Grand Africa Cruise - Marrakech Overland

 Cruise Days 11 and 12

 “Travel is more than the seeing of sights.  It is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”  -- Miriam Beard

We have just returned from a very wonderful trip to Marrakech.  This will be a very long blog entry as a lot happened both before we left and on the journey itself.  It was a little disappointing photographically as we failed to really catch what Marrakech was like, but we were constantly moving and busy and it was hard to pause and take pictures, but we did bring back the memories of what it was like to be in Marrakech.

Marrakech Overland Day 1 - Agadir, Morocco to Marrakech

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Our port today is Agadir, Morocco, but the only thing we will be seeing of Agadir is from our bus on our way to Marrakech for an overnight stay.  Here is a description of Agadir from Google. 

"Agadir, a city along Morocco’s southern Atlantic coast, in the foothills of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, is the capital of Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane province. A resort destination, it's known for its golf courses, wide crescent beach and seaside promenade lined with cafes, restaurants and bars. Agadir's hilltop kasbah was destroyed in a 1960 earthquake, but its original old wall remains standing."

We got off the ship in Agadir (the bottom red marker) and traveled to Marrakech where we spent the night and then caught up with the ship the next day in Casablanca (the top red marker).

An Unexpected Turn of Events

Note: This is a long recounting of the events that occurred before we left so you may want to skip ahead to the actual trip to Marrakech.

We were up at 6:00 AM as everyone doing an overland trip and spending the night off the ship had to gather in the Wajong Theater (a smaller theater than the World Stage) at 7:00 to meet with Moroccan immigration officials face-to-face where they would stamp our passports.  After that we could get off the ship and be on our way by 8:00. We got to the theater a little before seven and that was the last time anything went as planned.

There were around 75 of us on the ship tour along with a few others who were doing an overland tour independently.  We waited for quite a while and finally around eight (the times from now on are very approximate) the captain came on the PA system and you could tell by his voice he was not very happy.  He told us that at the last minute the Moroccan authorities were requiring that everyone leaving the ship had to have a negative Covid test and show them to the Moroccan authorities as we left the ship.  He went on to say the ship's crew were preparing test kits that would be delivered soon to our staterooms.

The ship personnel in the theater told us the tests would be delivered to the theater, but after another delay, one of the ships officers came in and explained the situation.  She first told us there would be no face-to-face meeting with Moroccan Immigration; our passports would be collected and taken ashore where they would be stamped and returned to us later.  After the passports were collected, she told us to return to our rooms, take our Covid test and return to the theater in an hour.

Val and I turned in our passports and returned to our room a little before nine.  We took our tests which came out negative and settled down to wait, but decided we didn’t want to sit in our room for an hour so we returned to the theater and settled in to wait and converse with some of our fellow travelers.

A little past 10:30, the ships doctor came in and said he would check our Covid tests to make sure they would meet the Moroccan requirements.  After that he told us we could collect our passports and get off the ship.  I would guess there were 85 to 90 people in the room so it took him quite a while to look at everyone’s results.

Here’s where things took another cruel twist; it had been nearly two hours since we took our test and we had begun to notice an odd coloring on the test strip and sure enough, we began hearing the doctor start telling some people “retest”.  Most people had taken pictures of their tests, but the doctor said these would not be acceptable for the Moroccan authorities.  It turns out that about a third of us (including Val and I) got the dreaded retest order.  So, those whose tests were OK got to collect their passports and get off the ship.  The rest of us sat and waited for tests to be delivered, this time to the theater where we would once again take the Covid test.

It was after eleven when the tests were delivered and it took a while for everyone to redo the tests and get them checked.  Finally, everyone was checked, passports distributed and we headed off the ship.  We handed our Covid test to a Moroccan official as we left the ship then went through a security checkpoint where our passports were checked and finally, we were free to board the buses.

