74 –Magical Morocco

As I type this, we’re actually sailing again having just left Morocco after blissfully spending the last 37 days there. Originally, we planned to be there about a week on our way from Spain to the Canary Islands but the fates intervened.  Between the weather at sea (very strange late season hurricane like disturbances and mixed up or non-existent trade winds) and the port we were in closing down due to huge swells, we found ourselves fortuitously “stuck.”  I know I sound like a parrot but this really was one of my absolute favorite places.  I even told the police officer who was checking us out of the country that I was secretly hoping he would find a reason why we wouldn’t be allowed to leave and would be forced to stay in Morocco.  While he did offer to make up something, we knew it was time to go - all the while promising ourselves that we’d be back.

When last I left off, we’d just arrived back in Spain having completed our Mediterranean loop.  Well, between boat chores in La Linea de la Conception, Spain and expeditions to Gibraltar (they’re only about a mile apart), before we knew we’d spent almost 2 weeks in our last mainland European stop.  Our engine was due to be serviced and since the boatyard in La Linea put it in, we figured that they should do it.  We also knew we wanted to grab one (well I think we went twice) more fish and chips dinner as well as pick up some of the Gibraltar gin we discovered last year.  Feeling like we were back home again, we rented bicycles from the shop we used last year thus enabling us to explore to our hearts desire while also enabling some heavier provisioning.  Even though we’ve honestly still got food supplies from 2018 when we left the US, we knew we “needed” Spanish wine and chorizo sausages and well, the provisioning went downhill from there.  It’s a really good thing that we have plenty of compartments for food and liquor storage.

We took advantage of having our bikes and rode to several nearby cities in addition to riding across the border to Gibraltar several times.  Last year, we found a nearby farm and made the acquaintance of a few adorable donkeys.  I was so happy when we managed to find them again this trip.  We visited them several times and, as our going away present, treated them to fresh carrots.  We also found a local dive shop where we rented a tank so that Pedro could dive the boat to check out the underwater parts and clean the bottom.  Finally, our boat chores were completed and we had a good weather window for the 150-mile passage to Rabat, Morocco so we took off.

Exiting the Mediterranean was almost as exciting as entering.  The boat traffic is pretty intense and the currents combine with the waves to make some pretty rough water.  Nevertheless, we managed to successfully dodge all of the cargo containers and even a few other sailboats.  The waves while rough were not particularly high and we were able to combat them with a pretty comfortable angle.  All in all, it was thankfully uneventful and after just a couple of hours we found ourselves back in the Atlantic Ocean.

Our sail to Rabat was again thankfully uneventful.  The trip took a little over 24 hours and while the seas were choppy, we had a very enjoyable passage. The only thing to mar the passage was the distress calls we heard from another sailboat trying to get medical evacuation for an injured crew member.  Apparently, they’d had an accidental jibe (the boat turns on its own causing the sails worse the boom to violently change position) and a member was very badly injured.  We listened (we were too far away from them to offer and assistance and we didn’t have anything they would need anyway) for the better part of the night as they worked with both the Spanish and the Moroccan authorities to accomplish their goal.  Sadly, we never heard what happened and can only hope that they were successful in getting assistance.  It did however, bring to light that you can never be too careful (which I assure you, we do our absolute best).

We arrived in Morocco and announced our arrival with the marina.  The inlet at Rabat is a tricky one and the marina is located about ½ mile up the Bouregreg River. Visiting boats must call the marina on the radio when they are approaching the inlet. The harbormaster will then come out to escort you through the inlet and back to the marina. Additionally, the tidal swing is significant enough that we were advised to arrive within a few hours before or after high tide which we managed to do. Following the harbormaster into the inlet, we were fascinated by the 9-foot swell.  We were supposed to follow the harbormaster’s boat exactly but the swells were such that we completely lost the boat at times.  This by far was the most intense inlet we’d ever traversed (I know there are much worse ones but this was our first) and while it was a bit dodgy at first, we made it in with no issues at all and before we knew it, we were officially checked into Morocco.

