Trip to Morocco April 2022

Three takeaways from the trip:
1. Bread (lots of bread)
2. Cold 40° inside!
3. Lots of walking.

4-6 6.3 miles
4-7 6.5 miles
4-8 7.4 miles
4-9 6.3 miles
4-10 4 miles
4-11 6 miles
4-12 10 miles
4-13 7 miles
4-14 13 miles

Day 1, we loaded our day bags on the mule and hiked the 2.2 miles up 1000 feet to the High Mountain Guest house,
April 6, 2022 Mule all laden with our luggage.
Group after loading mule ready to hike up the mountain.
After climbing up a mountain we were treated to a bowl of soup and some bread to stave off the cold. It was 50° in the hotel with a roaring fire going, but got really cold when the fire went out.
Our destination was the Hight Atlas Guest House (Gite Le Toubkal?) in the middle of a series of ancient homes on top of a knoll, right in front of the snow capped mountains.
The Tagine was awesome!
Breakfast of tea and bread, with vegetables on the side.
Eileen walking down a path in the town.
Spectacu;ar view of the snow capped mountains.
Flat land is used for agriculture, not homes!
I purchsed this set of drums in the little town,
April 7, 2022 Breakfast with snow capped mountains in the background.
Snow capped mountains right there, like you could touch them!
Bowl of rice (the only time I saw rice here!).
Orange sections for desert!
Mask I purchased - the kids there were having fun with it!
Stone mask.
Fire burning to keep the temperature above freezing.
Lady bringing in alfafa for the sheep.
Terraces across from the House.
Greg and Amanda on the deck where we ate.
Eileen on the deck.
Most buildings were mud, straw, manure brick.
And off we went. Typical village scene.
Overlooking a valley.
Very much a desert here in the mountains, Eileen and me.
Geode from a roadside stand.
Rest stop on the way.
Shops selling clay pots everywhere.
Mules carrying loads.
Road construction was a challenge.
Our next hotel across from Ait Ben Haddou.
Ait Ben Haddou. Ait is the last name, Ben is his first, Haddou is castle
Walking over bridge to get to the castle.
Our guide at Ben Haddou, he grew up living in this castle.
Our guide at Ben Haddou showed us his home where grew up, this is what I would have called a bedroom, but it is where they kept the sheep inside the home.
Invisible painting made visible over fire at Ben Haddou/
Having tea in the womans coop at Ben Haddou.
Eileen eating a meal from a tagine.
Mini Tagine
April 8, 2022. Breakfast of tea, yogurt, orange juice and bread in the hotel by Ait Ben Haddou.
Our hotel for the night/
Location of hotel and Ait Ben Haddou
Woman getting alfalfa to town.
Greg by where ladies were creating and selling rugs.
Lady making a rug.
Hundreds of rugs.
It started to get warm!
Rug from this market on my wall.
Eileen in front of the Atlas Movie Studio where they filmed parts of 13 movies and parts of the Game of Thrones.
Our guide.
Us on the set.
A vehicle used in the movie Black Hawk Down (I ripped my pants getting out of it!).
Amanda in Cleopatra's chair.
Lunch in an oasis (a few palm trees and a water tank!).
Unloading the van, it could not get any closer to the Riad we were to stay August 8, 2022.
The path to the Riad was not navigable by trucks!
Pool at the Riad.
Jo and Gerald at dinner.
Stop for lunch on the way to the desert.
Tea Ceremony.
Yousef showing us the sugar that was used to give to the parents of the prospective bride.
Miniature one!
The continua; search for WiFi.
Atrium in the Riad.
Wall in the bedroom.
Stork on the top of the mosque.
Entrance to the Riad.
Loading dead wood for a fire.
Out into the desert on the camels, on the left is where we took the photos.
Fossils in the rock on the ride in 4-wheelers.
Eileen on her camel.
Me on my camel.
Group (Gerald, Owen, Jo, and Ann) on camels.
The rest (Anna, Greg, Eileen, and Me) on camels.
All of us on camels!!!
Our driver.
Camels out in the desert with a chain to keep them from running.
Adult and two juveniles out on the desert, Youseph said that there were no wild camels, all camels have owners nearby.
Eileen and Jo in their colorful habits!
Eileen on the bus being pensive.
Our bus and friends somewhere in Morocco!
Yousef talking to one of our guides.
Hotel
Anyone have WiFi?
Chicken shis ka bob.
Vegetable tagine with bread.
Vegetable pizza!
Huge pool!
Peacock
Horse drawn carriage.
Tadjount, a waste of time, we drove in, spent 15 minutes trying to find what we were supposed to do, then loaded up and left.
Gas at $5.50.
Eileen and Jo discussing what to do now.
The custom of dress by most ladies.
Eileen studying.
Advertisement for ;lifts!
Dinner
Spices in the grocery store!
Atlantic Ocean
Griding
Riad Chakir
Eileen in the medina.
Marina at Essaouiraat.
Typical boat here.
On the beach.
Surfers.
Breakfast.
Tea time.
Dinner by the seawall.
To market we go.
Boats are blue "so the fish cannot see them".
Man cleaning fish.
Entering the fortress, fish nets in bundles in foreground left.
Mending nets.
Lots of blue boats.
Cat is ready for his treat from man cleaning fish.
Gull got his breakfast.
Our guide.
Getting our directions/
In the market.
Selling sardines.
Lady selling her herbs.
Lots of things for sale.
More and more sardined.
Lots of stalls.
Entertainment at even meal.
A tagine full of goodies.
Fish
More food.
Vegan food.
We all survived!!

Treasures from Morocco

Silver daggers I purchased from the market.
Mint tea.
Wood trivate from the wood shop.
Antique wallet, charcoal holder, charcoal applying stick and tweezers .
Rocks and fossils from Africa.
Miniature grinder.
Drum with Moroccan flag.
Coffee cup.
Argon oil.
Argon fruit.
Camel
Invisible ink drawing from Ait Ben Haddou.
Rug from Ait Ben Haddou.