It was midnight when we boarded the overnight train from Tangier to Marrakech. We each had a ticket that told us which berth was ours. On the platform, our male guide said goodbye since males and females would be sleeping in separate wagons, even married couples.
With a grin he added, pointing to the dusty train, “This is why the tour is called ‘Adventure Morocco!’.
The adventure being a night spent in a creaking, shaking train as it snaked through the length of Morocco from Tangier to Marrakech - about 10 hours.
Great coffee in Morocco!
The berth was bunkbeds - with solid vinyl seats up and down. Two sheets and a pillow were provided. I tried to tuck the bottom sheet around the vinyl, to no avail.
The biggest adventure was the bathroom: not much more than a hole in the floor. Try that when the train is swaying along. I’m not sure the train went at dizzying speeds because it took eight hours to get from A to B.
I had been worried about missing the landscape while sleeping. We left at midnight and would arrive at 7:30 AM so it was dark all the way. But each time I peeked through the tattered blind, all I saw was sand crusted window and brown sand beyond. To my amazement, I did sleep most of the night, swayed asleep by the rhythmic motion of the train.
We had brought along some juice and bread for breakfast but I was dying for a coffee. That would have to wait until we arrived at our hotel for the last two nights of our Moroccan adventure.
The hotel had a lovely quiet lobby and a tiny courtyard with an even tinier pool. That was the first thing were we soaked!
In the Medina of Marrakech.
Handmade instruments.
Marrakech - I had long wanted to see this fabled city.
But what a disappointment! All the other Moroccan cities we saw were much nicer and the people much friendlier… I loved Fez and Chefchaouen. Even the capital city of Rabat was interesting and enjoyable.
Perhaps we hit Marrakech on an off day (it was not long after the recent earthquake although we saw no signs of that). And I’m sure others will disagree but we don’t want to go back to Marrakech. The salesmen in the medina were rude and aggressive while, in other medinas, they had been friendly and welcoming.
The city outside the medina was a sprawling modern city with lots of traffic. It was very hot and we walked and walked to reach the old medina.
At one point we stepped inside a little shop and the salesman was very rude when we were leaving - almost to the point where we got scared. The merchandise offered here was very different from elsewhere - more artisan, better quality but also much more expensive. Marrakech did not strike either one of us as a city to come back to.
We did find a lovely little oasis: the Pikala Cafe, a quiet courtyard within the Medina, with great food, a shady place to sit ánd they repaired bicycles, too. Not that we had one.
We were thrilled to find a real book binder! But his assistant threatened us when we tried to leave without buying anything.
On our last night in Morocco we opted to stay in the hotel and eat dinner in the courtyard by the pool. It was amazing and a lovely closure of our trip through Morocco.
This was the last stop on our Intrepid tour. I would definitely book with this company again if I wanted to travel in a small group and not want to do all the planning myself. The itinerary for this trip was exactly what I wanted and all except for the first hotel in Casablanca were perfect. I did feel that this company, just as they advertise, makes sure that locals benefit from tourism but that the environmental impact is as low as possible. The cost was also very reasonable and not more than if I had booked everything myself.
I loved exploring Morocco: meetings its people, learning more about its rich history and colourful culture, staying in riads, seeing ancient cities, eating from a tagine, sipping strong coffee and exploring medinas inside age old city walls.
And, of course, having my friend from Kindergarten and throughout high school in The Netherlands, with me on this trip made it a very special adventure. Thanks for coming, Hannelore! On to the next adventure!
RESOURCES:
• We stayed here in Marrakech: https://lecaspien-hotel.com/
• The bicycle cafe: https://www.facebook.com/Pikalacafe/
BOOKS - scroll to Morocco