Once settled into the marina (the slips were so small we had to tie off diagonally), on our first tasks was to search out sim cards for our phones.  Despite the language barrier, we finally managed to get someone to point us in the direction of the Medina (the word for the old walled section of most Moroccan cities).  It’s impossible to describe because by the time we left it was as familiar to us as any hometown we’ve ever had but our first glimpse was completely fascinating.   There were people selling produce on little carts, lots of small cafes full of locals drinking tea or coffee and lots of little stores selling everything you can imagine.  We found a mobile phone service store and managed to communicate enough with the saleslady to purchase 2 sim cards and a data package.  While she was setting up our phones, she reached into her desk drawer and said “this is for you” as she handed me a trinket. I later learned that it was ‘The Hand of Fatima’ – a very common good luck symbol throughout the country.  This was the first of so many acts of kindness from these amazing and welcoming people (yes, almost every day complete strangers would stop us and say “Welcome to Morocco”) that there's no way I have room to list even half of them.  By the time we arrived back on the boat that first night, we were already in love with Morocco.

The next day, we arranged for a guide (it's a long story but we owed him for helping us get into the marina when we couldn’t get them to respond to our inquiries) to take us to see nearby Casablanca.  Well, this turned out to be our least favorite city we’d ever visited (yes, we were warned).  The famous and huge Hassan II Mosque and Rick’s café (playing on one of my mom’s favorite movies “Casablanca” so I had to see it) were really the only interesting things to see in this large but unimpressive city.  The highlight of the trip was on our way back home when our guide took us a fabulous outdoor restaurant where we feasted on amazing grilled fish and meats.

For our next excursion, we booked a ride on the ‘Marrakech Express’ (no they didn’t call it that but it didn’t stop me from singing the song during most of the train ride).  Our first stop was the fascinating and not to be missed city of Marrakech!  We booked a room in one of the small BnB’s or ‘Riad’s’ right inside the Medina.  These are typically converted houses that have interior gardens and guest rooms.  While not much to look at from the outside (typical we later found out), the Riad was absolutely adorable on the inside and came with a full wonderful breakfast.  We spent 2 days wondering the medina and souks (the markets within the medina) of Marrakech.  We found an amazing restaurant again in what appeared to be a converted house and also enjoyed tea and wine in a couple rooftop restaurants.  While Marrakech’s medina and souk areas are very tourist centered, they are also very much the still the shopping area for the locals. Again, it is impossible to describe but an amazing and must-see city!

Leaving Marrakech, we took the train to the airport in Casablanca where we hopped a short one-hour flight to the city of Errachida.  From Errachida, we’d arranged for a local guide to drive us around that area of the country and into the desert.  We'd only driven an hour or so from town, when Ahmed, our guide, suggested that we get out and walk a bit and he would pick us up down the road.  After we got out, we joked about the value of trust.  We were somewhere in the middle of Morocco and someone we'd known for about an hour had just driven off with our bags and passports.  Obviously, everything turned out fine and it was great to stretch our legs a bit.  Later, we stopped at a roadside cafe for tea and Pedro made a friend.  Ahmed drove us for several hours stopping in several interesting small towns (none of whose names I remember).  In one town where Ahmed seemed to know everyone, we ate our weight in fresh dates (we sampled them from each vendor and only later did I feel guilty when I realized that we never actually bought any) and were treated to our very first “Berber Pizza” called madfouna.  It's a sort of stuffed pizza and is delicious!  

Our trip ultimately culminated in the town of Merzouga where we caught a camel caravan into the Sahara Desert for a night of “glamping” and bonfires.  Ahmed is a native ‘Berber’ whose family were nomadic up until his youth (he showed us his family home but told us he was actually born in a tent 39 years ago).   The camel ride (or camel massage as Pedro liked to call it) was easier than I'd expected, the scenery amazing and the tent village we were booked into was great.

