Morocco - Part 2

Our next adventure in Morocco was a highlight for us all.  We were loaded onto camels and trekked into the Sahara for about one and a half hours, until we arrived at our desert camp site.

Here our driver, Mustafa, handed us over to our desert guide 

and made sure we got onto our camels safely.

Nicholas on his friendly camel

Mom and Dad ready to go

Ray, showing he is strong enough to hold on?  Jacob ready for the ride, too.

I finally get on, too.

And we're off...

As it was the latter part of the day, the sun made for some cool shadows as you can see.

A happy camel at the end of the journey

Our tent site

And we're off to play in the desert!

Ray sports the Moroccan turban.

 Mom relaxing in the desert...

...the expansive desert...

Jacob ready to do a trick...

Ray taking a photo from a great distance...

 More flips

Nicholas with the turban this time

 We watched the desert sunset...spectacular!

We talked with our desert guide for a long while, hearing about his early life as a nomad.  

Then we ate under the stars.

 Our guide woke us up early in the morning to catch the sunrise.

Mom and Dad awaiting the sunrise

 Awesome to see the sun creep back into the sky

These are our used tent beds.  They were more comfortable than expected.

If you leave the peak of the sandhill and go back down to camp, you can see the sunrise again!  :)

Heading back to the hotel for breakfast

Leaving the desert and getting closer to the hotel, we pass through a small irrigated "oasis" where there are community plots of land for growing food.

We made friends with these awesome people at the hotel.

After saying goodbye to our new friends, we head out on our long road trip to Fes.  

Along the way, we stopped at a very large oasis which looks like a huge greenbelt.

 At one end of the oasis is a small village.

Several times in Morocco we saw storks and their nests, 

comfortably perched atop roofs and towers of all sorts.

We stopped at a cedar forest an hour or so outside of Fes to see the Barbarian monkeys.  It was very cold in the foggy forest, and we hung with the friendly monkeys for a short time.

When we arrived in Fes, Mustafa (our driver) parked and recruited a nice, willing random fellow to guide us to our hotel.  We told Mustafa we would see him in the morning (for a tour of Fes) and meet right there at the same spot where he was parked.  He said, "You will know how to get here...?"  Our "willing random fellow" guided us for 15 minutes through a maze of narrow alleys, some lined with shops, some with doors to homes, some empty of everything.  When he finally led us to the door of the hotel, Ray tipped him big and asked him to come again in the morning to lead us back!  This hotel ("raid" as they call it), which was a noble residence of a "saint" at one time, was unbelievable.   The photos below barely show its beauty...the courtyard, interior terraces, majestic doors, intricate tiles and mosaics, etc.  BTW, it wasn't even a super high end hotel, i.e. we did not pay outrageously for it!  

We were welcomed with the typical, very sweet Moroccan mint tea in the cozy waiting area.

Our suite, in a hidden corner of this palace of a place, was two stories with the bathroom and boys' bedroom upstairs.  This photo is downstairs in the suite.

 Right outside our suite was a living room type area.

Door into the suite (normal sized adults have to duck under the door).

If you don't want to duck, open the whole door...

 The door to Mom and Dad's room!

Looking up from the courtyard to some of the balconies and terraces

 The next morning on our journey back to Mustafa and the car, we saw the "garbage truck".

Mustafa told us that each city has its own color, and Fes's color is blue.  

Most designs and decorations in this city will therefore be blue.

On our tour of Fes, Mustafa took us to an amazing lookout point.

There were ruins at the top of the lookout point, too.

 Mustafa drove us to a ceramic factory full of true artisans.  Their work is very intricate and detailed, with everything done by hand.  An interesting side fact: they burn nut shells for the kiln because the burn temperature is so high and efficient.

Pottery tiles are colored and fired, then chipped into the proper size pieces for mosaics.

They had hundreds of mosaic tables and fountains and other outdoor pieces.  

It was so tempting that we and my parents both bought a table...with the same design, I might add...my mom and I have the same taste.  :)

Since we spent extra time at the ceramic factory (with Ray doing one of his favorite things...negotiating), that was our last stop in Fes before heading to the airport.

We thought it was cool looking airport.

Saying goodbye to our new friend and driver, Mustafa!

We had an unforgettable experience in Morocco!