Reflections

I will likely add one more post about food and other miscellaneous items when I get time, and also  fix the spelling and grammatical errors which  I am sure are numerous (the side effect of posting things more or less real time when you are too tired/busy to proof read).  However, this reflections post I am writing on the flight is a summary of what we liked and an assessment of the Intrepid tour.

We had a fantastic trip to Morocco. From the Atlantic beaches to the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert, and all the places in between, Morocco was a delightfully diverse destination. It is impossible to pick a favorite location or experience, but here are some contenders:

• The medina in Fez, the "medina of all medinas". Sensory overload is the best way to describe a visit to the Fez medina. The sights, sounds, smells, and tastes are something one does not forget. Not to mention the history. The Chouara Tannery in the medina has been in operation for over a thousand years, in the same location, using the same methods. That is a true living history experience.
• Chefchaouen. A gorgeous small town in shades of blue. Visually stunning, but also bustling with activity. A vibrant market, a great central square to people watch, all set amongst the backdrop of the Rif Mountains and surrounded by small farms.
• The expansive Sahara sand dunes. There are sand dunes many places in the world but to stand on top of a tall dune and see nothing but undulating golden dunes extending to the horizon is a special experience.
• The delightful coastal gem, Essaouira. Not nearly as old as Fez, Meknes, and Marrakech, Essaouira still has history and it's own charm. The pace is slower, the compact old town is easy to walk and fully explore, and of course there is the beautiful sandy beach.

I could go on and on as each place we visited had a unique cultural, historical, or scenic highlight. I think the variety is what made the trip so enjoyable overall. When I asked Karen, she identified Chefchaouen as the highlight of the trip.

At the beginning of the trip I promised a review of the Intrepid experience. The positives:

• Great itinerary. A good sampling of the diversity of Morocco, and a good balance between structured activities and time to explore on our own or with others on the tour with similar interests. While I personally could have done without most/all of the stops for "shopping experiences", I know that is an important item for some travelers and I think Intrepid & Nabil did a good job of finding a reasonable balance of providing these shopping experiences but not having them take too much time.
• Great traveling companions - pleasant conversations, everyone respected each others time by being prompt, etc. Zero issues. It enriched the experience by traveling with people from different countries (9 total), different ages (20s to 70s), and with different life experiences. While we were in many ways very different, we all shared a love of travel and a desire to learn more about the people and places that make up the planet we live on. Every trip like this I learn not just about the place I am visiting, but also learn about what people from other countries think about world events, and it is an opportunity to learn about political, economic, and cultural aspects of the countries of your fellow travelers. I definitely think the trip is better with a mix of nationalities rather than traveling just with Americans.
• Good weather - other than the rainy day in Rabat the weather was good. Obviously you cant control the weather, but based on our experience April was a good time to visit Morocco.
• Good tour leader. Nabil did a great job of managing all the logistics, insuring everyone was safe, etc.
• "Tipping kitty". Moroccans expect tips for almost everything. We agreed upfront to each contribute a fixed amount into the "tipping kitty" and our leader used that to tip the drivers, porters, local guides, etc. This system worked very well and allowed us to focus on enjoying what we were doing while insuring great service was properly rewarded.

Improvements. Almost anything can be improved, so while we had a great time, there were a few things that could have made the experience even better. Despite these items I would still recommend Intrepid in general and this tour specifically.