What an ordeal, it was almost noon by the time we got on our assigned bus so we were four hours late in leaving.  The good thing was, the group was divided up to into three groups and put on different buses so we had plenty of room to spread out for the long drive to Marrakech.  Before we left, the ship’s crew brought out a case of water and sandwiches as we were supposed to be eating lunch in Marrakech by this time.  Finally, we were on our way and headed to Marrakech.

One last comment on this before I get to the more interesting and fun part of this journey.  Holland America and the ship’s crew had no blame in this whole thing as they were blindsided by the testing requirement.  Morocco has every right to require people to be tested before entering their country, but to do so at the last minute caused all kinds of trouble.  The ship’s crew bent over backwards to help us through this and that was much appreciated.  Kristine from the Neptune Lounge came down and spoke to several of us who were staying in a suite asking us if we needed anything, she is so nice.  Now, let’s get on with the trip.

Onward to Marrakech

Marrakech lies almost exactly halfway between Agadir and Casablanca and it is about a three and a half to four hour drive to Marrakech from Agadir.  I can tell you that after our morning ordeal, there were many sighs of relief and happy anticipation of what lies ahead as the bus pulled out of the port.

We drove through Agadir and noticed there was a lot of new building and new construction going on through the outskirts of the city so it is definitely growing outward.   

Morocco is an arid country and as we drove north it reminded us of driving through Northern Nevada – a mountainous dry area with some vegetation.  There were numerous Berber villages along the way and some agriculture going on with much of it being fields of small trees. We were told these were argan trees that are indigenous to Morocco.  Kernels from the tree are used to produce an oil that can be used for both culinary and cosmetic purposes.

We saw quite a few Berber villages as we drove through the arid countryside.

About a third of the way through the drive it became more mountainous as we were following the Atlas Mountains.  The Atlas Mountains run northeast through Morocco, Algeria and Tunis and separates the Sahara to the East from the Mediterranean and Atlantic Coastline to the West.  I was very excited to see the Atlas Mountains as some history books as well as fictional books I have read have had the Atlas Mountains as a central part of the story.  They always seemed to be an exotic and faraway place and here I was, seeing them in person.

The Atlas Mountains in the distance.

As we passed the halfway point, the mountains began to go off to the east and the land we were seeing from the bus became more barren and arid.  The drive actually went by faster than expected; I had brought my Kindle and Ipod to pass the time, but I never got them out as the scenery, though barren, was quite interesting.  We also had a running commentary from our guide discussing Moroccan history as well as pointing out what we were seeing along the way.

With that said, we were happy when we began seeing the outskirts of Marrakech.  We had all speculated on how the tour would be affected by the long delay this morning and as we drove in town we found out; they would be doing everything that was on the itinerary, just compressed into the evening so the first thing we would be doing would be eating our lunch even though it was getting close to five.

Marrakech (also spelled Marrakesh) is a modern city, but in the center of it lies the Medina (the old, walled part of a city).  Once again, I will use the Google description of Marrakech and the Medina.

 "Marrakesh, a former imperial city in western Morocco, is a major economic center and home to mosques, palaces and gardens. The Medina is a densely packed, walled medieval city dating to the Berber Empire, with mazelike alleys where thriving souks (marketplaces) sell traditional textiles, pottery and jewelry. A symbol of the city, and visible for miles, is the Moorish minaret of 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque."

The Medina is where we would be spending most of our time on this tour as that is obviously the most interesting and historic part of Marrakech.  The Medina is a walled area within Marrakech itself that contains historic sites, parks, residences and in the center, the famous souks (marketplaces).  The souks are an area of a myriad winding narrow alleyways lined with open shops, full of people, bicycles, carts and even motorcycles and scooters.

A map of the Medina.  Note the yellow area of the souks in the middle and the Djemaa el Fna Square in white below the souks, we spent a lot of time in these areas.

