The Rabat Medina

Bonjour,

I like to call the Rabat Medina the "Beginners' Medina".

That's not because it is small. It's a fairly big medina, it has some pretty architecture and features, and it seems to have most of the stuff you can buy in Fes and Marrakech.

But it is much more relaxed and low-pressure than either of those two. And it is not really targeted to tourists at all but to regular Moroccans, which makes it feel very "real".

While going to the medina takes energy -- it's a fairly long bus ride there for us, the medina can be crowded, and you can walk for hours -- there's always something to see. It's been easy to familiarize ourselves with most of the streets and alleys, and we've met many friendly shopkeepers. But best of all, we can find nearly everything we need in one large area.

For example, in our last few visits to the medina, we bought the following items:

candles
computer cord
prickly pears (peeled and gobbled down on the spot by Anna and Tommy)
basil plant
sweaters
ceramics
a soccer jersey
warm, fresh donuts (eaten right before the prickly pears)
woven purses (made from cactus fibers)
silver charms
freshly-pressed sugar cane juice (mixed with lime and drunk after the prickly pears)
hair barrettes
a DVD
gourmet coffee (really good stuff)
mejdool dates
hamster food
leather slippers
pomegranates
an embroidered shirt
guitar strings

Of course, you could buy some of these items at the Marjane (Morocco's answer to Target). But at the Marjane, you can't arrange to have an upholstered pillow repaired, pick up a new skirt for Anna (you give the shop some fabric and a skirt she already has and tell them to make a "photocopie"), or drop off a watch for repairs -- all things we also did on our last couple of trips to the Rabat medina. You also can't bring in a painting to have it matted and framed (for much, much less than in the States).

Besides you can also check out and reject the opportunity to buy quite a variety of other interesting things: From black lace teddies...

to calves (and goats?) feet....

and from low-riding men's jeans (and we're talking low)...

to roasted cow's head.

While we certainly haven't had a chance to check out every medina in Morocco, the Rabat medina, the Fes medina (with its mystical, middle-eastern feel), and the Essaouira medina (so small and charming) are my favorites so far.

But if you drive, beware where you park, or you can come back to this:

Although even the experience of being booted can be kind of a cool here...

My friend Marie and I called the number on the ticket, and we were assured that someone would be there within 5 minutes to take the boot off. It was more like 10-15 minutes, but in the meantime, several really nice Moroccans, on their way to the Friday afternoon prayers at the mosques, came up and assured us that they too had called on our behalf to make sure that the traffic folks were coming to "release" us.

And, in the end, the fine was less than $5.

A bientot,

Kim

Southern Magic (Mirleft and Leghzira Beach)

Bonjour,

As we traveled deeper into the south of Morocco, we decided not to stay at the big, posh resorts in Agadir (a huge tourist attraction for Europeans) but to make our way to some of the smaller cities further down the coast.

After a minor mishap with our first reservation, we ended up at a B & B in Mirleft, near the Leghzira beach.

Leghzira is famous for its sea-carved arches along the shore.


But before long, we suspect that Mirleft will be completely developed. It is so beautiful, with the prettiest beaches we've seen in Morocco.

These women were watching the sunset just above the beach by our B & B.


And this was the view, from earlier in the day, from the windows of our B & B.

The B & B is run by Sally, an Englishwoman, who is quite a character and a lot of fun (I could imagine her as a sea captain or a pirate or something 200 years ago). Sally really couldn't have picked a better setting for her house.

Here are some photos of the beach right below her place, as we took a walk at sunset.

When we weren't out playing on the beach, we were having very good meals at Sally's, on the beach, or at the local restaurant, or competing in some pretty intense Jenga games.

Despite a whole lot of trash talk, guess who didn't win?

With a new speedy autoroute that runs all the way from Agadir to Rabat, you can drive to Mirleft, past Agadir and well into southern Morocco, in only about 7 1/2 hours.

We want to go back, if we can squeeze it in among our other adventures...

A bientot,

Kim

Another Stop on the Freak Out Mom Tour

Bonjour,

Upon leaving Essaouira, we headed south and east, up into the nearby mountains, stopping at a hotel near a small town called Imouzzer.

The views of the countryside are beautiful.

Nearby, there is an area with a waterfall and pretty pools (the Cascades), although since it was the dry season, there wasn't too much water.

This is the kind of place Anna, Tommy and Bob love because they can completely freak me out by climbing up high and making me worry about them falling.

My family calls places like this stops on the "Freak Out Mom Tour."

They think it is funny.


I am less amused.


While we are on the subject, there was another thing that freaked me out: The road leading up to this place -- mostly a single lane road (with two-way traffic) that had lots of hairpin turns, a steep drop-off, and usually, no guard rail.

When I saw this sign, I knew the next turn was going to be a bad one.

But we made it safely down the scary/scenic road and headed back out to the sea....

A bientot,

Kim

Head out on the Highway

Bonjour,

So we'd been back in Morocco a whopping 10 days, and it was time to hit the road again. The kids had a long weekend for the end of Ramadan and the "little" feast to end the month, Eid al Fatr. Our friends, Christina and David, had left, but new friends, Beth and Jeffrey had arrived.

Since Bob hadn't been to Essaouira yet, one of my favorite places in Morocco, and that was on Beth and Jeffrey's list too, we headed south.

We took the coastal road (think Pacific Coast Highway) most of the time, although we had an accidental but scenic detour by a fishing village.

Then on to Essaouira, which has lots of charming shops in the pleasant, manageable medina.


Here's the main square.

The beach can be really windy in Essaouira, which makes for amazing displays of skill by the windsurfers.

And here are some kids on the beach, practicing their gymnastics using bags of sand as a springboard. Sometimes they use half-buried beach balls.

Speaking of kids, just before lunchtime and after some effective pleading by them....

I agreed to buy Anna and Tommy a fresh, hot crepe with lots of Nutella, as long as they didn't tell their father.


Busted! (But then they didn't look too worried, did they?)

After that, we hit the road again, heading south ... looking for adventure....

A bientot,

Kim

P.S.: Yay Twins! AL Central Division Champs!