• Having a tour guide rather than a tour leader. Nabil provided a little bit of background on what we were seeing, but not much. We did have local guides in a few places like Meknes, Fez and Essaouira which were very knowledgeable. Even if Nabil was not a certified guide it would have improved the experience if he had been more knowledgeable and/or shared more knowledge about the places we were going and the things we were seeing. Ultimately I resorted to either reading our Lonely Planet guide book or downloading web pages with explanations of the places we were going and their history to fulfill my desire to learn more about what we were seeing and experiencing.
• Nabil's communication sometimes was not succinct. There were times when he told different people different meeting times, and we had to ask him again. Also, he never said he didn't know the answer to something. Perhaps this is cultural, but we prefer someone to say they don't know versus giving a wrong answer. There were a number if cases when someone would ask about something and he would say "yeah yeah" even though what they had asked was not correct. We also often had to ask the same question multiple times, with a question like "is dinner included or do we need to buy dinner our self?" being answered "yeah yeah". Which is it, A or B?
• Marrakech hotels were a disappointment in how Intrepid handled them. We arrived early in the morning and spent 2 nights there in the middle of the trip, and one night at the end. Unfortunately we were told after dinner on night 1 that we had to change hotels for the second night. Many people had done laundry and had wet items hanging to dry. We were also told we had to go as a group to the new hotel at noon. So on day 2 (our only full day in Marrakech) we were limited on what we could do as we had pack, conservatively plan where we were going to visit in order to insure we were back to the hotel for checkout by noon, walk to the second hotel and then wait to check in because rooms were not ready. It cost us 3-4 hours in sightseeing time by having to come back to the hotel, pack, move hotels, check in, and then get back to sightseeing areas.
• Marrakech hotels part 2. This didn't affect us, but some people were extending and spending extra time in Marrakech. They asked what hotel we were returning to and were told repeatedly we would return to the second hotel, the Meriem. So, they booked extra time there and left some extra items in storage. We then find out later that we are not returning to the Meriem. People tried to cancel their extra nights there (so they would not have move again) and were told they could not cancel.
• Marrakech hotels part 3 - as mentioned above, some people left items in storage at the Meriem. While everyone got their things back, the hotel did not mark any stored items or provide claim tickets. Instead when people returned they were allowed to take whatever they said was theirs. It would have been very easy for someone to take items (intentionally or accidentally) that were not theirs, and the hotel had zero accountability if a bag was not there as a guest had no claim check to even prove they left anything. It seems like a recipie for disaster.
• The hotels were generally what we expected. Some nice places, and some old places with "character". We generally don't care much about the hotels as we don't spend much time in our room or at the hotel, but there were some cleanliness issues a couple of places. From my perspective it is fine if the towels have holes, the carpet is worn, etc. but even the most basic hotel can (and should) be cleaned so the next guest doesn't have to deal with hair, etc. from the previous guests.
• Intrepid only includes limited meals with the trip, breakfasts and a couple of lunches/dinners. The rest of the meals you need to pay for yourself. That is fine and we knew that and budgeted accordingly. However, some things that we were charged for were a bit ridiculous. For example, in Meknes, our lunch of camel burgers was included. We sat down, they gave everyone tea and a camel burger. No one was asked what they wanted nor given any options. A couple of hours later as we were finishing our tour of the city the local guide told us the tea was not included and we needed to each pay 5 dh because we had left without paying for the tea. The money (about USD 0.50) is not the issue, it was lack of communication. People should not be given something (which they might not have wanted), and then been told after the fact that it was extra. If Intrepid paid for the lunch they should have included the tea or people should have been told upfront that if they wanted tea it was extra. It seemed a bit ridiculous to be charged for some of these minor items.

While we enjoyed the Intrepid trip, and would definitely recommend it, it is not for everyone. Intrepid rated the trip as 2 out of 5 on an activity scale, and highlighted a few areas travelers might have issues (carrying their own bags, sites with lots of stairs, etc.). I think they did a very good job setting expectations. Overall I averaged a bit over 16,000 steps a day. That included the optional hikes on 2 different days, and I spent some of the time at the shopping experiences and coffee breaks walking instead of sitting or being in the stores, so someone could have done the tour with 30-40% less walking. However, if you are not able (or willing) to carry your own luggage up stairs, and up to a half mile to get from train/bus station to hotels, this trip is not for you.

Likewise, the hotels are a mix of quality levels. If you want 3+ star hotels and insist on a private bathroom, then the trip is not for you. We did have private bath facilities all but 3 nights, and had some nice hotels, but others were fairly basic. The overnight train requires sharing a sleeping car with someone else, unless you come as a group of 4.

The trip was also fairly fast paced, with some long travel days. We preferred that as it allowed us to visit a lot of sights in the time we had. If you are prepared to be active for ~12 hours a day, change hotels on most days, and want to see lots of things then this trip is for you. If you want a slower pace then you should consider a trip that covers fewer destinations.