The bus brought us through the gate and into where they could drop us off.  Most of the streets are very narrow and impossible for the bus to navigate so we were dropped off, and our guide led us through a maze of alleyways and narrow streets until we reached the Ksar El Hamra Restaurant where we are having lunch.  We were led down a passageway into the main dining area that looked like something out of a movie and was just like you would expect to find in Marrakech.

We had a very good lunch of various Moroccan dishes and they were all very good.  While we were eating we were entertained by belly dancers who performed in the center of the room before walking around to each table trying to get people to dance with them.  Some did join in the dance, but I managed to avoid having to participate for a change.  For some reason I am usually asked, but this time I firmly said no a few times and was left alone.  I hate to be a spoilsport, but I couldn’t see myself attempting to do a belly dance.

After our wonderful lunch, we were led on a very long walk through the souks to the Museum Dar El Bacha.  It is housed in one of the most impressive buildings in Marrakech and was very interesting, but because of all the lost time, we were rushed through and didn't have much time there.

Our first walk through the souks, we didn't have time to take many pictures as we were dodging motorcycles and people and trying to keep up with our fast paced guide.

Our two guides, the shorter one in the hat (I don't remember their names) accompanied us the whole way from Agadir to Marrakech and then back to Casablanca.  The other one was with us just in Marrakech, he was the one who led us on fast paced walks through the souks.

After the museum we were led back into the souk for a long walk to the famous Djemaa el Fna Square.  It seemed to go on forever and we never stopped.  It was quite warm and some of us old folks were getting quite tired as it was a bit of difficult walk as these alleyways were very narrow with an uneven surface, full of people, and with motorcycles buzzing by everywhere, you had to really be aware of your surroundings.  That said, we wouldn’t have missed it for anything as the surroundings were nothing we had ever experienced before.  We weren’t able to take many pictures as our guide set a fast pace and with all the twists and turns and side alleys going off in every direction, we would have quickly gotten lost.

After what seemed like hours (it wasn’t really that long), we made it to the square.  The Djemaa el Fna Square is described as “where people meet up in the daytime, but the square really comes to life in the evening when musicians, acrobats, snake charmers, vendors and storytellers entertain an appreciative audience”.  It was probably between six and seven when we got there and things were really starting to get lively.  Experiencing this was so amazing it is very hard to explain.  It is an environment you hear about, but never really expect to experience.

After walking through the square we stopped at Le Grand Balcon Cafe Glacier (I believe that was the name), one of many cafes lining the area and we went up to the rooftop patio where we had drinks and were able to watch the action below.  It was quite warm especially walking through the narrow crowded alleyways so we enjoyed our drinks and had some time to cool down and relax.  Our visit to Marrakech was getting off to quite a start and we were fully immersed before we knew it.

The view as we relaxed on the rooftop patio and watched the action below.

Sadly, it was finally time to leave and go to our hotel where we would be spending the night.  We left the café and walked on through the square and out to the street where our bus was parked waiting for us.   

Some pictures of our stroll through the square.

As we neared the end of the square, there were many carriages parked for people that wanted to take a ride around the Medina.   At the entrance to the square was the Koutoubia Mosque that was built in 1199 and has the highest minaret in Marrakech.  The sun was setting behind the mosque as we boarded the buses.

Our hotel was the Savoy Le Grand Hotel and was located just outside the Medina.  It took us a while to all get checked in, but we were finally on our way to our room.  We walked through a very nice pool area, then through some more of the grounds and then another not quite as nice pool area before finally finding our room.  The hotel rates itself a 5 star and Trip Advisor rates it a 4 star, but I think we got the cheap rooms that were very nice, but a long way from the lobby and active area of the hotel.  No complaints though as the rooms were very nice.

Before we went to our rooms, our guide told us to freshen up and meet in the lobby to go to dinner.  We were surprised that they would still schedule dinner as it wasn’t too long ago that we had a large “lunch”.  We opted out as it had been a very long and tiring day and we were tired.  It turns out that about two thirds of the group didn’t go and after hearing about it, we were all glad we didn’t.  When we talked to some of the group that went, they said the food was good, but very similar to what we had at lunch.  They were driven back into the Medina and then there was another long walk through the souks to get there and then the same walk to get back to the bus and they didn’t get back until 12:30.

