Scrapbook: Morocco on Foot
/I’m just back from a guided walking tour of Morocco. Two pieces of advice: Bring a set of collapsible trekking poles and spend a little pre-trip time in the gym and/or the trail training your heart and leg muscles, and breaking in your shoes.
Not all walking tours are strolls in the park. This one had us walking up to 10 miles a day in uneven and rocky terrain. Despite being the youngest participant, I was consistently bringing up the rear. (Unlike me, my fellow trekkers hadn’t been desk-bound and had prepared adequately.)
Nevertheless, when I wasn’t breathless from navigating the terrain, the multi-dimensional experience took my breath away. The sensory inputs were dialed up to the max, whether we were in a teeming bazaar, ascending the Atlas mountains with the falcons, sleeping in a storybook castle, or perched atop a stack of folded rugs sipping tea with a carpet seller.
Room with a view. Palais Jamai, Fes.
A moment in the medina at Fes today.
At a madrasah in the medina, Fes.
Couldn't leave Fes without buying a rug. Choices galore.
Yes, this is still Morocco. View from my room at the Michlifen Ifrane in the Middle Altas. The town of Ifrane is often called the Little Switzerland of the country.
In the High Atlas mountains on the road to Erfoud.
The King and I.
Blue Man Group. Erg Chebbi.
Nine mile walk today through an area they call Land of a Thousand Kasbahs. Near Ourzazate.
Giant chicken tagine with couscous. Yummy.
Boys in a Berber village in the High Atlas. Kids are cute the world over.
Mod meets trad in Marrakech.
Tin Mal mosque in the High Atlas. Built in 1156.
The outfitter for this trip was Vermont-based Country Walkers. Also check out the piece I wrote for National Geographic. Photos © Norie Quintos.