Bottom line - we had an awesome trip, great traveling companions, and would recommend Intrepid tours overall, and the Morocco Encompassed trip specifically. Just read the details on Intrepid's website to make sure the style if the trip matches how you like to travel. Now it's time to plan the next adventure ...

Day 19 - Paris to home!

Our last travel day was long but uneventful. We left our airport hotel at CDG after breakfast, and within 30 minutes we were through security and walking to our gate. We flew from Paris to Seattle (10 1/2 hours). I probably should have tried to sleep some but instead watched 4 movies and wrote some more blog material.

We did get a nice view of Iceland, and Greenland on the flight home.

SEA was a nightmare for anyone with limited time (as in 3 hours or less) to make a connection.  They said immigration wait was at least 2 hours for US and Canadian citizens and "much longer" for others.  We had the option to  download and fill out the mobile passport app while we were in line, and as soon we got that done we could bypass the line and go directly to baggage claim so we did that.  Baggage claim had all the conveyors totally full of luggage and  the perimeter had bags lined up 5-10 deep along all the walls as there were hundreds of people waiting to get through immigration.

After we bypassed immigration and got our one checked bag it took almost an hour to get through the customs line and almost as long to get back through security.  Our plane landed at 1130 and we didn't get to our connecting gate until just after 2.   Fortunately our flight didn't leave until 320.

From Seattle it was a quick flight back to Portland. We then took the train from the airport to the transit center near our house, and got a ride home from Guber,  "Guber" being a contraction of our friend Greg and Uber, our personal Uber. 😀   Thanks Greg for picking us up, and for taking us to the airport 3 weeks ago.   We got home about 530 PM. or about 230 AM Paris time.  Very tired,but thankful for being home safely.

day 18 - Marrakech to Paris

Today was a travel day. We had an early afternoon flight out of Marrakech to Paris where we would spend the night before returning to the US the next morning. We had breakfast at the hotel, said goodbye to some remaining fellow travelers, packed, and headed to the airport.

We had reservations for an airport hotel in Paris and our original plan was to go into Paris city center for dinner. However our flight from Marrakech was delayed by about 45 minutes and then we lost an hour trying to find our hotel so we gave up on the idea of taking the train into Paris for dinner. We had reservations for the "Ibis Styles Paris CDG airport Roissy" hotel but instead the shuttle we got on took us to the "Ibis Styles Paris Roissy CDG" hotel. Another person on the shuttle made the same mistake so we had to get on the next shuttle and go back to the airport and try again. All the signs for the shuttle just said "Ibis Styles Paris" so not sure how you were supposed to figure out that was not the right shuttle. In any case we found the right hotel and have a comfortable place to spend the night before catching our flight back to the US in the morning.

Here is the first hotel we went to.  When we were in the shuttle I noticed it was going in the wrong direction based on google maps, but I first I thought based on one way loop roads I thought the shuttle had to take a circuitous route, then I  thought maybe I had the wrong address entered or Google was showing in the wrong place.  So, we got off the shuttle.  After the first guy trying to check in was told he had the wrong place then we became more certain we had also made a mistake.

So, we had to wait 20 minutes for the next shuttle and head back to the airport.  Once back it only took a few minutes to find the right place to go.  Dinner in Paris will have to wait for another time.

Day 17 - Essaouira to Marrakech

We had half a day in Essaouira before we needed to leave for Marrakesh. We decided to walk around town and do some shopping with Kate, have lunch, and then head back to the hotel.

Not sure the significance, but banging above the entrance to this small shop is an eye test chart.   ????

While we were shopping Karen spotted some "Mike Sports" socks in a bin with (counterfeit?) Nike socks, so I couldn't pass up buying some of my socks. 😀

We ended up eating at a small healthy food restaurant that Kate had looked up online called YOO. We had tried to go there the first night when we got to Essaouira but they were closed. Karen had bought some strawberries from street vendor and when the restaurant owner saw they were in a plastic bag he said they needed to breath and offered a small woven bag many stores put items in. Then he asked if we wanted them washed and we said that would be great. We expected him to bring them back in the bag, but instead when he brought us our meal he had washed the strawberries, cut them up, and out them in a bowl for us with toothpicks, ready to eat.   This was just one example of the wonderfully welcoming people of Morocco.  Other than a few pushy street vendors and shop owners, almost everyone we met was welcoming and helpful. 

