{"id":923,"date":"2019-02-03T19:11:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T00:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liannehill.ca\/?p=923"},"modified":"2019-02-03T20:44:17","modified_gmt":"2019-02-04T01:44:17","slug":"magical-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liannehill.ca\/?p=923","title":{"rendered":"Magical Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Our airport\nlimo bobbed and weaved around horse drawn carriages, scooters, pedestrians,\ndonkey carts and yellow cabs, as we made our way to our hotel, just outside the\nMedina in Marrakech. We felt a rush of excitement at arriving in this exotic\nand magical place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We arrived\nat La Mamounia, a stunningly elegant hotel that had just won the readers\u2019 choice\naward for the \u201cBest Hotel in the World\u201d at Conde Nest Traveller. We quickly\nmoved from chaos to opulence and serenity, enjoying our welcome refreshment of\nfresh almond milk and dates. La Mamounia was Winston Churchill\u2019s favourite\nhotel in Marrakech. He once declared it to be, \u201cThe most-lovely spot in the\nworld\u201d. Rich fabrics, artwork, intricate tile work and photographs adorn the hallways.\nWe stepped into the gardens at the back of the hotel, to stretch our legs while\nwaiting for our room. The walkway around the perimeter of the garden measured 1\nkm, and became our morning circuit for the next three days. Beautiful cats\npurred their welcome to us, as we strolled by. It was hard to believe that\nsteps away, outside the walls of this fortified hotel was the chaos of\nMarrakech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marrakech\nis on the same line of latitude as El Paso, Texas and the same line of\nlongitude as Santiago De Compostela (where we had just left). With over one\nmillion residents, it is a city made up of mosques, palaces and gardens. The\nMedina is the densely packed walled medieval city, that is the heart of\nMarrakech. Mazelike alleys wind through the souks- shops that sell textiles,\npottery, jewelry, fruits and vegetables. We planned a day to ourselves, before\nmeeting our Butterfield and Robinson group and we booked a tour guide to walk\nus through the Medina. Our guide met us in the lobby, dressed in a traditional hooded\nrobe, called a djellaba. A former teacher turned carpenter and tour guide, our\nguide had perfect English and knew where to take us to purchase our first\nMoroccan treasures. We bought a handmade Moroccan pouf footstool, made of\ngoat\u2019s skin. It is now an interesting and functional conversation piece in our\nchalet. Even on a rainy day, the souks were busy with tourists and locals.\nDonkeys and motorbikes kept us on our toes, on the ready to jump out of the way\nin the narrow laneways. We spent the afternoon at a cooking school at Maison\nArabe, learning how to make a traditional tagine. Our delicious late lunch\nincorporated all of the flavours of Moroccan cuisine, including saffron, mint,\nolives, lemons, chicken, and couscous. We had our first taste of Moroccan green\nmint tea, the national drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Morocco is\nsimilar in size to California with a population of 32 million. In Arabic, the\nname Morocco means extreme west. Located in North Africa, Morocco is 13 km from\nEurope across the Strait of Gibraltar. Morocco shares borders with Algeria and\nthe disputed territory, Western Sahara. Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims with\nsmall numbers of Christians and Jews. Berbers are the ethnic indigenous people\nof Morocco. The currency is called Dirham or DH, however American currency is\nreadily accepted. Morocco was a French protectorate in the early 1900\u2019s, yet\nwas never a full colony. It is a multilingual country, with Arabic and Berber\nbeing the official languages. Moroccans speak a dialect of Arabic called\nDarija. French and Spanish are also spoken. We were so impressed with all of\nour guides, drivers and restaurants servers who all were multilingual, easily\nconversing in many languages. The government is a constitutional monarchy and\nthe King is King Mohamed VI. The largest city in Morocco is Casablanca and\nRabat is the capital city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We met our\nfellow group members at a cocktail reception in a bar at La Mamounia. Right\naway we knew that we had another fantastic group of travel-mates. We were\nthrilled to have Sandra and Mark, our friends from Newfoundland, along on this\nadventure. We had shared travel tales over dinner in St. John\u2019s a year ago, and\ndecided that a trip together would be fun. Mark\u2019s brother and sister-in-law\nalso came along, forming a gregarious and adventurous Newfoundland contingent.\nA couple from Toronto, a gal from Washington, a couple from Dallas and a\nmother, her daughter and two daughters-in-laws from Detroit and Settle\ncompleted our group of 13. Our B&R guides were two very well-travelled\nfellows from France and Spain. After a few glasses of wine, we knew that this\ngroup was going to be sensational!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    On our\nfirst morning together, we met our group, guides and local guide (Mohamed\nBoushri) in the hotel lobby ready to do some city walking and site seeing. Thankfully,\nthe skies had cleared and it was a lovely sunny day. First, we visited the\nrichly decorated Bahia Palace, a 19th <\/sup>century masterpiece of\nMoroccan architecture. The beautiful tile work left a huge impression, so much\nso that we chose some Moroccan tile to incorporate into our new kitchen design\nat home. We walked through the gardens of Jacque Majorelle and toured the Yves\nSaint-Laurent Museum including a room full of examples of his fashion designs.