The Travel Mug went on a Moroccan adventure: seventeen days, six stops, 1,555 kilometers (966 miles), countless good meals and numerous bottles of wine.
This blog is going to be heavy on the photos because the Travel Mug was snap-happy. There are also a lot of links for you to click to help plan your own adventure.
The Mug began its two-week Moroccan adventure in Casablanca. Tired from the seven hour flight, and fighting the jetlag, the Mug put on some sunscreen and hit the streets. First stop, Hassan II Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world (the first being in Mecca). The mosque is built mostly over the Atlantic Ocean and it is a truly majestic site to see. (Thank goodness we had a camera, because that first day was mostly a blur.)
The Mug planned a half relaxing, half adventure trip. The second stop was four hours outside Casablanca on a reservoir lake in the Atlas Mountains, at a resort the Mug found on Groupon (you read that right, the Mug has a lot of faith to fly to Africa and use a Groupon!) The Widiane Suites & Spa was everything we wanted. The Mug relaxed by the pool, had a nice massage, went for a boat ride, made friends with some crazy Brits, and took a cooking class.
Here the Mug is with the chef, and mixing and mingling with the tagines (it was like a family reunion).
After four days of calm and quiet, the Mug was rested and ready for a hike around Cascades d’Ouzoud on the way to Marrakech.
In Marrakech, the Mug stayed at Riad ZamZam, which had the most friendly staff of all times. The Mug even Facetimed (is that a verb yet?) from the Riad’s courtyard to the Clay Coyote Team to say “bonjour!”
The Mug wandered got lost in the souks, visited Jemaa el Fna, and successfully bought a rug.
After Marrakech the Mug headed south. The Mug stayed one night in Adagir, which the Mug dubbed the Miami of Morocco. That said, the Sofitel was a lovely rest stop on our way down to a natural wonder we read about online and just had to visit.
When planning the Travel Mug’s adventure we looked at a lot of blogs (one standout was Marocmama, who the Mug actually met in person at Blogher) and got tips from Coyote favorite Paula Wolfert. One blog that we read showed photos of the most amazing beach and natural rock sculptures that the Mug decided it had to go see them with its own eyes. Thanks to Lonely Girl Travels for pointing us to Legzira Plage, it was one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring places we have ever been and we are so glad we went.
The adventure to Legzira also led us to Mirleft, a nearby surfer village where we found Dar Najmat, and the best meal of our entire trip. The little hotel is the perfect getaway spot and when we were leaving we wrote in the visitor book that we’d be back, and we meant it. If you get a chance, the trip down to Mirleft and Legzira is worth the drive each way.
The Mug loved the little bar.
The Mug hanging relaxing on the poof!
The final stop on the Mug’s excursion was Essaouira, an old port city that was a delight. We stayed at Villa Maroc right on the ramparts and we loved every windy-twisty, ancient path we walked.
All in all, the Mug had so much fun, met so many wonderful people, relaxed, got lost, learned new things, and stayed in such amazing places.
In Morocco the Travel Mug felt at home.
PS: Check out the Big Map to see all the Mug’s other adventures. It was super cool to put a dot on Africa!
