Morocco: a wild trip on the road.

Cities. Desert. Villages. Mountains.

A week that had been so full we didn’t even have time enough to sleep or relax and that’s how we really lived the experience immersed into the wild and authentic side of a beautiful country. 

RABAT was the beginning and we were staying at a local person’s house for two nights. My two friends and I went to spend a few hours on the beach before getting to the centre of town through the old fortress. The fortress is short walk up onto the peak of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean. We walked around the old city admiring the old great fortified walls and had lunch in a very particular restaurant: “Le Dhow” which is literally on a big ship overlooking the river Bouregred.

Not far away is the notable Tower of Hassān, part of the mosque. It's surrounding area was beautiful and so was the famous Medina (Medina means the historical centre typical of North African cities).

As it was the first day we decided to exchange our money to the Moroccan Dirham but you can definitely use your credit card to pay almost everywhere (apart from small shops and markets). On the last evening we went for dinner in a very typical Moroccan restaurant called “Dar Naji” that I truly recommend going to, it’s a big place divided into different rooms across 2 floors and they had a quirky and authentic vibe with tents and canopies to eat under and many carpets, curtains and mirrors. Definitely worth to try the most popular Moroccan dish the "Tajine" and the tasty Moroccan tea.

CASABLANCA was a short stop enroute to Marrakech. We visited some local friends who drove us around in a car to see the renowned Hassan II Mosque.

We were lucky to have had the car because it began to rain so we left the mosque and spent few hours in the big bazar also known as “Souq” in Arabic which is part of the Medina where you can buy anything from oils and perfumes to clothes, shoes, bags and antiques, always bartering with the vendors as is tradition in the Arabic culture. A good (hygienic) tip if you decide to spend hours in the Souq: Go to the toilet before! The bathrooms inside are, lets just say, unattractive at best. As the afternoon arrived it was time for the train to Marrakech, which is just a few hours travel with a panoramic view of the desert from the train windows.

MARRAKECH. Stunning. We reached our destination and took a taxi to our hotel “Oudaya”  a very nice place with the typical Moroccan mosaic decoration and a yard with a pool, the price was not expensive, the location was quite convenient but still you need a taxi to get around the city. Another tip I can give you about taxis is: Always check the real distance you need to go before and make sure that they don't take the longest path to overcharge you as it happened to us more than once.

The first day in Marrakech we visited the centre with its charming narrow streets full of hundreds of spices, natural cosmetics like the amazing argan oil or an endless supply of products made from roses like rosewater, soap, perfumes and anything else you can imagine as well as other stereotypical objects in the shops and markets where we had to haggle! The main square is called Jemaa El-Fna, a really lively and energetic location to admire snake charmers and exotic animals, fresh fruit vendors, souvenirs shops and henna tattoo artists. You can enjoy a cocktail (alcohol-free of course) on a balcony overlooking the square, at “L’adresse Jemaa el-fna”.

After some shopping we stopped at a travel agency to book a trip to the Sahara Desert (which was my dream) and due to the long distance the shortest trip lasted 3 days (including one night in a hotel halfway and one night in the desert), we decided to book it and we also realised that we actually had just one day left to spend in Marrakech so in the afternoon we headed to the stunning Jardin Majorelle ,the famous botanical garden and artist's landscape also owned  by the fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent. The place is a magical fairy tale full of colourful buildings, plants and flowers, definitely the best garden I’ve been to. Due to the long queues and the huge amount of tourists going to the Garden, I suggest booking online days before. 

Day 1 of the Trip to the Sahara: the bus came to pick us up outside the Hotel in the very early morning and the great adventure to the Sahara was started. We travelled for 3 days with the same group of people and that experience has been the most wild and challenging I’ve done during my trips. In the beginning we didn’t really know exactly what to expect during the 3 days and that’s what made it all even more adventurous and wild with the final stop; Merzouga, a small Moroccan town outside the Sahara Desert, near the Algerian border also known as a gateway to a huge expanse of sand dunes. After a few hours we left the big city and we started to cross the big Atlas Mountains (a natural divide between the Atlantic Ocean side and the Sahara desert) .