\nButterfield and Robinson never disappoints when it comes to food and our first\nlunch as a group was fantastic. We sat at the rooftop restaurant Le Tour au Mur\nand enjoyed our first meal together. The chocolate cake we ate for dessert was\nout of this world!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    We walked\nand shopped some more and then returned to our beautiful oasis for a rest. That\nevening we were whisked away in horse-drawn carriages to the famous Djemaa\nel-Fna Square. Located in the heart of the Medina, this town square comes alive\nat night. We made our way through the crowds, past storytellers, magicians and\nfood stalls to a rooftop patio to get a bird\u2019s eye view of the marketplace.\nEveryone in our group had their phones out, trying to capture the electric\nscene. Our next stop was dinner at our local guide\u2019s beautiful inn, Riad Kniza.\nThe traditional Moroccan meal was fantastic and the riad was beautifully\ndecorated. This would be somewhere to stay when we return to Marrakech one day.\nThe Trip Advisor reviews of this hotel, are the best I have ever seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    A fleet of\n4 X 4s picked-up our group the next morning, and we set off towards the High\nAtlas Mountains. At our rest-stop, before we began our hike for the day, we\nwere brought back to reality with a toilet room that was a hole in the floor. I\nwas thankful for the Kleenex in my pocket as no toilet paper was to be found.\nWhat a far cry from La Mamounia!! Nevertheless, the views from this stop were\namazing and a taste of what was ahead. It was a three-jacket kind of day. I\nstarted with my light-weight down jacket, briefly put on my raincoat and ended\nup in my windbreaker. My compact hiking backpack held it all, plus my water bottle,\nwallet, phone and lipstick. We met our guide for the next few days, a local\nBerber named Rashid. Rashid set a fast pace as we scurried behind him up a path\nto a mountain ridge overlooking several valleys. Everyone in the group took\nmany pictures that morning, blown away by the views. Little did we know, that\neach day the views would get better and better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    We arrived\nfor a late lunch at the remarkable Kasbah Tamadot, a gorgeous hotel in the\nImlil Valley, owned by Sir Richard Branson. Located one hour from Marrakech,\nthis 28-room hotel is stunning. Our\nroom was beautiful, with enough space to unpack, a very comfortable bed\n(heating pad included) and an elegant bathroom. I loved the homemade hair\nproducts and complimentary babouches (slippers). Our group headed out on a late\nafternoon hike, yet had to return when the skies opened up. Our hiking boots\nwere covered with mud, so we left them at the door of our room. Later on, when\nwe returned from dinner, our shoes had been cleaned and dried! We slept with\nthe window open and enjoyed the fresh mountain air. The early morning call\nto prayer from the local mosque reminded us that we were far from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      My favourite day of\nthe trip began with a delicious breakfast. Members of our group raved about the\nbreakfast tagine, however I was quite satisfied with granola and fruit. We\nhopped into our 4 X 4s for a short, bumpy drive, over a rickety bridge above a\nraging river, to the trail head where Rashid was waiting for us. Our trek wound\nthrough small Berber villages, up into the mountains. As we climbed, the views\nbecame more spectacular. It was a treat to stop at Rashid\u2019s home, perched on\nthe side of the mountain with clear views of the highest peak in North Africa,\nMount Toubkal. Rashid\u2019s children delighted us all, as we tried to communicate\nwith simple words and hand signals. The steep drops surrounding the fenceless\npatio, did not seem to worry Rashid. His children knew their limits and stayed\nsafely away from the edge. Moroccan tea, almond butter spread and fresh bread\nreenergized us for the rest of our climb towards lunch. It was a glorious sunny\nday as we continued on our way, waving good-bye to the villagers who had welcomed\nour group. This week was a school holiday in Morocco so we saw lots of children.\nWe were climbing to an altitude of 1,500 m, for a total of 12 km round trip.\nTwo muleteers and their mules appeared to give a lift to those who needed a\nbreak. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      In a small village,\nnestled into the side of a mountain, we arrived at a rooftop patio, with a\ngorgeously set table. It was from this vantage point that we perhaps had the\nloveliest view of the trip. The high mountain tops were snow covered adding to\nthe beauty, while the warm sunshine was icing on the cake. Platters of Moroccan\nfood were set before us, as we basked in the awesomeness of the moment. Soon it\nwas time to begin the return trek to where we started our day, yet first we had\nto do a little more climbing. Rashid led our group on a trail through a field\nof boulders, over a ridge and soon downwards. I never know which is harder- the\nupwards climb or the downhill hike with tired legs. What a relief it was to see\nour 4 X 4s waiting for us, ready to take us back to our mountain retreat. Paul\nhad wisely booked a massage for the late afternoon, as I curled up with a book,\nresting for our next adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        At dinner, we had a\nspecial visitor, an American-Moroccan woman named Amanda Mouttaki. Amanda\ngenerously told us her story of coming to Morocco after meeting her Moroccan husband\nwhile she was on a family holiday as a teenager- it was fascinating! She is now\na freelance writer, entrepreneur and speaker. Amanda has a fabulous travel blog\ncalled MarocMama. If you have any questions about travelling to Morocco, they\nwill