We followed our route back to the boat where we found we were still “stuck” due to the weather so we started planning out next excursion.  This time we took the train to the adorable city of Fez where we also arranged to meet back up with Ahmed.  Again, we got an amazing Riad that was our host’s former family home on which he'd spent 2 years painstakingly restoring.  The entire place was fabulous and the rate was about $20/night which included dinner and a full wonderful breakfast.  Ahmed arranged for his friend Larabi who lives in Fez to show us around.  Larabi showed us the "Jewish" sections and the "Muslim" sections and once pointed out, it was easy to differentiate each based on the difference in architecture. The famous leather tanneries were interesting to see and we learned about the techniques for curing and dyeing the leather.  Inside the medina, in many ways Fez reminded us a lot of Marrakech but with its own unique personality and was so much fun to explore. 

The next morning, we decided to rent a car and have Ahmed drive us around to explore a few nearby places.  Our first stop was the “Blue City” of Chefchaouen so named because most of the houses and buildings in the city are painted blue or at least blue washed. The city is completely adorable.  Ahmed has a friend named Candelaria who owns the best Riad we’d stayed in so far (and that’s really saying a lot because the others were great).  We arrived and immediately headed out to the market for supplies.  Then we sat back and enjoyed the hospitality of Candelaria while Ahmed fixed the most amazing dinner.  The next morning, we wondered the streets admiring all of the sights of this beautiful little city.  The Andalusian (Spanish) influences are everywhere especially in the architecture and the language (no one spoke French but thankfully we had Ahmed and Candelaria to translate.  Another fascinating thing about this town is the natural spring that runs through town (now a stream but just months ago before a water bottling facility was built up stream it was a flowing river).  The water in the spring was the main source for years to supply this town and there are laundry work stations where the locals still utilize the flowing water to do their laundry (we were there on the holy day so no one was out working). 

Our next stop was just a few miles away by car further up into the Rif mountains but light years away in terms of our surroundings.  We stopped near a mosque where the school children were awaiting services to end so that they could go back to their classes.  As we too were awaiting services to end (our next host was inside), we hung outside with the children trying to communicate but mostly just being objects of complete curiosity for them.  I got the distinct impression that most of these children do not see very many foreigners and we enjoyed our brief time with them.  Finally, our new host (also named Ahmed) arrived and we grabbed our bags from the car and proceed to follow the goat and donkey paths for about a mile up into the mountains until we reached his property. 

It certainly didn’t take long to realize that we weren’t in Kansas anymore.  Ahmed’s property is a small farm with amazing views and complete seclusion.  We’d no sooner finished lunch, than they started talking about what we wanted for dinner (my kind of people already).  Our choices included one of the Rabbits or Chickens living on the farm.  To his credit, our Ahmed assured me that yes, they would go to the market to pick up dinner (yes, I knew better) so Pedro and I took a walk across the other side of the mountain to a nearby town.  We tried with little success to converse with the residents but were nonetheless offered coffee from one man and bread from some local ladies.  My heart swells as I write this while reminiscing about these amazing people who had so little yet still wanted to share.

Back at Ahmed’s farm, the rabbit was already cooking so we sat around the fire drinking copious amounts of mint tea and learning about the various aspects of the farm.  Our Ahmed took me aside and sheepishly confided that they did not actually go to the market for the rabbit.  I had to kiss him and say that I knew that but I loved him for trying to spare my hypocrisy.  I do have to say that the stew was amazing.

The next day we packed up after a wonderful breakfast of fresh eggs and greens from the garden and headed back down the mountain to our car.  As he’d never been on a sailboat before, we talked our Ahmed into driving back to the boat with us and spending the night.   We arrived back at the boat and immediately headed to the market to pick up items for dinner.  I showed Ahmed around “my town” as I’d begun to feel about it and took him to my favorite bread shop, the produce stalls, the spice stalls and the local butcher.  It was fun to have someone who could help me translate and I was able to learn the name of my bread lady (Touriya) and arrange a time to come back and learn how to make the amazing flatbread called msemmen. 

