids were troopers.  We had not learned to stock up on water yet, had no idea how long we’d be walking around, and were hot & tired ourselves.

Hannah

Emma Resting

There were some pretty great picture spots as we walked.

Doors

We learned quickly the art of finding shade to rest in.

Hannah & Emma Taking a Rest

The view from the top of the Kasbah was really amazing.  It made you feel like you were in the middle of nowhere.

View from the Top

The walk back was hard.  We couldn’t find a shop for water fast enough!

Hannah and Madeleine

Even being out in the middle of nowhere, there is always a ‘tourist shop’ trap at the end of every tourist attraction.   This gave us a little taste of what would await us later in the week when we got to Marrakesh.

Seller Stalls

The End of the Stalls

After stocking up on water for the next day, we went back to the riad for dinner and a hot night of sleep!  We were just so glad to crawl into bed after such a long day that the heat only bothered us when the flies woke us up.