Its been a whirlwind...

Well 2014 has come with a lot of activity for me. I started the year studying for the end of semester exams (who has the semester finish after Christmas?!) and took off the morning after completing exams.  We had a week break between semesters so a few friends and I decided to go somewhere with sun. We weren't so concerned with warmth since we knew we couldn't really get anywhere with warmth within a reasonable amount of time with only a week off.  So we went to Morocco where the sun (almost) always shines.

A quick rundown and then lots of pictures to share:

Marrakech: Ah, Marrakech. Well, we just wandered around a lot. Spent time walking the endless maze of the medina (market), saw the leather tannery, the dye area, went to a carpet seller, drank lots of mint tea, watched the story tellers and snake charmers in the big square at night and ate lots of delicious tangine. I liked the hustle and bustle of Marrakech (it reminded me of Uganda) but my friend Hanne hated it. She thought people were too deceptive and it was too crowded (she's from Norway where they have no people so...).

High Atlas: We LOVED the Atlas Mountains! We spent a couple days exploring them and wished we had more time. We went to Toubkal National Park and hiked Toubkal (the tallest point in Northern Africa). It was winter and there was snow which we were not entirely prepared for but the scenery was breathtaking. Very worth it. On another day we drove to Tinmal mosque which is a beautiful ruined mosque in the middle of the High Atlas Mountains. We had to get the key from the village elder and we got to walk around and explore all on our own because we were the only people there.  It was amazing.  We did some hikes around there too.  There are lots of remnants of old walls, look-outs and building from the time when the area used to be the capital before Marrakech way back in the day.

Middle Atlas: We drove east to Bin-el-Ouidane, a huge lake and dam. We had lunch on the lake and soaked up the sun. Then we drove to Cascade D'Ouzoud Waterfalls.  They were well worth the stop and short hike down (and back up). The terraine and landscapes were very different in the Middle Atlas compared to the High Atlas but just as beautiful in different ways. We loved this area too.

Coast: We went west to Essouira on the coast to eat fresh sea food and explore the old Portuguese trading village.  It was a beautiful town with a laid back feel.  We wandered around the fish market here, drank coffee in the sun and marveled at the wooden boats they make. We continued further down the coast to Diabat, a tiny village where Jimi Hendrix once lived.  There is a castle buried in the dunes that is said to be what inspired Jimi to write, "Castle in the Sand." We played in the sand dunes and frolicked in the Atlantic Ocean. And of course, soaked up the sun.

All pictures curtesy of my friend Thomas Brambor

It's always a gamble when you travel with new people.  You think you are friends but when you travel you learn new things about each other.  Lucky for us, we all traveled really well together. It was a great trip seeing a lots of places, meeting interesting people, eating delicious foods, and soaking up the bright bright sun. Morocco is a place I would happily go back to and explore some more.