Author: marionvermazen

This morning after breakfast we packed up and walked to the car. The helpful guy who seemed to be in charge of parking directed us out of our parking spot and we drove to the Hassan Tower and Masoleum of Mohammed V.

We lucked out and found a parking spot right in front of the Hassan Tower. But after we left there we tried to find a parking place not too far from the Royal palace. We couldn’t find one and it was raining so we decided to just start our drive to Tangier.

The drive was all toll road and in a few hours we were at our hotel, Pestana City Center, Tangier. We checked in then went into the Medina to visit the American Delegation Museum. Morocco and the U.S. have the longest unbroken treaty relationship in U.S. history. the museum is in the original Legation building. I especially liked the World War II section of the museum.

After visiting the museum we had coffee at a sidewalk cafe.

For dinner we walked to a waterfront restaurant, Mesana. On the way it started to rain heavily. We sheltered under an overhang until it let up.

At Mesana we had by far the best meal of our trip so far. And the service was exceptional. We felt special. If you are ever in Tangier I would highly recommend Mesana.

On the way back to the hotel the rain had stopped.

Last night we were in the High Atlas Mountains. Today we drove the farthest we have driven so far, almost five hours. We drove out of the mountains north to the Atlantic coast, to Rabat, the capital of Morocco.

When we got to Rabat we found parking on a side street and the parking guy led us to Riad Almazhar.

Then we went for a walked and stopped for coffee in the Kasbah.

For dinner we walk about twenty minutes to a restaurant called Le Petitbeur. Duke and I had what was probably the best meal of the trip so far. We shared a roast leg of lamb.

Demnat where we were last night used to have a large Jewish population. Apparently in the 1940s and 1950s most of them migrated to Israel. The place where we stayed, Kasbah Ait Oumghar, must have been owned by some of these people at some point. The picture below is of the railing on the internal balcony.

When we were ready to leave this morning our host encouraged us to walk up the road a bit to see the natural bridge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a road go over a natural arch before.

From Demnat we drove to Ouzoud Falls. The falls are the second highest falls in Africa. We hiked down to the bottom. We also got to see monkeys on the way.

Tonight we are staying at Widiane Resort on the edge of Bin El-Ouidane reservoir. The resort is absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately the reservoir is very low.

This morning after breakfast we went for a walk and did a bit of shopping. The narrow streets, stores and people of Marrakesh are a wonderful kaleidoscope for your senses.

At 11:30 someone walked us from our Riad out of the Medina and we met a cab that took us to the airport where we rented a car.

We navigated our way out of Marrakesh and drove east a couple of hours to the town of Demnat.

We are staying at a place a bit outside of Demnat called Kasbah Ait Oumghhar. After our welcome tea we played cards in the garden.

For dinner we had chicken tagine in the salon of the place we are staying at

This morning we checked out of our hotel, drove to the airport and caught a plane to Marrakesh, Morocco. Duke had arranged for a driver to pick us up. We will be traveling with Brian and Jo Ann for the next couple of weeks. They arrived in Marrakesh yesterday and spent last night at a hotel near the airport. Our driver picked us up and then drove to Brian and Jo Ann’s hotel and parked at the shopping mall where the hotel is. We walked to the hotel to find them.

Then he took us all to our hotel in the Medina. He drove as far as he could then we walked.

We are staying at the Riad karmela, the hotel that we stayed at last time we were in Marrakesh. It a wonderful haven right in the Medina.

After a short rest we went out for a walk through the market.

For dinner we went to Le Foundouk, a restaurant recommended by our hotel.