Morocco: The South

takeoff from malpensa with an hour's delay, with blue atlas, arrival in marrakech, we settled in at riad Maranna and immediately out to see and experience the square djamma el - fna

still marrakech, the medina, the cotubia, the majorelle gardens and again djamma el - fna

still marrakech, the souk, the meeting with fabrizio, our organizer as well as guide and companion

marrakech - essaouira

departure for essaouira, first tastes of the Moroccan landscapes, stop at a cooperative producing argan oil, the horrible sight of goats tied on absolutely bare argan branches, for the sole purpose of fleecing naive tourists eager for photos for a fee.Arrived in essouira a regal lunch based on oysters in a restaurant on the sea, and accommodation at the maison deu vent, a delightful and comfortable hotel, entirely restored and run by Italians, located in the center of the medina

walks along the Atlantic shore, and fantastic barbecues by the fishermen, and a tour of the souk, in the evening the spectacle of the thousand little blue boats and the fishermen baiting their longlines with sardines

last day of relaxation in Essaouira, with an excursion to a beautiful beach, the usual walk through the souk

essaouira taroudant

departure and start of the tour, we got our first taste of dirt tracks, and we passed through vast orange groves from which we drank fantastic fresh-squeezed juice every morning, we spent the night at Villa Doga, a beautiful hotel run, in the positive sense of the word, by gay people, with taste in the furnishings and even in the choice of the colors of the candles matched to the glasses incredible, even though far from my tastes and from what I was looking for

taroudant ouarzazate

from here we began riding beautiful tracks through high and barren mountains but with all the colors and so many shades, at an art museum — a big word — we met Bob, a painter, he invited us into his poor house to show us his works made with colors extracted from saffron, in his courtyard, on the inevitable citrus tree, there was a beautiful chameleon, but above all Bob, a poor man, but rich in dignity and serenity, once we arrived in Ouarzazate we took a fleeting look at the mega film studios, a stroll through the souk and off to our hotel, the magical Dar Dhaif, where you leave your shoes after the garden at the entrance to the actual hotel and you enter a magical atmosphere, with absolutely wonderful and welcoming smells and colors.

FROM OUARZAZATE TO ZAGORA

AFTER FITTING THE OFF-ROAD TIRES WE SET OFF TOWARD ZAGORA, FIRST THROUGH BEAUTIFUL AND VAST PALM GROVES, VISITING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KASBAH IN MOROCCO (SO THEY SAY), AFTER WHICH WE VENTURED INTO THE MOUNTAINS WITH PANORAMAS THAT PERFECTLY EXPLAIN THE REASON FOR SO MANY FILMS SET IN MOROCCO, STOPPING FOR THE NIGHT IN A FANTASTIC HOTEL IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE,

ZAGORA

we set off again toward Zagora through a harsh yet spectacular area of volcanic mountains, then arrived in a triumph of date palms at the Draa River and its valley, passing through small villages spruced up for the king's imminent passage, among other things we visited an artisanal ceramics factory, with old kilns heated by brushwood, then finally Zagora, 52 days by camel from Timbuktu, obviously across the Sahara. Here we found the best salesmen you could imagine, the only way not to buy is to not have money

THE DESERT

Departure for the desert, the dunes, the tents, the silence with its noise, walks on foot or the ups and downs of the dunes by jeep, the relaxation at Dar Azaward, a kasbah restored and adapted into a characteristic and relaxing hotel, where, as in almost all the others, we were the only guests, a dream come true thanks to the happy choice of the travel date.

DESERT

Still desert

DESERT

another day of relaxation and walks in the desert

THE RETURN BEGINS

By another route and always through beautiful panoramas we returned to Ouarzazate, again Dar Dhaif, a walk at sunset toward the lake and spotting many storks flying in flocks

MARRAKECH

from Ouarzazate we went back to Marrakech crossing snow-covered mountains, and villages, it was the day of Aid el-Kebir, the feast in remembrance of God who stopped Abraham's hand as he was about to sacrifice his firstborn, who thanks to divine intervention was replaced by the ram, which is still sacrificed today, in fact, in front of every house, you could see agonizing rams or ones hung up and skinned, in this case too we had the chance to enjoy the hospitality of these people, with several invitations for lunch, which unfortunately we had to decline because Enea had a fever and we had to get to a pharmacy in Marrakech.

MARRAKECH

the usual walks in the souk, among the foul-smelling skins of the rams killed the previous day that were being sold at the market, and the last sites to visit, the Medersa etc.

MARRAKECH

as above

MARRAKECH

Still Marrakech, but we certainly weren't bored; on the contrary, the thought of our imminent departure saddened us.

ITALY

Up at the crack of dawn and off to the airport, then takeoff for Malpensa.