We left the hotel at 2 to walk to the train station to catch a 2:30 bus to Marrakesh. It was about a 3 hour bus ride. Intrepid described our transport as "local bus", so we envisioned having to drag our luggage onto the bus and be in cramped conditions. Instead it was a a large modern motor coach with luggage underneath and assigned seats. The bus made one stop en route for coffee/toilets, but everyone on board was traveling from Essaouira to Marrakesh.

As we left town we drove along next to the waterfront and the kite surfers were out in force.

Once we got inland a short distance the landscape was very barren, and there were even some small sand dunes.  However, once we got closer to Marrakech it was back to agricultural land, mostly olive trees.

The bus terminal was next to the train station, and then we had about a 10 minute walk to our hotel.   After a short rest we headed out to have a goodbye dinner with our group.  We were blessed to have had such wonderful traveling companions.

Colors

One notable thing about Morocco is all the vibrant colors in the markets - a rainbow palette of  vivid colors.  Here is a sampling:

Day 16 - Essaouira

Today we spent the day in Essaouira. Our hotel was in the old part of town, so it made walking around easy. After breakfast we had a 3 hour guided walking tour, with the rest of the day on our own.

Modern Essaouira was founded in 1765 by Mohammed III, and was a planned town with a rectangular grid of streets designed by a French architect. It was planned as a trading and export center linking the Sahara trade routes to Europe and later the United States with its port. The reason for picking Essaouira was that it had a good natural anchorage and the road to Marrakech was a straight line. The town walls around the old section of the city are about 3 km (2 miles) long.

Fun fact.  Purple has long been a color associated with royalty.  Around the 1st century BC, the Berber King Juba II established a Tyrian purple factory, processing the murex and purpura shells found in the intertidal rocks at Essaouira and the islands off shore.   This dye was used by royals for their robes and colored the purple stripe in the togas worn by the senators of Imperial Rome.

We started out by walking outside of the walled area of town and  visiting the harbor. Today the port is used almost exclusively for fishing. There was a fleet of medium sized fishing boats, and a large number of small boats used primarily for sardine fishing. There were many fishermen selling a variety of types of fish.  The harbor was a beehive of activity with fishermen, ship repair, and other construction activity going on.

These lockers are for the motors and equipment for the the small blue fishing boats.

The gate from the harbor is supposed to symbolize tolerance, with symbols from Christianity, Islam and Judaism. At one point after the founding of modern Essaouira almost half the population was Jewish traders, but today the Jewish population is almost zero.

After leaving the harbor we walked along the Atlantic side of the town.  It was low tide so there were a bunch of exposed tide pools.

We then came to the fortress. 

Essaouira has a number of markets, and lots of shops.

We have eaten A LOT of bread on this trip.  Every meal has a basket of bread to get started and they refill it as required.  Some days it feels like I have eaten this much bread.

Until Essaouira, we have been very disappointed in the quality of Moroccan pizza .  There are lots of pizza places, but they all produce very bland pizza.  We finally found a good place today.  Karen had a pizza and I had a calzone that I think must have been stuffed with a couple of pounds of cheese, mushrooms, artichokes,, and ham.  We both gave the food a thumbs up.

After our late lunch we went back to the hotel.  Karen took a nap and I worked on the blog.  We then went to the beach later.   The sandy beach is beautiful, but Essaouira is known as the windy city and as a result it is rarely a pleasant place to sit or lay on the beach, or to swim.  This had helped to keep Essaouira from being overdeveloped with lots of foreign tourists.  It is a popular spot with kite surfers and wind surfers.

They also offer rides on the beach - your choice of horse or camel.  There is also a nice wide promenade running between the road and the beach.

We stayed at the beach to watch the sunset, then got crepes to eat and returned to the hotel.