From the Mountains to Marrakesh

The next morning we woke up to a blanket of snow covering the trees and mountain tops.  Thankfully the sky had cleared up and the High Atlas, including the largest peak in Morocco Jelbel Toubkal, were visible in the distance.  That morning we had decided to take a short hike before heading to Marrakesh.

Bundled up and ready to go

All bundled up, we headed out with our guide.  The plan was to hike to the highest city and then make our way back down to Imlil via the waterfall.  It was so peaceful to head out in the early morning with all the snow still on the trees.  The only people about were men trying to shovel the remaining snow from the rooftops.  After dodging a few flying piles, we headed out of Imlil along a donkey trek.  The path zig-zagged back and forth eventually leading to a lookout point where you could see for miles.

The morning sun peaks out from behind the clouds

From there we headed up to Afound, the small village in the mountains, to get a better view of Jelbel Toubkal.  As we cleared the houses we could see the mountain peak in the distace.  At 4120 meters, many Moroccans consider it the second highest peak in Africa.  Although this is incorrect (Mount Kenya gets the honors with approximately 5000 meters) we do think it is the highest peak in North Africa.

The beautiful High Atlas

The trip down to the waterfall was a bit hairy as the fresh snow made the rocky path a bit slippery.  Our guide didn't seem deterred by the white stuff as he constantly grabbed handfuls along the way.  At the end of the hike we met up with Mohammed, jumped back into the car and headed back toward Marrakesh.

On the way down

The drive to Marrakesh was thankfully short and lacked the windy roads we were used to.  We drove first to the medina (middle of the city) where our Riad was located.  The Djema El Fna, or square, was already alive with activity.  Snake charmers played their oboes as cobras danced and rose off the ground.  Monkey handlers walked around ready to drop their "pets" on an unsuspecting tourist.  Money required for removal of the monkey.

Our riad for the next two nights

We headed first to the hotel to settle in before doing some exploring of our own.  We wandered among the streets looking for some lunch.  We found Earth Cafe, a small little place with good juice and yummy oriental based food.  After lunch and a quick look at the map, we were off to the souks (markets).

Lunch.  Apparently I'm excited for something other than tangine.

We really didn't have anything in particular in mind to purchase but rather just wanted to explore all the markets had to offer.  Again our senses were on overload as vibrant colors and detailed craftsmen work overflowed from every stall.  From leather work to cheap magnets for the fridge, you could find everything you were looking for in the alleys of the medina.

Wandering the streets of the medina

After a few hours of wandering and some purchases, we ended up at another cafe for a quick drink.  It was nice to sit up on the terrace and enjoy the mid-afternoon sun.  Somehow we managed to walk a big loop inside the souks and emerged at the Djema El Fna unscathed.

Olive sellers

A beautiful painting shop we explored.  The seller was in the middle of his prayers

Here we watched the evening food stands set up and looked for a place to enjoy the sunset.  The medina in Marrakesh isn't the best for terrace views as almost all houses are topped with satellite dishes.  This makes the picturesque views of the High Atlas a bit hard to capture amid the modern necessities.

Sunset on the mineret

Enjoying a sundowner after a long day

After enjoying the sunset we headed back to the Riad to get freshened up for dinner.  Our plan was to try to find this highly recommended little Italian place in the heart of the souks.  We hastily looked at the map and after deciding it was just a right here and a left there we were off.  Things looked a little different after we were in the alleys but somehow we managed to find the place with minimal wrong turns.

I ordered the spinach cannelloni and Josh got a steak.  It wasn't the best meal we had on the trip but the atmosphere was nice and it was good to get away from all the hub bub of the square.  After dinner we headed back into the Djema El Fna to scope out the dinning stalls and see what else there was to enjoy.

The square is basically a huge open air theater and for a few dirahms you can sit and listen to music or a storyteller.  The monkeys still wander at night and countless touts try to pull you into their food stalls for dinner.  There was even this "fishing" game where you had a pole with a small ring on the end.  The object was to loop the ring around the top of a coke bottle.  If you ringed the bottle then you got to keep the soda.

Dried fruit sellers in the square

Exploring some of the souks at night

After a few hours in the square we headed back to the Riad for the night. It was an exhausting day and we knew it would only get worse tomorrow as we had a guide booked for the entire day.