The following is a lengthy message about our magical week in Morocco should you have the time to read it. Always love to share a good experience.
We depart on Nov 16. I will try to contact the Reseau and failing voice contact, I will email you.
We have finally arrived to our last destination in this part of the world, Lanzarote. A beautiful modern port. The Atlantic Odyssey offices open today which is sure to bring the pontoons alive with activity for the next two weeks. We are a smaller group of 35 boats Nyctea, being the only Canadian. To highlight this, I ordered a huge flag that is proudly flying off our stern which should be very visible during the start if the Rally which departs on November 16 weather permitting. We will be posting the link on our blog before leaving with the tracking information. Will be glad to finally start sailing. Last month we spent just over 500 euros on fuel .... Motored 45 hours to get here from Rabat😁. Needless to say, we are anxious to do some sailing.
Morocco was a memorable experience for us. We toured FES with a good guide and learned and saw much in regards to the way of life in the medinas. FES has the oldest university in the world and one of the largest medinas with over 9,000 alleys and 650,000 residence.
Within that area, they have 460 boroughs each formerly connected by arch ways with wooden doors and the same five elements; a Coran kindergarden school for the children, a communal wood burning bakery where the women bring there prepared bread for baking, a water fountain, a communal bath house where the men attend during the day and the women at night and a prayer house.
It was amazing to see how so many people function in so small an area as most alleys only allow the width of two people walking side by side.
Our next highlight and probably my most memorable, was our trip to Marrekech and the High Atlas Mountains. Marrekech is a very busy and touristy medina which was nowhere as interesting or beautiful as FES however, here we experienced an overnight stay in a RIAD which is a small guest house within the walls of the medina. We came across a blog in the Seven Seas bulletin which spoke highly of this RIAD and contacted the owner Omar Sheriff who was unfortunately sold out but referred us to a neighbouring Riad.
Within this small alley, behind a wooden door, we found ourselves in a lovely gardened terrasse of a three storey building that had a full ground banana tree in it's center and a pond. I felt as though I was on was on a movie set. Our room felt more like being in someone's home then a hotel. Breakfast the next morning was set on the roof top terrasse overlooking the medina.
Again, I felt like I was on the movie set of the Bourne indentity with Matt Damon. Our next stop was to meet Omar who turned out to be an absolute gem. He greeted us like long time friends and spent much time going through maps and arranging our itinerary for a night in the High Atlas Mountains amongst a Berber family away from all the tourists but not before inviting us for dinner at his Riad for a typical meal accompanied by wine ( alcohol not easily accessible) and, ensuring we had a bottle as well as some beer for our Berber trip.
The Berber part of our trip was amazing beginning with a quick stop to a typical local market held once a week ( talk about being lucky ) before continuing our climb on the winding roads to about a 3,000 meter level. Despite the lack of much vegetation, the views of the mountains and the activity of the local people was spectacular. We meet our host who lives just outside of the village and go over our activities for the next day. He has been a guide in these mountains for 16 years.
We meet his wife and children who welcome us into their home as if we are old time friends. We sit down to an amazing lunch; a tangine that has been cooking for some time to the point that the carrots have become carmelize .... Need I say more ! Dawn ( a friend we are travelling with) and I decide to forego the trekking and ask if we can assist the ladies in preparing dinner as we would love to learn how to use all of the aromatic spices we bought. The experience was memorable followed by freshly made donuts and tea on the roof terrasse overlooking the snow capped mountain peaks and berber villages all in a very rustic setting. Michel and Ray (Dawn's husband ) set off for their trek. The next morning, we explore the village on the mountain side.
There is not a person our host doesn't know. Women are going through rotten apples looking for the most salvageable ones to feed the animals; little children helping elders cut grass to feed their sheep. The only means of transportation is mule and even they have a challenging time walking the steep narrow inclines. The children are all fascinated with Parker and not sure if he is dog or cat. Despite their shyness they follow us up through the village laughing and running about.
The women hard at work sweeping, cleaning and baking bread in outdoor ovens. The homes are set above the enclosed areas for the animals. What would appear to most Westerners as being the epitomy of poverty I can't help but marvel at all of the happy smiling faces and question who is really better off? A truly memorable experience that will be etched in my mind for many years to come.
With over 800 photos, the blog will be hard to post.
Un gros 88
Danielle
Danielle and Michel
S/V Nyctea
Call Sign: KF7MRN
MMSI: 316019524
Nyctea1.blogspot.com
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