Morocco Recap - Part 1

I’m sitting here in a cute brunch spot in Nashville, sipping a cocktail and reflecting on the past few months. It’s been a blur, and I haven’t taken time to slow down.

I spent three weeks in Morocco and Portugal back in February and March, and it’s been full-speed ahead ever since. After being so busy prepping and promoting my upcoming group trip to Colombia, I realized I never truly had time to reflect on my Morocco trip and how impactful it was for me.

I honestly set out to write just one blog post about my trip, but one is just not enough to properly convey the magic and depth of this beautiful country.

And so, this will be the first in a three-part series about Morocco.

Morocco has always been one of those mysterious, exotic places on my bucket list, but only recently did it really pop up on my radar. I was deciding where to go to scout a new group trip this past February when I found out Morocco was about to reopen for tourism. It felt like a sign, and I am all about acting on signs, so I booked a trip with my friend Rachel for three weeks later. 

I threw together a rough itinerary, contacted some locals in the travel industry, and jumped in, feet-first, to my 6th continent: Africa.

Morocco is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. If you think Turkey looks crazy, Morocco is Turkey on acid. The only way I can describe it is like you’re walking through a movie set, except there are no actors, there’s no script, and you’re observing real people’s actual lives.

We arrived in Marrakech to be greeted with mint tea by the kind staff and cute cats at Be Marrakech, a local riad that I found on a blog. Riads are essentially boutique hotels in Morocco, and they’re decked out with floor to ceiling tile, beautiful courtyards, and exceptional service.

This place looked amazing from the photos I saw online, but in person, it was something else. I am fairly picky about accommodations when I travel, and this riad did not disappoint. I don’t need fancy, but I like locally-owned, cute, and friendly. Here I got all four, and if you’re coming with me to Morocco next spring, we’re staying here again!

My favorite part of our riad was the rooftop. It was superbly decorated, had fresh breakfast every morning, was filled with tons of cute little photo spots, and it had rooftop cats and turtles!

Turtles…on a rooftop? I know.

One morning, Rachel and I were having our breakfast when I felt a big rock under my foot. I thought it was strange, as I hadn’t felt it there the entire time we’d been eating. I looked down, and it was not a rock–it was a giant turtle! Ok, maybe not giant, but it was massive for a random turtle unexpectedly on a rooftop in Marrakech, under my foot. According to the riad staff, the turtle lives under the breakfast bench in the sand, and he comes out to be fed by the guests.

I spent the rest of my mornings in Marrakech feeding my new Moroccan pet turtle, who we fondly named Bob, and learned he loved strawberries, apples, and random foliage from the plants scattered around the rooftop. I can’t wait to go back in April and see if Bob is still there (although, let’s be real–where could a turtle on a rooftop in Morocco possibly go?).

On our last day in Marrakech, Rachel and I decided to visit the souk, which is the local Moroccan market. The souk is filled with vendors for anything you can imagine, from souvenirs, clothing, shoes, and leather bags, to spices, olives, and preserved lemons.

While Rachel and I were exploring the souk, I took a right turn off the path and saw a large open area with piles of used clothing (almost like a yard sale) and Moroccan people yelling to each other while shopping. It looked extremely local (AKA no tourists).

While most people would have avoided this at all costs because it looked a bit more sketchy than the souk we’d been exploring, the adventurer in me decided this was worth checking out.

While we wandered into the piles of clothing, we found textiles around the corner–Rachel’s favorite!  We were surrounded by mountains of pillowcases, blankets, and beautifully patterned fabrics, like something straight out of Aladdin. While Rachel got her textile fix (she’s a retired NYC fashion designer and loves her fabrics), I fed some adorable kittens that were perched on top of a pile of pillowcases.

On our way back out to the souk, I ran into huge stacks of traditional Moroccan dresses. I made the mistake of pointing at one, and I instantly realized it was game over. Suddenly, three Moroccan women were at my side, measuring me up, pulling out dresses, and trying to get me to try them on. Before I knew it, there were five women. Then seven.

I took one look at Rachel’s skeptical face, which usually means whatever I am doing is a bad idea, and I confidently said, “screw it, let’s do this.”

For the next 30 minutes, Rachel and I were dressed up by hoards of Moroccan women, all fighting to have their dresses purchased by the American women. Since the dresses were only about $7, which took us a while to figure out since none of the women spoke any English, we decided to buy five.

The women who owned the dresses we chose clapped in victory, and the ones who didn’t make a sale looked at us with incredibly sad eyes, feeling like they did all that work for nothing.

I conceded and gave them all my small dirhams, hoping that would help soften the blow (spoiler alert– it didn’t. Check out the face on the woman on the right). We headed back to our riad, ready to pack up for the next leg of our journey.

Our time in Marrakech was culture shock for me in the best way, and it really set the tone for the rest of this amazing trip. We ate amazing food (tagine=goals!), saw so many cute cats, visited mosques, palaces, souks, and got a sense of what Morocco was really like.

Or so we thought…

Stay tuned for next week, when I’ll tell you about the coolest place I have ever been in my life: The Sahara Desert.

P.S. – if you’re wanting a closer glimpse into my time in Marrakech, check out my stories on Instagram!