We are sitting on the oasis-esque patio of the Sofitel Hotel in Marrakech. Our flight does not leave for another six and a half hours and this is just a nicer place to while away a few hours than is an airport. I will use this time to catch up on my daily posts. In my own defense I have fallen behind because our tour organizer, Judy, has simply not given me a chance to take a deep breath and made me love it. She is that good!
Today was another day of Moroccan wonder. We started by heading to the Anima (Soul) Gardens. This garden was sculpted in 2010 out of the desert by the Austrian artist André Heller. It was the perfect mixture for Sandy, lots of nature and lots of quirky artistic touches. A combination of mirrors, sculptures, bamboo and palms that added up to a beautiful oasis in the middle of a baron landscape. The garden was designed for inward meditation which is exactly what I did while lying in a Hammock in a secluded part of the garden. Sandy explored the garden thinking about some of the ideas in this garden could work back in Lancaster.
Anima Gardens
Anima Gardens Art
Anima Gardens Chia Pet
This was monstrous, easily twelve feet tall.
Our next adventure was into the High Atlas Mountains. I’ve been waiting for this ever since we arrived in Morocco. While a teenager I spent one summer reading Winston Churchill’s history of the second world war. He went on and on about the beauty of the Atlas Mountains. From then on I never forgot about them nor lost the desire to visit them. Today was my day. They were not as I expected. I had pictured them like our “Rocky Mountains; green mountains with an occasional small town along winding alpine roads. Not so, at least the portion we saw, was not heavily forested and every available piece of land was developed. That is not to say that the snowcapped mountains were not attractive and stately, it is just not what I had envisioned. We made a quick stop at the home of a Berber family, saw how the houses were constructed and the rooms were arranged. Then we enjoyed drinking Moroccan sweet tea with them.
Middle Atlas Mountains, Ourika Valley (first range and lower range in front of High Atlas)
Ourika Valley
The Berber House
A glass of very sweet tea.
Our treat was another Moroccan meal, sitting beside a rushing creek. In the end, after our meal, I stood by the edge of a little cliff taking in the river, the mountains, the diners, and the never-ending impossibly disordered traffic on the mountain road that serviced this town and simply took-in the moment. It is times like these that make us want to travel.
More Camels, rides for sale
Last stop, just about at the base of the mountains, we visited those extraordinary salesmen of the North African coast, the carpet vendors. We sat, with our tea, and listened to an extremely informative lecture/sales pitch. While Sandy and I purchased nothing, the group as a whole, proved it was not wasted time for those carpet vendors, and perhaps the most effective salesman of all, our guide.
Bushte, our local guide and carpet negotiator
Back at the hotel, we spent the evening enjoying a cocktail under the stars with the pleasant and interesting couple from Northern Ohio seen haggling for the carpet above.
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