We stopped on the way to take some beautiful pictures near the Monkey Fingers, a particular and spectacular rock structure across the mountains here formed by erosion looks like a primate's fingers. Afterwards we visited some villages on the way while in the evening we had an Hotel room booked just on the top of the mountain which was included in the trip, and that was quite a challenge as well, as the hotel was very old and uncomfortable, the temperature was very cold outside and inside and there was no heating and not even the hot water. The dinner included was quite poor so, at that point, we were very tired after all day on the road but as part of the adventure, we had a cold shower and we wrapped ourselves up with a lot of blankets and finally slept.  

Day 2: After leaving the big mountains behind us we could finally notice the drastic changing of the landscape, the temperature was rising up again and suddenly we had desert roads and red sand stretching out beside us. First stop of the day was Ouarzazate, a village noted to be a film-making location and gateway to the desert, and a nearby Berber village where we visited something really special: The making of Moroccan Carpets.

In these areas the traditions of the Berber tribes continue to pass down carpet-weaving techniques through generations. We met a local guide who showed us the whole village and explained how the Berber population live a very poor and simple life. They are a distinct and  indigenous ethnic group and they have their own language. 

We went to a small house where a few women were making carpets as they have for hundreds of years and they explained to us the meticulous process, which was very fascinating and you can also buy a carpet at the end but unfortunately we didn't have space enough in our luggage.

The whole village and surrounding area was very authentic and beautiful, meeting all the local people and kids and their simple way to live their lives is something that I could never forget.

We were finally on the road to the Sahara where everything was ahead of us, a sweet and exciting sensation of “lostness” and only one wish we couldn't wait for: the biggest desert of the world!

 Very close to the Algerian border we left the last tiny villages, a few bars and poor houses before the “nothing”, from the van’s window we saw on the horizon the big, soft wavy sandy dunes. The light was starting to become golden close to sunset time and then we finally  got off in Merzouga, the famous gateway to the desert. 

The guide told us to wait for a Bedouin who was coming to pick us up with three camels while the rest of the group was already gone. After climbing the tall animals  we enjoyed the tour with just the three of us in the absolute silence of nature and the picturesque background.

I still remember the emotion and joy of looking at that dream, I almost cried tears of happiness as I’ve always dreamed that.

After about half an hour of walking on the top of those amazing animals, we were completely surrounded by sand and just sand, you couldn't see any horizon or landscape anymore, not even people around but just us, we took some of the best pictures I’ve ever taken . 

The sun was setting down so the Bedouin drove us back to the camp where we were supposed to spend the night and where the rest of the group was waiting for us. We didn’t have anything with us except a small bag and the camp was quite “wild authentic” with no electricity, no running water and no toilette, quite rough for the way we use to live our lives everyday, but I just loved it.  We all have been assigned a tent to share with a few other people with one “bed” each made with blankets. Everyone was sitting on the floor telling each other our stories and our life while the nice Bedouins were making us dinner and after the dinner, when it was already completely dark, they entertained us with fire shows and music played with drums.

The best thing I can remember is me going just a little bit outside the camp, faraway from the light of the bonfire, completely surrounded by the darkness and looking up at the sky, that is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen! The absence of artificial lights and pollution in the deserts, means that the stars are extra bright and shining and that just looks unreal. I could have stayed staring at that breath-taking sky for hours and I would love to tell you just the best and good side of the experience, but that wouldn't be real, as I unfortunately felt sick just in the middle of the adventure that I always dreamed probably due to the past rough week with lack of sleep or rest, so I went to sleep before then everyone else. 

We obviously woke up at the sunrise the day after which is almost as much  beautiful as the sunset, and once again all the rest of the group left with the camels and we were last so the Bedouins gave us a lift with the jeep and so once again we managed to have the better option. 

The magic trip was over and after a quick breakfast to the nearby resort in Merzouga we left for the long way back to Marrakech, we arrived there absolutely exhausted but mostly astonished and fulfilled in the soul.

The day after we took the flight back home from the Marrakech Airport and still now, after five years, I get emotional retracing that journey because of its beautiful challenge, the adventure and the world wonders that I saw.