A trip to Morocco on your own

Morocco is on the west-northern part of the continent and borders the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean, Western Sahara and Algiers. Its landscape varies greatly from the beautiful sea coast to tall mountains and boiling hot desert. The biggest contrast are the Sahara and Atlas. The tall mountains have snow covered peaks and typical canyons, while on the other side Sahara has the camels and heat.

It was nana’s wish to go to Morocco and she said it three days before we left! It was a strange surprise for me. I was planning a short vacation at work in Albania and Montenegro for me and nana, when I got a good price for the plane tickets and called her up. She stopped me and said she doesn’t want to go there, because she saw something on television about Morocco and it became a prime destination for her. I never considered Morocco, but we only had three days before departure, so… next day I bought tickets and settle the insurance. I also bought a travel guide. There was no time for anything else. So without knowing anything more we went fort on our Moroccan adventure. We rented a car at the Marrakesh airport and stopped at the parking to think where we even want to go. So we started with what was the most interesting for the both of us – the desert and mountains. Our tour thus began by travelling across the Atlas Mountains with its extremely beautiful sights. Not even snow passes spoiled our joy, if something it only made it more interesting! But the cherry on the cake were the canyons and the locals. Visiting Sahara was a whole different world to us, for reaching a hot place aftr being up in the snowy mountains presents a huge contrast for everybody. 

The starting point for all mountain adventures in the city full of African temperament by the name of Marrakesh, which lays just under the foot of the Atlas. The geologically young mountain range is composed of three parallel ridges. To the northeast there is the middle Atlas formed mostly from the lime stone of the Jurassic era. The tallest peak is the Jbel Bou Naceur (3340m). Heading inland there is the 750 kilometres long Tall Atlas with the tallest peak Jbel Toubkalz (4165m) and made from old crystalline rocks, Jurassic lime and volcanic rocks. Its surrounding countryside with many narrow canyons and tall peaks is very uninhabitable. To the east of the mountain there is the might Sahara, the largest desert on our planet. The desert and mountains are separated by a 500 kilometre long river valley of river Draa. Once in the desert you’ll get a stunning and unique view of snow covered mountains while standing in the desert sun, sand and heat, but that’s the beauty of this place.  

Most travellers stated the roads in Morocco are nice. Most of the roads really are, but in the remote areas they become a real nightmare. The biggest problem is in the cities, where one lane streets (by classification) become (illegally) three lane paths with problematic roundabouts and traffic lights which nobody looks at. Every cyclist thinks they have the right of way and it’s a general traffic mess. But in remote areas between villages far from the cities – on the south side of the mountains – the roads really became a problem. On the other hand we became a real attraction for the local population. They foun it really strange that a woman is driving a car, but then again, we were not even covered up, and presented a really strange combination of a grandmother and granddaughter… not to mention – we were both white! 

Many girls find the local men charming and get a serious or less serious relationships. A young man by the name Abdulah proved they really are charming, not only by the way they look, but also as somebody you can talk to. He was a young man we mat along the way. We were always moving away from many looks we got from the men, for most of them only want to make a quick penny off a tourist, but his approach was different. He was also one of the very few people who spoke English in the remote countryside and he was pleasant and not pushy, so I started talking to him. After a group fun and drum playing, drinking of traditional tea, and chatting he offered us a two day tour to the Sahara on camel backs. At first we were unsure and started negotiation about the price. He offered a few dozen Euros for the rent of camels and food, with no additional costs. I checked the guide and the price was lower than any recommended, so we decided to take this stranger with us. There was some fear, but the desire to meet this strange local and to ride the camels through Sahara was much stronger. After a day spent together we became good friends and late in the afternoon we took the camels to the sandy dunes. The soft swaying at the foothills of the dunes at the sunset was really nice. Even nana, who was not on a camel for the first time, wanted to avoid this, enjoyed it at last. She is rarely so relaxed and she sang together with Abdullah, although they couldn’t find a common melody, let alone a common text. But both had a lot of fun. In the evening we reached the tents and Abdullah got us a few tins of beer, which is quite rare for that part of the world, and provided music by the open fire. The evening got cold, almost as cold as in the high mountains, but sleeping in the tents was nice and warm on the soft pillows even with dirty covers. But the surprise came in the morning, early before the sun rose. We were already on the way to the top of a dune. It was so steep that it felt like for every two steps you slipped one back down. So reaching the top got us really warmed up. Then we got a great view of Algiers on one and Morocco on the other side – but it was all just a bunch of sand dunes. But then the sun started to rise and the rays hit one dune after the other from top to bottom. The already red sand became even more intensely red and I must admit this is the most impressive sunrise I’ve ever had. The colours seem to change on the red tiny sand that becomes really pleasant. Oh, but just to warn you, there is no clothing it would not penetrate. Two special days we spent with this extraordinary local were really magical. For him too it wasn’t so much a desire to make money, as much a all of us wanted to meet different people. And that is exactly what we were to one another. For us Abdullah was a tourist attraction, but for him th two of us were an even greater one. 

Covered in cloth with a long piece of clothing he came out of nowhere when we stopped along the way to Sahara. He made our two days special and the whole trip made worth wild. Abdullah seemed like a typical local, with a turban and clothing to the ground, dark eyes and almost completely dark skin, but he showed us a piece of Morocco in a completely different way. To experience the Sahara with a local, who doesn’t want to get money from you, but just wants to get you better, is a completely different experience. Life in Morocco has two contrasts – one is living in a city, having a boring average job, and the other is living in the countryside where you can barely survive. In the cities women drive cars and have jobs in the countryside they are completely covered up. Usually I am more attracted to the country side which I generally know much better than the cities. The exotic charm of country markets, the maze of streets in small towns, cows, camels, sheep and goats on the street – along with numerous dogs and shepherds with small flocks. There are the reasons many people think it’s dangerous. Yes, they do take a good look at each tourist, but they don’t really see them and there is generally no danger. Yes, they raise the prices as soon you want to buy something and they want to cheat you out of everything, so you should be really careful, but that’s about it. But if you’re in the streets accompanied by a local their attitude really changes and you can start to walk around freely. It’s rare to find a local, who doesn’t want money from you, but simply enjoys your company and it is his joy to spend time with you as a sort of an attraction. But ok, I guess he didn’t read the map really well for he kept repeating that we were from Slovakia.

Well, nana and I are strange traveling companions, but usually we get along really well. We have similar interests, for we both love nature, mountains and the city is just a place for a quick stop over. So we were really impressed by nana’s choice of country and its nature. Maybe I should let her do all the planning in the future?