Another trip to magical Morocco. This time I flew with two friends from Amsterdam to Marrakech. At Menara airport our ways parted. My friends went to Imlil for a five day hike in the high Atlas to Toubkal. I went to the bus station and took the bus to Ouarzazate. It’s a beautiful drive through the high Atlas, over the Tizi n’Tichka pass. You’ll see the most amazing views. And traveling by bus in Morocco is comfortable and cheap.
In Ouarzazate I met up with my friend from Merzouga. We walked around town and enjoyed a very nice Tajine. The next day we continued to Hassilabied via the Ziz valley. Hassilabied is a small town just before Merzouga. We stayed in his house and we just mingled into the local life. We had diner at the local neighbourhood kitchen, got water from the local wells. And walked into the high dunes to watch the magnificent sunset.
We only stay in Marrakech for one night, only because we wanted to eat at Terasse de Epice again. Just like last time, it was delicious. In a very nice ambiance you dine under the starts on a rooftop in Marrakech. I must say it’s quite a culture shock, from the quiet Hassilabied to the busy and touristy Marrakech. After a nice quiet night sleep in a beautiful riad in the middle of the medina we head to Essaouira.
On Tuesday we visited the market in Rissani. We got nice fresh fruit: grapes, pomme granate, Hindi (cactus fruit), apples. After strolling through the market and the city centre we headed back to Hassilabied. They were the best six days ever. Back to the time when I was little and spend my summer with my grandparents in north Morocco. Lovely.
After six days I headed back to Marrakech where I meet up with my two Dutch friends again. In the middle of the Tize n’Tichka pass we drive into a traffic jam. Some people walked along the line of cars to figure out what was going on. After a while we found out we had to wait on construction activities. They we’re blowing up a piece of mountain to create a new road. It was very nice. All the people in the bus shared their food and water, talked, laughed. The boys ran into the woods and came back with wall nuts. We had a great tree hours.
Essaouira was a nice relaxed end of a great holiday. We had a beautiful, cool, quiet riad in the middle of the Medina. We strolled through the little streets, the port and along the beach during the day. In the evening we enjoyed delicious fresh catch of the day and enjoyed a nice hot tea on the terrace of the town square.
Again a great experience in beautiful Morocco.
I hope to visit again soon.
x N.
