From Fez to Marrakech (On the Road!)

Before I start the blog for June 4, I wanted to post this photo the balloon boy on the wide street in Fez just near our hotel, where we went for a walk the evening of June 3.  It is a wide boulevard with lots of palm trees and green and places to sit.

















Wednesday June 4 was another glorious day, with the temperature heating up as we headed south.  Today was a road trip day as Mohamed drove us 400km from Fez to Marrakech.  It was a very interesting trip as we went through a number of towns in the Middle Atlas Mountains and then a number of others on flatter land as we headed to Marrakech.  We saw everything from chateaux to gypsy caravans, monkeys, camels, new towns and old.  We drove through cedar forests and dry areas, that reminded us of Kamloops.  It was a great way to see the country.

We left Fez just after 9:30 a.m. and arrived in Marrakech at about 5:30 p.m.  Because there are just the two of us on the tour, we could stop along the way when we wanted to check things out.

Our first stop was a Berber village called Imouzzer.  Mohamed wanted to stop there to pick up some specialties of the town.  We sampled a Moroccan crepe- plain, but tasty, and then another delicacy that was more spicy with onions mixed in.  The treats were heated up for us and were very good.

Mohamed, our driver, checking out the treats

                                                                   Cafe Al Hadika in Imouzzer

Preparing  the treats

The spicy specialty

We then drove on to Ifrane, about 63 km southwest of Fez.  This town was unbelievable.  It was built in 1929 during the time of the French protectorate (1912-1956) to create a "poche de France" for expatriate French diplomats, administrators, and business personnel. There are many alpine chalets, contemporary villas and parks in the town.  Definitely, the playground of the wealthy today. The King owns a Chateau that was once owned by the French (we spotted in the distance).

Ifrane is now nicknamed "Morocco's Switzerland".  The town sits at an altitude of 5,460 feet (1,700 m).  There is also an English language university with an American curriculum opened in the mid-1990s, called the Al Akhawayn (The Brothers) University.  Known as the Harvard of Morocco, it is a university for the wealthy and royalty.  The 1% holidays here in the summer (to escape the Fez heat) and in the winter for skiing.  We stopped for some mint tea and a quick walk about.

                                              We had our mint tea in a restaurant beside this hotel

As we were driving out of Ifrane, we saw some monkeys hanging out in a green space between two lots.

                                                               Monkeying around                 

We then drove through another town with modern homes and a lot of new buildings under construction and then five minutes later spotted a gypsy caravan crossing the road.   The contrasts we saw on the entire route were striking.                                                          

Another modern town

Gypsy caravan

Next we passed this huge complex called the Emirates Tourist Centre.  Part of the centre featured a giant tea pot.

Part of the Emirates Tourist Centre!

We next drove through Azrou, about 78 km southwest of Fez.  Azrou is from the Berber word for rock and is a significant ancient Berber capital named for the city's quarry of black volcanic rocks.  Apparently, for many centuries Azrou remained a secret mountain town that invading forces never  located, due in part to a cave system designed for concealment and protection.

 Azrou

                                                                 Caves in the rocks

We then drove through an area of the Middle Atlas Mountains that reminded both Alain and I of Kamloops, B.C.

Looks like Kamloops to me

We saw lots of sheep and goats en route as well.

We also saw beautiful flowers all along the road. [Note: most of these pictures are taken from our tour van]

We also passed more traditional looking small towns, each with a mosque and some cafes and stores.

Most villages we went through had their own symbols.  This village had horses as its symbol.  Ifrane's symbol was a lion with a big head, and smaller body.

 Some parts of the drive featured isolated buildings in the middle of scrub land.

Other areas were a virtual construction zone, with lots of houses going up at the same time.  Many of the homes were very big.  Some towns were being built for the wealthy, others were much poorer.

                                                                Constuction zone

This next picture was of a very wealthy town with large houses and greenery.

Then we drove on to a more rural area where we saw our first camels.

Another new area of home construction as we approached Marrakech.

New homes underway

It was an incredible day--- on the whole, the economy seems to be doing well and we have heard that tourism in Morocco has gone way up since the Arab spring, as other countries such as Tunisia and Egypt are presently seen as unstable.  During our tour so far, we have seen incredible amounts of construction of homes, hotels and other commercial buildings.  Today, we saw this occuring in predominantly rural parts of Morocco.  It was all very interesting.  More myths about Morocco shattered.

We got settled into our hotel, had a late dinner and then went for a walk.  We are in an area of large hotels and big boulevards.  Today,  June 5, will be the last day of our official tour.  We will be visiting the Marrakech Medina and Souks as well historic sites.  All on board!