Returning to the boat from our shopping, we were stopped by the local police who wanted to know why Ahmed was going onto the boat (Ahmed said they were trying to protect us from unscrupulous people getting onto our boat but I never really got an answer why they stopped us).  Anyway, it took about 30 minutes and we had to go to the police station near the marina.  They asked for a copy of Ahmed’s ID and then asked for his phone number which they called to make sure it was the correct number.  Finally, all was determined to be legit and we were allowed to go.  I tell this story because a week or so later, Ahmed made us name plates for the dinghy “What He Gets” and sent me 2 packages (I also got a huge container of fresh dates from his hometown).  These were delivered via bus to the local bus station.  Rather than having me find the station and then try to explain why I was there, Ahmed called the police offer (he still had his number saved).  The officer, who's name we learned was also Ahmed, volunteered to pick it up for us and delivered it to the boat (plus he wouldn’t allow me to reimburse him for his time or fuel).  I swear I have twenty more stories of these amazing people who are so kind and welcoming.

With the weather still not cooperating, we decided to make one last trip to Tangier.  Tangier feels much more European than the other cities we’d visited but it still maintains its Moroccan roots.  We again got a Riad inside the Medina and spent the first day wondering around.  We found the Phoenician Tombs which are 3000-year-old tombs carved into the rock cliffs overlooking the Mediterrean and managed to find Cafe Hafa, a famous restaurant with great mint tea and wonderful views.  One of the coolest places we also found was the Tangier American Legation Museum.  This building which is now a museum was the first American embassy.  Several times during our travels (and in detail by a gentleman we met on the train) we were proudly that in 1777 Morocco was the first country to recognize the US as a nation.  The museum served as the diplomatic post to Morocco from 1821 until 1956 when the country's capital was moved to Rabat.  To this day, it remains the only US national historic landmark located outside of the US.

The next day, Ahmed arranged for Khalid, a family friend of his who now lives in Tangier, to meet us and show us a few sites outside of town.   Our first stop was Parc Perdicaris where we enjoyed a wonderful walk in the woods, amazing views of the Mediterranean and found a great restaurant for lunch.  Next, we headed to Cape Spartel.  This lighthouse which we’d sailed past a few weeks ago sits on the northwest corner of Africa and covers the waters where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic.  Our next and final stop was the Caves of Hercules which were once believed to be part of an ancient tunnel which connected to the St. Michael’s cave (which we visited) in Gibraltar.  These fascinating caves are both natural and man-made.  The opening to the sea which is thought to been carved out by the Phoenicians is called the “Map of Africa” and is said to be in the shape of the continent of Africa when seen from the sea (sadly, we didn’t get close enough by boat to verify).  The Caves get their name from mythological stories that the Greek god Hercules once stayed in the caves. We loved everything about the day.  Khalid who used his entire day off to chauffeur us around refused to allow us to reimburse him for his time, fuel or even the cost of our lunch so I had to sneak some money into his car as we were parting.

While we enjoyed our excursions we also loved our hometowns of Sale and Rabat.  We went to the market at least once a day to get whatever was fresh or simply enjoy the experience.  We found some great local restaurants - our favorite was one where we couldn't read the menu so we simply told them to bring us 2 plates - and loved the local street foods.  We met and fell in love with so many locals both 2 and 4 legged and felt at home everywhere we went.

As I said before, I have so many more stories of people we met walking down the street, riding on the trains or even while I experienced my first Hammam (public bath houses) who were just amazingly above and beyond hospitable.  Regardless of which town we were in, I really felt at home or dare I say like a celebrity.  One evening we were walking through our local souk (market area) with boating friends we’d recently met and were on a mission to find these amazing local donuts.  Our friends who hadn't spent much time in the market area laughed when someone yelled out “It's Miss America.”  Needless to say, I loved it.  Another plus of our timing was that we got to celebrate Morocco’s achievement of making it to the World Cup semi-finals along with the rest of the country!!  Everywhere we went people were celebrating and were ecstatic about the fact that we too were cheering on the team (yes, we know nothing about soccer but we know a good party when we see it).  I know I’m going on and on but this country more so than any other we visited to date will be sorely missed.

 

Here are all of the pictures I took from everywhere.  Morocco

If anyone wants to go experience this amazing place, I highly recommend Ahmed as a contact, guide or just great friend.  His contact info is:  

      Ahmed Ben Naji     Bennajiahmed8@gmail.com      WhatsApp +212 266 393 902

 Or just let me know and I’ll hook you up (fair warning I'll probably try to go with you)!

That's all until next post!