We did find two oddities in the room that we found out in the morning was the same for everyone.  There were no washcloths to use and on the beds there was a mattress liner and bottom sheet, but on top of that were two heavy comforters about three quarters the size of the king size bed.  It seemed odd that in a warm country, the only bed covering was a heavy comforter.  Oh well, as they say, when in Rome, so we made it work.

We were very glad we didn’t go to dinner as we enjoyed a nice quiet evening and a good night sleep.  We had another busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

Marrakech Overland Day 2 – Marrakech to Casablanca

Friday, October 21, 2022

We woke up feeling very good, refreshed and ready for another day in Marrakech.  There was a breakfast provided by the hotel, but we were a long way from where it was served and too lazy to take the time to go there so our breakfast was a couple of breakfast bars that Val brought with her.

We met with the rest of our group in the lobby at 9:00 AM to start the first activity of the day.  We have met most of the people in our group (bus 2) and have gotten to know some of them so we chatted for a while until things got underway.

We started off the day with a horse drawn carriage ride from the hotel into the Medina.  It was quite a site to see about twenty, four person carriages, pulling into the hotel driveway and being loaded with everyone from the three buses.  It was a beautiful morning and our ride through the city was wonderful.

We wait for our carriage and our trip through Marrakech to the Majorelle Garden.

We say goodbye to our carriage driver.

We were dropped off by our carriages at the Majorelle Garden.  Here is a description from Wikipedia.  "The Majorelle Garden is a one-hectare botanical garden and artist's landscape garden in Marrakech, Morocco. It was created by the French Orientalist artist Jacques Majorelle almost forty years, starting in 1923, and features a Cubist villa designed by the French architect, Paul Sinoir in the 1930s."

There was a huge line of people waiting to get in when it opened at ten, but luckily since we were in a guided tour we got in pretty quickly.  It was a beautiful and very peaceful place, but one of the big features was a cactus garden and for those of us that come from the Southwest, it was nothing out of the ordinary and not nearly as interesting as the cactus garden we visited in the Canary Islands.

After we finished wandering around the gardens, we were off to the buses and then driven to the edge of the Medina where, after a short walk into the Medina, we visited the Dar el Bahia Palace.  Here is a description of the palace – “Built by the Grand Vizir Ba Ahmed, this grand residence is a warren of close, intimate rooms, beautifully adorned with unique mosaics and ceiling decorations and edged by small garden and courtyards.”

Some sights of Marrakech from the bus.

A Marrakech street sweeper.

On our walk to the Dar el Bahia Palace.

 

The Dar el Bahia Palace.

 

It was very interesting, but it was starting to get hot and by the time we finished we were ready to get on the bus and cool down, but that was not to be.  We once again started out on a long trek through the souks that was, as always, full of people, carts and motorcycles.  Between the fast pace set by our long-legged guide, the constant dodging of motorcycles and the increasing heat many of us older folk were starting to wear down.  There were no breaks except when our guide waited for everyone to catch up.   

At one point, the group had gotten pretty strung out and as we came to a “Y” in the alley no one knew which way the front half of the group had gone, but luckily there were two guides with one in the rear.  As the back half of the group came to halt not knowing which direction to go, the guide at the end actually had to call the other guide to find out where he was.  As our trek became longer and longer, people were asking how much longer and the answer was always, “5 more minutes” which became a much repeated phrase and finally became a joke.  Every time we thought we were at the end, there was another turn and someone would say, 5 more minutes.

It turns out that our goal was to get to one of the souks that had high quality merchandise where we could shop.  After our long hot walk, many of us were saying we didn’t want to shop, we want to sit down and cool off.  At that point one of our guides took those who wanted to relax to Djemaa el Fna Square to a cafe where we could sit, enjoy our surroundings and have a cool drink while the rest went off to shop.

