Morocco

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My first trip to Africa, Morocco, felt like a return to a home that I had no memory of but somehow missed dearly. It helped that once we arrived, locals greeted us (a group of African Americans) with a “Welcome Home” 🥹 showing their knowledge of slavery with the warmth of a long-lost loving parent. Morocco is refreshingly different, culturally and architecturally, than any place I’ve ever been. From the tight medinas  (the car-free alleyway roads of a city) filled with souks to the glory of the desert, it was all a wonder. I planned 0% of this Morocco trip (a friend planned it for her bday), yet it serves as the trip that taught me how to truly plan exploration-forward vacations. There we learned that when drinking tea, it is all about the pour. We learned that nomads in the desert make the best meals and musical beats in the land. We also learned about the oppression of the people – like giving them fake rights, like the freedom of thought (as if policemen walk the streets as mind-readers).

My group trip was with a group of friends from the U.S. East Coast but met in Los Angeles. We would always celebrate Thanksgiving with a Friendsgiving since most of us couldn’t make it home for the holiday. This trip to Morocco in 2018, we had the Thanksgiving of a lifetime spending it in the magical blue city – Chefchaouen.

We flew into Tangier, took a private car to Chefchaouen for a night where we had our Thanksgiving feast at La Lampe Magique Casa Aladin. The next day, we started our incredible four day tour  across the country. We ended the four day trip in the magical city of Marrakech.

A Candid Cost Calculation:

Accommodation – During our 4-day tour, the company booked our hotels (which was a weight off our shoulders). Outside of the tour, we relied on AirBnBs since we had a group of 7. In Chefchaouen, we stayed at waters La Petite Chefchaouen AirBnB. In , we stayed at waters Riad Bab Ouch’ Private w/ Heated Pool AirBnB. Our absolute best night was glamping under the Sarah Desert stars with (part of our tour). 

Food – The food in Morocco was extremely affordable even at their finest restaurants, as one Morocco Dirham is about 11 cents USD. The tour guide took us to the best places. The restaurants that I highly recommend are  La Lampe Magique Casa Aladin in Chefchaouen and Comptoir Darna in Marrakesh with the incredible belly dancers (I am still dreaming about their “Weeping Tiger” steak). We also booked an in-AirBnB cooking class in Marrakesh to teach us the classic Tangine dish. I still believe our best meal was made in the desert by nomads!

Transportation – We booked most long trips by private transportation services. Other than that once you get to a city, the medinas are walkable. The tour guide provided all of the transportation during the 4-day tour.

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