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Welcome to my travellog. Here you can read about my journeys day by day. 
May 24, 2008 06:00 PM Meknes - the imperial city
Today I decided to make a daytrip to Meknes. It's only 45 minutes from Fes on a train. The ticket costs 18 dirhams and trains depart every two hours or so.
There aren't too many sights in Meknes. I just walked in the medina for a few hours following the walking tour suggested in LP guidebook but extending it broadly. I also visited Musee Dar Jamai. It holds exhibition of Moroccan pottery, embroidery and other traditional stuff.
I took a late-afternoon train to Fes and after having a short walk in the medina I went back to the hotel.
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May 23, 2008 06:00 PM Morning in Chefchaouen, evening in Fes
As my bus to Chefchaouen was leaving at 1 p.m. I had some time in the morning to walk around the blue medina and take some more pictures. As usual when walking in a medina I discovered new beautiful places.
The bus ride to Fes took 4 hours and cost 70 dirhams (they always charge extra 5 dirhams for your big luggage). As the CTM bus station in Fes is very inconveniently located I took a taxi to the old medina. Taxis in Fes are very cheap and taxi drivers use meters. On average you should pay around 10 dirhams per ride.
In Fes I'm staying in a centrally located Lamrani Hotelm but in a claustrophobic room. I think this is the worst quality/price choice during this journey but hotels in Fes seem to be more expensive than in other cities. For this tiny single I pay 90 dirhams per night (hot shower included).
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May 22, 2008 06:00 PM Walking through the fields of Marijuana
It's strange. I rarely have problems with early wake-ups when travelling, while at home I always sleep for hours during the day. Today I woke up at 7 a.m. half an hour before the alarm clock was set.
There's a good patisserie (Aziz) just outside the medina walls so I had my breakfast there and packed some sweet stuff for the hike. As the walks descriptions by LP aren't very precise I got stranded several times and finally didn't climbed mount El Kelaa, but my seven-hour-long hike was rewarded with excellend vistas over Chefchaouen as well as the Rif Mountains.
Before I got here I had already known it's the centre for growing marijuana in Morocco but i didn't realise its scale. Whole hillsides are covered with marijuana plants and you simply ofter go just through such fields. Also on the streets of Chefchaouen there are many traffikers who sell kif (Arabic word for hashish) and when visiting you're unlikely not to be asked to buy 'best Morocco quality hashish'.
Tomorrow I'm leaving for Fes. Unfortunately the first CTM bus is at 1 p.m. but I know they're reliable and don't trust other companies, especially in the mountains, where roads are narrow and zig-zag in a dangerous way.
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May 21, 2008 06:00 PM Chefchaouen - the blue town
The hour of departure of my bus leaving Rabat for Chefchaouen indicated on the ticket was 10 a.m. but when I arrived at the CTM bus station (located near the main bus station - several hundred meters further from the city centre, on the same street) it turned out it will leave at 11. Finally I was in Chefchaouen before 4 p.m. It took me some time to find the hotel, as initially I got lost. I stayed at Yasmina Hotel, a decent budget place with recently renovated rooms as well as toilets (western style) and showers.
After leaving my big backpack at the hotel I went to explore tiny streets of Chefchaouen's medina taking many pictures of charming doorways and blue-washed lanes.
Actually there's no single sight in Chefchaouen but it's definitely worth spending several hours in the bus to see this lovely town.
Tomorrow I'm planning to climb the mountains around Chefchaouen to catch some beautiful (I hope) vistas in the vicinity.
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May 20, 2008 06:00 PM The Grand Mosque in Casablanca
Today I travelled on a train for the first time in Morocco and was very positively surprised. The service is of high quality, fast and modern and the prices are kept low, although it seems to be the most expensive means of transport in Morocco (but for planes, of course).
I went to Casablanca (or simply Casa, as the locals call it) to see the big mosque of Hassan II. It's really huge and has the highest minaret in the world. It's worth to go on a guided tour (60 dirhams for foreign students, 120 for adults to see the interior and learn something about Islam and traditions of Arab people. I also had a walk around Casablanca but didn't find the city interesting.
Taxis here are cheap (c.a. 10 dirhams per ride) but you should agree on the price before you go or ask the driver to start the meter.
