Having fun in Morocco
This post is about the fun things we did while we were in Morocco.
Reading back through my posts, it sounds as though we spent our entire time there tromping humorlessly through the medinas, dodging mopeds, and fretting about economic development. Actually, we had a wonderful time overall, and did a lot of fun stuff.
Here are some of the highlights:
1- Camping and riding camels in the Sahara desert. We were in the “Erg Chebbi,” which means the Chebbi Sand Dunes, down near the Morocco-Algeria border. On the afternoon that we arrived, we basically tumbled out of the 4×4, sat on the camel saddles, hung on while the camels stood up (not easy) and rode off into the dunes. As Zola said at the time, “There are three reasons [McKinsey partner's kid!] that this is awesome: I am riding on a camel, I am in the Sahara desert, and I am only eight years old”
On the second day of desert camping, we got up before dawn, and rode the camels up into the dunes to watch a spectacular sun rise. Although we look cold in the picture, it was warm and pleasant in the evenings (and unbelievably hot during the day).
2- Staying at Dar Ahlam hotel near Ouarzazate. Dar Ahlam may be the best hotel I have ever stayed in. They gave us a villa which was bigger and more comfortable than our last apartment in New York (probably 2,200 square feet) with its own pool. The food was amazingly great - simple, but subtle, and made primarily with organic vegetables grown on the property. The service could not have been better - having a staff to guest ratio of about 5 (particularly when we were the only guests on our first night) made it easy for them to lavish attention on us. More important, everyone there seemed to love the kids, and to really enjoy their jobs. India and I celebrated our 14th anniversary with dinner under the stars, while the staff took care the kids. What a great place.
They had loads of board games, a great swimming pool, and they organized bicycles and donkey rides for us in the afternoons. Because Zola and I rode so much together over the summer (~200 miles) we immediately slipped back into a familiar and comfortable bicycle discussion. He treated me to a 45-minute two-part monologue on Pokemon and on airsoft rifles. It was wonderful.
3- Riad roofs.
At both of the riads where we stayed (Riad Fes in Fes, and Riad Anayela in Marrakech) we spent a lot of time on the roof decks of the hotels. That is where we did our school work, ate most of our meals, dried off in the sun after swimming, played Pokemon, and looked out over the respective medinas. In both places, we felt privileged to be up there, seeing the old cities spread beneath us, listening to the calls to prayer, and enjoying being together as a family.
4- Talking to Khalid. We were fortunate to have an excellent professional guide for six days while we were in Morocco. He organized our desert excursion, stayed with us in Ouarzazate, and showed us the sights in between. Because he knows everything about Morocco, and is an impassioned advocate for his country, Khalid was the perfect person to talk to for hours. His insights and knowledge and companionship made the trip a lot more fun.
Overall, Morocco is a somewhat tough place for a family vacation with small kids, particularly staying in riads in the medinas. If we were to do it again, we might spend time on the beaches (eg, Essaouira), and would definitely spend more time at Dar Ahlam.