Jimi Hendrix frequented Essaouira In 1969, just a year before died. Then it was off to Casablanca for our last two days.

The highlight of our last day in Casablanca was the tour of the Hassan II Mosque. It is the largest Mosque in Africa, 5th largest in the world. The minaret is the tallest at 210 meters. It is the only mosque in the world that allows non-Muslims to enter. Not required, but out of respect, our female travelers covered their heads while in the mosque.

A wonderful trip and our first exposure to a Muslim country. We were well received by all the people we came into contact with. We traveled over 2000 miles in 25 days and got a good look at life in Morocco. Typical of our travels, the people we met have similar goals and desires…, a peaceful, happy, and healthy life for their family and friends.

Thanks to our trip leaders, Noree and Naima for showing us your country and introducing us to your people. Thanks also to our friends Rick and Sharon for joining us on this adventure and we look forward to future travels with our friends.

Shokran(thank you),

Rod and Patty

A great tour of the commercial fishing marina. A very happy, enthusiastic, retired fisherman showed us around for 1 and 1/2 hours. I could have spent all morning with him

A beautiful seaside city with a massive fortification around another old Medina with lots of shops and restaurants. It’s now a resort town. On the beach wind surfers and kite surfing compete with horseback and camel rides.

The food…. we had lunch at a small kiosk. A hole in the ground about 8 feet deep and a slow cooked goat…. we(not Patty)ate like the locals and survived to tell about it. Tasty and hot, figured it was hot enough…. no body got sick 😊

it was grab a piece of bread and put some goat meat inside and eat it. We used our fingers only, no utensils!! yes, that’s a delicacy, a goats headPizza was our default lunch and dinner on numerous occasions … survival food

A Medina(old town) like no other! Busy merchants and performers. Snake charmers, trained monkeys, street performers, food vendors and more sell their talents !

We stopped in the little town of Alt Benhaddou. It’s just west of Ouarzazate on the way to Marrakesh. We got to see and participate in many of their daily activities. Rod got to make a brick out of mud and straw and we learned how couscous is made and how to properly eat the traditional meal of lamb with vegetables cooked in a tangine. Patty and a few others got the Hennas (temporary tattoos). The people in this town are innovative, hard working, and seemed very happy.

One hour was enough!! But everyone should ride a camel…..at least once!!

The only roughing it was putting up with wind, sand, and no heat in the tent. It got down to 42 degrees Fahrenheit at night. They even gave us hot water filled bladders to put in our beds.really roughing it. We had our own tent and inside was a bathroom with a shower.cool morningscamp cook was great!

The only roughing it was putting up with wind, sand, and no heat in the tent. It got down to 42 degrees Fahrenheit at night. They even gave us hot water filled bladders to put in our beds.really roughing it. We had our own tent and inside was a bathroom with a shower.cool morningscamp cook was great!

We enjoyed walking thru the worlds largest Medina(old walled city). It has lots of shops for locals and a few for tourists. No motorized vehicles are allowed in the Medina. It has over 11,000 streets. Some narrow enough we had to turn sideways, and some we had to duck. The leather tannery and old weaving shop were fascinating. Look closely at the market pictures…. yes, that is a camel’s head hanging outside of the meat market. It’s apparently a delicacy for the locals!

We were given mint to cover up the smell of the pigeon feces used to tan the leather!