Tomorrow I'm leaving for Chefchaouen, the blue town located 5 hours by bus from Rabat.
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May 19, 2008 06:00 PM Walking in Rabat and Sale
I arrived in Rabat early in the morning (at 6 a.m.) and after leaving my big backpack in the left luggage office at the main bus station (CTM bus station doesn't have this facility) I went to find a decent hotel. After sleeping for several nights in small pits I needed something of better quality but still in the budget price bracket. Hotel Splendide that is a fading one-star place prooved to be a good central choice.
In the afternoon I went to see the medina as well as Kasbah des Oudaiasm, the oldest settlement in Rabat with charming blue-and-white houses. I also went to Sale, the city located very close to Rabat to check its medina. Both medinas - in Rabat and in Sale - aren't very impressive. The row-boat service to Sale mentioned in LP Morocco guidebook was suspended at the time of my visit as a big construction project has started there to better link the two cities.
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May 18, 2008 06:00 PM Biking in Todra Gorge
As planned, today morning I rented a bike to get to the Todra Gorge, It takes 1.5 hrs to get there by bike without stopping. The way back is faster as you go downhill. I was taking pictures on my way so the way there and back took me 4 hours. In my opinion the way to the gorge is much more interesting than the gorge itself. There are beautiful vistas opening from the road so I could see traditional villages and palmeries.
Now I'm in Er-Rachida waiting for a night bus that will take me to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. The mosque is close from where I'm now and I can hear muezzin calling people for prayer...
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May 17, 2008 06:00 PM In Tinerhir with the locals
In the morning I went to see the kasbah in Ourzazate. I didn't buy a ticket and didn't go to the Taorit Kasbah. I found it much more interesting to to visit the part of kasbah that is inhabited by the local people. They are very friendly but as everywhere in Morocco one of them wanted to sell me some carpet. At noon I took a bus (CTM - this seems to be the most reliable bus company in Morocco, along with Supratours) to Tinerhir, a small town near the Todra Gorge. Here I want to rent a bike tomorrow and see the gorge.
I spent the evening with the locals just talking at a cup of mint tea.
I've already bought a Moroccan souvenir - a Touareg dagger.
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May 16, 2008 06:00 PM All day on the road
I got up at 7 a.m. The Germans had already got up. We had breakfast at 7.30 and just after that we started the trek. The way back took two hours. Fortunately there was no wind so it was quite pleasant although riding a camel is pretty tiring. In M'Hamid I had a shower and took a bus to Ourzazate. It leaves when full so I had to wait and this way I was in Ourzazate at 2 p.m. In the bus I met a couple of tourists from Belgium. They were also going to Ourzazate so we took a shared taxi together with one local man and got to where I'm now about 6 p.m. We stay at the same hotel - Hotel Royal, which is a very decent budget option (clean single room with shared shower and toilet is only 45 dirhams). Actually there's nothing special in Ourzazate but the kasbah that was already close at the time of my arrival. Tomorrow I'm going to the mountains to see the gorges.
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May 15, 2008 06:00 PM Camel trek
I took a night bus to get from Marrakesh to Zagora and then a local minibus to the southernmost village of M'Hamid located near the disputed border with Algeria. This is the place from many camel treks start and go to the dessert. I know it's very touristy but nevertheless I decided to go for an overnight trek with one of the agencies. It wasn't very expensive - 400 dirhams (dinner and breakfast included, but water - not). In M'Hamid there are two agencies with a very similar name - one is Sahara Services (recommended bty LP) and the other one is Saharia Services. I chose the first one. Don't eirther believe agencies in Zagora they're representatives of Sahara Services from LP).
I hesitated for a while wheter to go for the camel trek or not, because there was a strong sand storm, but in the end I decided to go. The wind was blowing all the way (c.a. 2,5 hrs) to the camp. On the way to the camp I met a German family who was on a three-day-long camel trek. We spent the evening and the night at the same camp, eating traditional Moroccan Harira (lentil-and-meat soup) and Tajine (meat stewed with vegetables in a traditional pot and sharing travel experiences. The wind hadn't stopped by the time we went to beds.
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