The Day I Fell in Love With Morocco (part 2)

In the first part of our trip we explored the North and the Rif Mountains. In Part two we took a step back in time in the cultural, intellectual and spiritual cradle of Morocco... Fes. 

Fes

Arriving in Fes at the car park just outside this old walled city, we were almost scammed by a false guide. Correction, I was...  lucky for me my boyfriend didn't trust it and lucky for us the police arrested him (the false guide) in front of us. So actually this was the second encounter with the police...

Anyhow, the medina of Fes is fascinating, a labyrinthine of 9000 little narrow streets. An official guide with a wheel cart brought us to the door of our Riad, because we would get lost in the maze.
Usually I love to get lost in a city strolling through the streets, but in Fes I would recommend to book a guided tour, a non-shopping guided tour, so you won't get hassled.

Our recommendations: 
Dar Roumana: http://www.darroumana.com/
We stayed two nights at one of the most beautiful houses we've seen in Morocco with the most friendly staff ever and an excellent kitchen.

Restaurant Dar Hatim:
When making reservation at this restaurant, ask for a pick-up. A member of this family restaurant will pick you up at your accomodation. The restaurant is the living room of a very hospital family. The food they serve is just delicious.

Tour Guide: 
Elhakim Mohammed melhakim77@gmail.com
Best tour guide in town... that was wat people said to us on the streets walking with this friendly guide. He showed us the centre of textile, the tanneries, the oldest university and didn't work on shopping commissions at all. Kudos to Elhakim Mohammed!

8 hours drive to the South through the mid-Atlas mountains

Early in the morning we left Fes for an 8 hours drive to the dessert. With a scenery like this I didn't mind spending a whole day in the car....

Merzouga

As soon as we stepped out of our car, we knew this was the dessert... 5PM and still 45°C degrees. At 5.30PM our ride to the camel ride left that brought us to a tent camp in the middle dessert... a night to remember for ever! 

The Day I Fell in Love With Morocco (part 1)

Earlier this year in May/June we spent 2 weeks travelling around Morocco. And from day one I felt in love with the country, culture & cuisine,... I want to share some of the rich experiences we had.

Tanger

We started our trip in Tanger, the city where Europe meets Africa. My first encounter with the Arabic culture.

 

 

Riad La Tangerina 

When you visit Tanger stay at this wonderfull riad with an excellent kitchen : http://latangerina.com

Chefchaouen

We picked up a rental car and start our way further into the country. We first stopped in the north at Cap Spartel, a lighthouse and a view where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, also known as the Strait of Gibraltar.

It was a 2,5 hours drive to Chefchaouen, with a little intermezzo of the police... we got fined for speeding: 70km/h instead of 60km/h...  first (and only) encounter with the Moroccan police. Driving in Morocco is quite safe, but be aware of the police checkpoints, they are very fond of speed traps!

Chefchaouen, known as the "blue pearl of Morocco"located in the Rif mountains. The blue village is really beautiful but... it's one of the most touristy places we've visited in Morocco, so after one day we went hiking in the Rif Mountains.

 

In Chefchaouen we had the best meal of our trip! We recommend this place: Restaurant Beldi Bab Ssour

The hike to the Cascade d'Akchour starts at the parking of Akchour itself and takes 2 hours up and 2 hours down. Along the way of this little physical challenge you can find several shelters, cafes and smaller cascades to take a swim in if you want.  Crazy if you think how they bring up their supplies this high. The waterfall itself is kind of thin, but the hike in the Rif is really amazing. 

 

Volubilis

On our way to Fes we stopped over in Volubilis, a UNESCO world heritage Roman site. Those Romans were practically everywhere, also in Morocco in the 3rd Century BC. And now you can still find all the key elements of a Roman city: a basilica, triumphal arch and a temple (hello history classes from years ago), which is very impressive. 

 

 

More to come: Fes - Merzouga and the dessert - Todra Gorges - Ouarzazate - Marrakech - Moulay Bousselham