Casablanca, Morocco

February 23^rd, 2025

Yesterday Ilise had texted us about her arrangements to fly to the US, and had mentioned that there would be a time change at midnight. This seemed to be very strange, as it was the end of February, so it was unlikely to be a spring forward fall back kind of thing. And our guide hadn’t mentioned anything about it, nor had the hotel staff. We found out later that it was because Ramadan starts at the end of the week, and Morocco suspends daylight saving time annually a few days ahead of the holy month of Ramadan as the GMT+ timing affects the fasting time. The time will change back again after Ramadan. Well you learn something new every day. Maybe this will come up as a question at trivia one day. The good news is that we got an extra hour of sleep, which I totally needed. This being on vacation thing is very tiring.

We woke up in the Agafay Desert. I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like outside. It was a cold morning, so I grabbed my jacket and went to investigate.

Yes, the desert was very desert like. The camp was more built up than I thought it would be, but it was still lovely.

The view from our tent was beautiful, and it had the perfect spot to sit and enjoy your surroundings. I just wish we had been here earlier last night to really spend time appreciating what we saw. Unfortunately we had very little time today, just as we finished breakfast our driver and guide arrived to whisk us away to Marrakech.

I just had to check out the pool before we left. It is a beautiful infinity edged pool, with a wonderful view over the desert. The only issue is that it isn’t heated, so totally no use to anyone in the middle of winter.

Our guide and our driver were waiting for us at the entrance to the camp.

We said goodbye to the camp camels, and headed out on the extremely bumpy and dusty road into Marrakech.

We passed several establishments providing camel and ATV rides across the desert. The camel rides I can support, but I hate to think what the scores of ATVs must do to the terrain. I was surprised that it is not regulated at all.

Just before we left the dirt road and joined the main road to Marrakech we went past a series of olive farms, the trees are small now, but when they start to bear fruit they will help support Morocco’s thriving olive business.

When we arrived in Marrakech, we met up with our tour guide at the Kutubiyya Mosque. We had been here last year, but could not really see it as there had been a recent earthquake and they were still working to make sure the building was safe.

Today we got a good view, and an excellent discussion about it and the role of Islam in Morocco from our guide. Much better than our previous guide, who not only seemed to be singularly uninformed about what we were seeing, but managed to lose several members of our group in the depths of the souk. Today our guide seemed to be much more knowledgeable, and luckily with just the 2 of us in tow instead of 30 people, was unlikely to lose us.

Our first stop was at the Dar El Bacha which is an iconic landmark in the city. It is a beautiful palace that has been standing since the 18th century and houses the Museum of Confluences.

In the building is an amazing coffee shop, where you have to wait at least 2 hours to get a table.

We wandered through the Souk, and I am always amazed by the colours and textures of what is to be seen there. In one way you feel like you are in sensory overload, but it is all so fascinating, I don’t want to miss a thing.

Last time we were here we did not really understand that there were several sections of the souk which focused on different items. Our guide took us to the leather section, and we learned all about the process of dealing with leather in the souk.

We also went to the bath house, which is still in operation

And next door there is the fire that heats the steam and the water for the bath house.

It was meant to be a Jewish heritage tour, but our guide only made one mention of the Jewish section of the old city, and we didn’t learn much at all which was a pity.

Still, this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of wandering up and down the narrow, crowded alleyways, and taking in all of the sounds, sights, and smells of the souk.

We eventually emerged into the square, that’s where you find the snake charmers.

Our guide pointed out the roof top bars where you can get a fantastic view of the sunset, but not much in the way of good food or good service.

Then it was time to head back to the ship. We had wanted to get to the port in good time in case we were caught in traffic, and also if our driver wasn’t allowed in to the port we wanted to make sure we had at least half an hour to give us time to walk from the port entrance to the ship.

When we arrived at the port we just told the guard that we were going to the ship, and he let us in without asking any questions or wanting to see our cruise cards or passports.

Things seem to be very random at times in Africa.

When I returned to our suite I was thrilled to see that Camilla had prepared a special bubble bath for me. After 2 hectic days of touring, a nice soak in a hot bath was exactly what I needed. The fact that the water was the perfect temperature was amazing. It was a lovely way to relax before heading out on deck for the sail away.

It was another bubbles, Buble, and caviar event, not one to be missed. Nick did a lovely job providing the Michael Buble music, our favorite wait staff kept the champagne flowing, and there was more caviar than I even I could consume. I am going to miss these sail aways. I am going to miss everything about the Sojourn.

One of the singers in the Seabourn Six, Dalton, had left abruptly earlier on in the cruise, and Nick had done a great job replacing him in the shows. Tonight was the debut of the new singer, Santino.

Actually even before I heard him sing I was very impressed with him. While we were partaking of bubbles, Buble and caviar he had come over and introduced himself to us. He just seemed like such a nice personable young man.

As we sailed away there was suddenly this huge flock of birds above us – it was like something out of the Hitchcock film, the birds.

The Seabourn Six performed another show tonight. Well Santino clearly fitted very well into the Six. He had only had a few days to practice with them but his performance was seamless, it was as if the Seabourn Six had been performing together for the past few months. He also has an amazing vocal range.

All of the other performers in the group were as excellent as usual. They are all so talented, and such likeable people. I keep on saying how lucky Seabourn is to have them on board. I will certainly miss them.

After the show we went to the Observation Bar, and I realized that I will certainly miss sitting at the bar having a chocolate martini or glass of champagne, and chatting to the other folks there. It really is a great experience. And of course listening to Robert on the guitar is wonderful. It is always such a lovely way to end the day.