be answered on her blog. Amanda runs a foodie tour business in Marrakech\nfor travelers who would like to sample food in the Medina and beyond and not\nget sick. Her company is called Marrakech Food Tours. Amanda\u2019s presentation and\nanother delicious meal, were the perfect end to the perfect day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        I was sorry to say\ngoodbye to the beautiful Imlil Valley, as we hopped in our 4 X 4s and began a 4\n\u00bd journey over the High Atlas Mountains towards Ouarzazate. The drive was\nwinding and nerve-racking, as we travelled along a narrow road, with steep\nmountain valleys below. The shoulders of the roads at the top of the mountain\npass were snow covered. I was glad to have my daytime ginger Gravol tablets to\ncombat motion sickness- I never travel without them! Just as I had reached my\nlimit of winding roads, we stopped in a village and met Abdul, our guide for\nthe next few days. Abdul led us through a small village\u2019s communal farm,\nsharing facts about life in rural Morocco. A few of us became guide groupies, trying\nto keep up with Abdul so as not to miss out on what he had to say. Others were\ncontent to walk at their own pace, while others enjoyed following the group and\ntaking pictures along the way. We were encouraged to walk at our own pace and\ntake in the scenery. Eventually, we came upon a beautiful collection of\ncanopies, pillows and short tables- a surprise picnic, hosted by the hotel\nwhere we were staying for the next three nights, Dar Ahlam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Following another delicious meal (thank goodness for all of the hiking), we had the option to tour the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ait Benhaddou. This fortified village is an example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture and the set of many well-known movies including Babel, Gladiator and Jesus of Nazareth. Paul and I had spa appointments and continued onto our hotel.  After driving through a rural village and then over a bumpy, rough driveway, we arrived at a simple looking building and stepped into a sparse hallway. We weren’t sure if we were disappointed or excited. We were shown to our room, at the top of a narrow staircase. A fire was lit, and as we got settled into our charming room, we started to feel at home in this lovely Kasbah. We quickly unpacked and took advantage of the free laundry service provided by the hotel.  It didn\u2019t take long for us to realize that we were in a one of a kind, special place. 

            We met our group in front of the roaring fire in the main Great Room for cocktail hour, sharing tales of windswept ruins, revealing massages and unique rooms.  This part of the trip held many delightful surprises including decorative henna treatments, a camel ride and a hilltop candlelit sunset cocktail party, to watch the sun set over the desert with the High Atlas Mountains in the background. The hikes through the Almond Valley and Valley of Roses were remarkable, giving us glimpse into life in this part of Morocco. While hiking, we crossed several rivers, stepping on stones and boards, drawing on our best balancing skills. Our guide, Olivier, gallantly walked into one of the rivers with his boots on, offering a hand to the eldest woman in the group. We ate more meals in special locations, including a picnic beside a gorge, in the hotel\u2019s garden and in a tented dining room. At Dar Ahlam, the staff strives to create a unique experience for each guest. We felt like we were on a special retreat with friends, as our group had bonded and we easily enjoyed spending time together. After six adventure filled days, we were all sad to have our adventure come to an end. We raised a glass (or two) to toast our fabulous week, with promises to stay in touch and travel again together in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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              It was an extraordinary week in a gorgeous country with a wonderful group. Butterfield and Robinson did it again, providing us with memorable experiences in an exotic location, that we could never have found on our own. I hope to return to magical Morocco sometime soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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              Our airport limo bobbed and weaved around horse drawn carriages, scooters, pedestrians, donkey carts and yellow cabs, as we made our way to our hotel, just outside the Medina in Marrakech. We felt a rush of excitement at arriving in this exotic and magical place. We arrived at La Mamounia, a stunningly elegant hotel that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nMagical Morocco - Happy Tales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/liannehill.ca\/?p=923\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"liannehill99\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/?p=923#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/?p=923\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"liannehill99\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fe9d362f2c76d404db916d975a8de17f\"},\"headline\":\"Magical Morocco\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-04T00:11:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-04T01:44:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/?p=923\"},\"wordCount\":2573,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/?p=923#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/IMG_9017-1.jpg?fit=3424%2C2413&ssl=1\",\"articleSection\":[\"Travel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/?p=923\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/liannehill.ca\\\/?p=923\",\"name\":\"Magical Morocco - 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