We finally made it to the square and found the same café we were at last night, but instead of going up on the rooftop patio and sitting in the sun, we sat in the nice awning covered verandah where we spent about two hours cooling off and having drinks.  We had a great time relaxing, talking with our fellow bus number 2 comrades, and watching what was going on out in the square.

On a long cruise like this almost everyone on board is a traveler and has been to many places in the world.  Now that we have traveled quite a bit, it is nice to be able to discuss the places we have visited with others who have been there or hear about places we haven’t been, but would like to go.  We had a great two hours sitting there talking and looking out on the souk. The amazing thing for us was, here we were, sitting in the famous Dejemaa el Fna Square in Marrakech having a drink; never in a thousand years did we ever think we would be here when we retired – it made all the heat and tired feet and legs worth it.

The shoppers returned and we all headed for the bus for our final meal in Marrakech.  Lunch was at the Dar Rhizlane Restaurant and this time, we didn’t have to walk through the souk to get there, we were driven right to the entrance.  This was our best meal in Marrakech, it was more of an upscale type of restaurant with no belly dancers or entertainment, but the food was really, really, good and we ate outside in a nice garden area.  Val and I were the last ones in so we ended up sitting with a group from one of the other buses, but we enjoyed meeting them and getting to know them through lunch.

We almost hated to leave, but it was 4:00 PM and time to get back on the bus and head for Casablanca; we had another four hour drive ahead of us.  The drive to Casablanca wasn’t as scenic or interesting as the drive from Agadir so I spent the first part of it reading.  We made a rest stop at the halfway point and were soon on our way for the final leg of our trip.

The arid wasteland we had been seeing before the rest stop became more agricultural and stayed that way all the way until Casablanca.  We saw very few crops growing, but we saw field after field that looked either freshly planted or ready to plant.  Val, who grew up in California’s San Joaquin Valley, said it reminded her of the fields there in the fall before the winter crops were put in.

It was Friday night and when we reached Casablanca we were met with a lot of traffic.  The driver (who did a great job throughout the trip) seemed to have no trouble guiding us through it.  He even took a side trip to drive by the Hassen II Mosque to see it all it up at night.   

He also drove by Rick’s Café made famous by the movie Casablanca.  The truth is, not one second of the movie was shot in Morocco and Rick’s Café was opened by an enterprising person when the movie became well known.  Despite that, it is still a popular tourist spot and fun to see.

We finally made it back to port, but before we could get back on the ship we had to go through customs and have our passports stamped again and then through Moroccan security and have our bags xrayed.  Unfortunately, the ship was not docked at a favorable spot and despite an effort by the captain to get permission to move it, the ship remained a long distance from the immigration building.  The buses were not allowed past immigration so we had one last long walk to get to the ship.

It was after eight when we finally got on board and it felt so good to get back on the ship and back to our own room, our home away from home.  We were hungry, but didn’t want to get cleaned up and dressed for the dining room and the Lido was closed so we went to the Neptune Lounge.  Normally it closes at eight, but Kristine came through again and there she was with snacks laid out, what a welcome sight.  She said she was waiting for all of her suite guests to return before closing for the night.  We were the second couple to return and there was one more coming and they made it back while we were eating.  That was so nice of her, I may have said this before, but she is by far, the best concierge we have ever had.

So, our trip to Marrakesh is over.  It was difficult and tiring; one person who was using a step counter on their phone said we walked over four miles yesterday and almost four miles today and this wasn’t like a nice walk in the country, this was walking on cobbled streets with crowds of people and motorcycles racing by.  With that said, it was also wonderful and amazing and exhilarating and we wouldn’t have missed it and would do it all over again.  It would have been nice to visit it when we were younger as we are definitely slowing down a bit now that we are in our mid-seventies, but better later than never.  Two sea days lay ahead of us so we have time to unwind and rest and get ready for what lies ahead of us, what an adventure we are on.