Casablanca, Morocco

February 22^nd, 2025

When I looked at my phone this morning there was a text from Ilise. David’s brother was seriously ill so they were making arrangements to fly back to the US. This was so sad, and a horrible way to end what had been a wonderful cruise. I felt so very sorry for them.

The 4 of us had planned an overnight adventure in Morocco and we were all looking forward to it, but now it was just going to be Brian and myself.

At 8:15 I looked out to see what the port was like, and it was still dark outside. Winter in the Northern hemisphere, I am not ready for that.

Ilise had organized our Moroccan adventure. Today’s itinerary looked very interesting. We would embark on a scenic journey into the tranquil Atlas Mountains with our dedicated driver. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, we would immerse ourselves in the serene ambience of the mountains as we explored the charming Berber villages nestled in the foothills surrounding Mount Toubkal. We would experience the unhurried rhythm of mountain life as we wandered through local markets, where vibrant colors and the scent of spices fill the air. We would take in the awe-inspiring beauty of the rugged landscapes, with towering peaks and winding valleys painting a stunning backdrop to our adventure.

With each step we would uncover the rich cultural heritage and warm hospitality of the Berber people, leaving us with lasting memories of our mountain excursion. We would also join a local family for lunch in their home.

We would then drive to the Agafay desert (45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on traffic) where we immerse ourselves in the serenity of the White Camel Agafay where we would experience breathtaking landscapes and rejuvenating moments of this enchanting stony dessert oasis.

Wow! I mean who could resist this? I was just so sorry that Ilise and David could not be with us.

As soon as the ship was cleared by customs and immigration we were ready to start the adventure.

It is a long walk from the ship to the cruise terminal on a fairly uneven surface. On our way we saw one of our fellow passengers lying on the ground, being attended to by the medical staff. Not a good start to her day.

When we were in Casablanca a year ago we noticed a rather rusty cruise ship on our wall to the cruise terminal, the Marrakech. It had been repossessed several years ago, and had been left to rust.  Well it is still there, but interestingly enough there were workmen on board. It certainly doesn’t look seaworthy. I wondered what will become of it.

Because we were going to be away from the ship overnight we had to have a face to face meeting with an immigration officer. This took a while, but finally we emerged from the cruise terminal, but our guide was nowhere in sight. There were plenty of taxi drivers eager to give us a tour of Casablanca, but where was our guide? We called him, and discovered that he had not been able to come in to the port, unlike all of the other guides waiting for their passengers, and so he had to wait on the other side of the gate. By this time a rather pushy taxi driver had befriended us, and he ended up talking to our guide. He said it was a long walk to the gate, but for $25 he could take us there.

We knew this was a rip off, but we didn’t want to waste time wandering around the port dragging our suitcase, in search of the exit, so we gave in, and he drove us to our guide.

Off we set on our journey to the High Atlas Mountains. The drive from Casablanca to Marrakech took about 3 hours. It is so interesting that the 2 cities, Casablanca and Marrakech have such different architectural styles. The buildings in the former are white, gleaming, French art deco style structures, while in the latter in the new part of the city, they are modern terracotta colored structures.

After leaving Marrakech we headed towards the Berber villages in the mountains. We passed many roadside stalls on our way to the village of Setti Fadma.

We past many hillside villages

We followed the course of the Ourika River. All along the way there were restaurants right on the river’s edge, and being a Sunday there were crowds of people there.

Finally at 2:30 we reached our destination, and it was time for lunch. We were expecting to eat at the home of one of the villagers, but our guide didn’t know anything about that, and directed us to one of those riverfront restaurants.

We took our shoes off and settled down on the cushions awaiting our food.

Some time later our guide appeared and said that this wasn’t our restaurant, so we had to move on to another one a short walk away.

This time we did get food – I had a very tasty traditional Berber tagine dish with chicken and vegetables.

There were cats everywhere, and they were eager to share my meal. I noticed that the people around us were feeding all of their chicken bones to the cats. I decided to keep my chicken bones to myself.

Lunch took a long time, but I was very happy sitting by the river’s edge and watching the people around us.

Finally our guide returned with another man clutching hiking poles. I had assumed that after lunch we would have a walk around the village, but no, the plan was for us to embark on a 3 hour hike in the Atlas Mountains.

The hiking guide looked at my sandals and offered to lend me a pair of shoes. I declined. I figured that if hiking in sandals wasn’t working out we would just abandon the whole foolish venture and drive back to Marrakech.

Against my better judgement off we set on our hike to the Setti Fadma waterfalls. We hadn’t gone far when I was already feeling out of breath. Our guide pointed out that we were 4,500 feet above sea level so that was probably why. Could be, I mean we have been at sea level for the past 3 months. It could also be that I am very unfit. Anyway, I love waterfalls so we carried on up the path through the village.

They do not refrigerate their drinks there, ice cold water from the river sprays over the drinks and keeps them nice and cold.

During our ascent we passed many shops.

And had a good view of the mountain.

I thought the plan was to get as far as the first waterfalls and then head back down.

However, we could see the other falls not too far away, and my sandals were holding up very nicely so we continued with our ascent.

Finally we reached the upper falls.

I looked down at the lower falls and was surprised at how far we had come.

The village was looking like it was a long way away.

The view was beautiful

We began our descent by a different route. This was not ideal. It involved negotiating a very narrow path which had a steep cliff on one side, and a sheer drop down to the valley on the other side. Now when we were negotiating the rim of the Bandana Crater only a few days ago Brian and I declared that we would not find ourselves in a similar situation again, yet here we were once more attempting to keep on the narrow stony path.

Our guides seemed quite comfortable with the situation

All I could think was I wish I had my hiking boots with me.

Despite my misgivings we survived the descent and found ourselves back in the village again.

This was not something I was expecting to do, but despite the inadequacy of my footwear, I had a really great time. But, I am not going to do this sort of thing again.

We said goodbye to our hiking guide, and headed back down the valley to Marrakech.

The sun was setting as we got there.

We still had to drive to the Agafay desert which was described as being 30 minutes from Marrakech, but it took us nearly 2 hours to get to our camp.

Now, I had had visions of us getting to the camp in the late afternoon, and sitting outside our tent having sun downers as the sun gradually set over the sand dunes around us.

It was not to be. We finally arrived at the White Camel Camp at 8:30. Not a hope of seeing the desert that surrounded us.

We settled in to our tent

And then went to dinner.

I loved the pottery dishes

The food was great

And we were entertained by noisy fez tassel swinging locals.

We were not on the Sojourn any more that’s for sure. We were in the middle of the Agafay Desert. I was so looking forward to seeing what the desert looks like tomorrow morning.

But most of all, I was missing Ilise and David. It would have been so wonderful to be sharing this adventure with them.