Morocco, an exotic destination, a beautiful land and the first 2022 MVT Reserve trip of 2022.
Our small but mighty group (Sue Doyle, Debbie Pham, Christy Guziak, Mallory Sestak and Connie Miller) met in Casablanca June 21th to experience an amazing array of cities, experiences and tastes.
Before we get started, however, we must mention Experience Morocco, the Virtuoso DMC that arranged all of our trip details and experiences. Experience Morocco arranged for us to be met by a FastTrack representative immediately upon exiting the plane upon arrival in Casablanca. This gentleman whisked us through customs and immigration in a fraction of the time it would normally take and then escorted us to the luggage carrousel. After collecting our luggage, our guide Houcine and our driver took us via Mercedes coach to the Four Seasons Casablanca to check in and relax. This was the first taste of the type of service we came to expect throughout the remainder of the trip.
The official journey began when Radia from Experience Morocco joined us with our guide and driver at 5 p.m. at the Four Seasons. We started by a quick city tour, including a view of the Hassan II Mosque in Mohamed V Square, the beaches of Casablanca and a quick impromptu visit to Rick’s Café… (you know the one, right?). Another score for Experience Morocco; Rick’s was closed, but a phone call or two later and our group was allowed in before opening time for a quick look-see and cocktails. The evening ended with an enchanting dinner at the Casablanca Four Seasons. Our itinerary started in Casablanca before moving to Marrakech for four nights. After Marrakech, the group traveled to Fes for two nights afterwhich the group experienced their final night as a group in Rabat.
Accommodations were amazing and included a wide array of resorts and riads. In Marrakech, we delighted in spending two nights at Villa des Orangers, a Relais & Chateaux Property, one evening at La Maison Arabe and one evening at The Royal Palm Fairmont Marrakech. Each resort or riad included a delightful dinner and breakfast option and an opportunity to tour, enjoy and experience their property. We were also provided a tour of the Royal Mansour where we met and enjoyed a delightful dinner with the general manager. In Fes, we had one night each at the Riad Fes and Hotel Sahrai Fes. In Rabat, the capital, we stayed one night at the Sofitel Jardin des Roses and some of us experienced one last night at the Four Seasons, Casablanca.
The key takeaways however, were the experiences that were provided. We toured the medinas and souks, visited the monuments, learned of the variety of influences from the Roman times to today, rode mules through the Atlas Mountains to visit a Berber family where we broke bread and shared stories without a common language. We were surprised to have a professional photographer join us to take photographs of us as a memento of our trip (now a regular inclusion for all Experience Morocco groups). We also learned how to cook using a tagine from the real pros, experienced the delight of a Hamman, listened to a myriad of birds chirping, walked a shoreline and feasted. And bread… did I mention the bread?! It’s the wonderful staple of life in Morocco especially when accompanied by the sweet mint green called Maghrebi. There were also the rhythms of the city where cars, trucks, horses, mules, carts, pedestrians and an amazing array of scooters and motorcycles all weaved in and out of traffic in an almost perfect mesmerizing harmony.
All the travel guides say that Morocco is best traveled by car and that is correct. In-country flights are iffy at best; as evidenced by the fact that our itinerary had to be changed twice because the flight issues. Having a car and driver is also a benefit unless you understand Arabic, French or Berber.
The highlight of the trip, however, was the people we met. Generally, Moroccans are kind and generous. I especially enjoyed visiting the Berber family, sharing bread (Moroccan bread cooked over fire in a special oven especially for us) drinking tea (50% sugar I firmly believe) and enjoying their multi-generational family without the benefit of language (as we waited for an interpreter). At one point we could ascertain that the family patriarch was asking us if we had mountains or snow. I said no, but that I had traveled to the mountains and showed him a photo of a recent trip to Colorado. That photo reminded me that I had video of a hail storm which I shared with him and his family and their expressions were interesting. Later we learned that he had lived for a while in Casablanca, but had returned to the simpler life of the mountains.
