A few odds and sods to finish up

We were very happy with all of our accommodation and recommend them

Marrakech – Riad Adore in the Medina
Agdz – Kasbah Azul
Erg Chigaga Luxury Desert Camp
Zagora – Riad Lemane
Fez - Riad Laaroussa in the Medina

In Fez I did a walking tour (looking for guide’s name to post – he was great) At the end of the tour we went to a leather store to view the tannery from their roof. (pics below) It was fascinating and I highly recommend it for the view of the tannery.

In the adjacent store the leather coats were beautiful – the camel skin surprised me as it was so soft and fine. I didn’t buy anything as I am hard to fit (6 feet tall/long arms/off the rack is hard for me). The salesperson said they can make anything to order in 3 or 4 hours. I didn’t have that amount of time because we went at the end of the day and were leaving early the next morning, but I would have seriously considered a couple of jackets had I had the time. I have no idea about price – I didn’t even look as I knew the clothes didn’t fit me (tried on a couple).

I think this is the store – worth a look especially if you’re hard to fit

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserR...ne_Region.html

Re food – we had one dinner in the Marrakech riad and two in the Fez one – they were good and reasonably priced. Dinner was included in the single night stays in the Oasis Riads – also good. All meals were included at the Desert Camp. Dinners tended to be tagines of various meat or poultry with rice or cous cous. Neither of us particularly care for sweet/fruity flavour profiles which is more common but they were tasty nonetheless. A couple of the tagines were based on preserved lemons which we enjoyed more. Overall the fruits and vegetables were really outstanding. The starters were often small plates of pickled vegetables or soup and they were terrific.

In Marrakech we ate one night at Café Arabe near our Riad. Yes it’s touristy - it gets fairly good reviews on TA – our experience was very good.

https://www.cafearabe.com

In Fez we ate at a terrific Thai restaurant – we eat a lot of That food in Toronto and it was really good

maisonmoianan.com

Re alcohol – at the riad in Marrakech they had an honour bar with wine and beer so the staff didn’t have to serve it. In Fez the staff served alcohol (and in the single night riads as well). We found alcohol pretty readily available otherwise.

I bought a local SIM card (Orange/about 10 Euros for 5 gig of data – there was voice too but I didn’t use it) and it worked very well – even in the desert. Schtookie helped with that purchase as we were on the road but I’m sure in Marrakech I could have done it on my own in English.

Speaking of English – it was prevalent everywhere we were (not surprising). Also French is widely spoken. Richard speaks rusty French and I have an enormous vocabulary of nouns which is always handy (THANK YOU Canadian bilingual packaging!).

Finally - and without getting too political (I hope) – unfortunately we live in a time of turmoil, and the actions of extremists (on many fronts) cause whole groups of people to be unfairly demonized. (OK I guess that's pretty political). A few people raised their eyebrows at our plan to visit a primarily Muslim country. Would we be safe? By visiting (and spending money) were we implicitly condoning conditions for women we may not agree with? I'm well aware we were in a tourist bubble, but nonetheless was reminded that our ability to travel is the greatest gift of understanding and learning. We have been fortunate to travel many places and in the end believe that we all share more common values than differences. (therein endth the lecture).

Hmmm......like others I'm having trouble uploading pics right now - will try later.

Elizabeth, I greatly appreciate your report, not only because it reminds me of my own time in Morocco, but I appreciate your comments on traveling with mobility issues. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease two years ago. My primary symptom is difficulty walking. A year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer, so we had to cancel our planned trip last year. I am still recovering from the cancer treatment. We have a cruise scheduled for Sept, and are looking forward to seeing how that goes, as we are not "cruise people." Your report encourages me to think that perhaps we can continue to travel "our way" - independently.

Hi Kathie - glad it's helpful for you. I recall both your diagnoses and am glad to hear you have rescheduled your cruise (same destination?). Hope your cancer treatment is nearing the finish line.

I have traveled with my sister a couple of times - she has advanced PD. I always make a point to speak to the Flight Purser at the beginning of the flight as she has PD induced anxiety (and is afraid of flying on top of it). They are always very kind to us.

Earlier this year was our first travel attempt - we took our first cruise in the Caribbean. I didn't do a trip report (but should now I think about it) but copied some of my notes from FB below for you.

"Final thoughts on our cruise.

As you all know this was our "travel training wheels" experiment. How independently can we travel now? We thought this was a good way to mix up a few travel experiences (a couple of days in San Juan on our own and then the cruise with all its components).

So......will the independent Richard and Liz travelers become cruisers? Well the big thing we learned was that cruising is not the opposite of being independent travelers ("YES!!!" all our cruising friends are saying - "we've been trying to tell you that"). We dined independently at the hour we wanted; our excursions were often independent (or things we would do when traveling such as a whale watching cruise); we interacted with people when and if we wanted. It was a very successful travel training wheel experience.

And indeed we did book another cruise while onboard (there's a financial incentive to do so). It's a cruise we've long planned to take to the Baltics - Stockholm to St. Petersburg via Helsinki and returning to Copenhagen via Tallinn. We'll add a week in the beginning in Norway and spend a few days in Stockholm before boarding. So a combo of on our own and on board. The boat will be a big (albeit luxurious) bus for our to visit a number of ports. We have 3 days in St. Petersburg which is excellent. By coincidence it's the same ship and we'll be on the same deck.

We hope to be able to continue to travel as independently as possible for as long as possible but now we realize cruises can play a terrific part in that - without being a compromise."

I still can't post pictures.

Elizabeth, thanks for your comments on your cruise experience with your sister. I hope we will likewise find that we can enjoying cruising and can continue with our independent travels as well.

I am done with my cancer treatment, but still recovering from the chemo and radiation after effects. They believe they eradicated all of the cancer.

Liz, Thank you so much for including so much detail in this TR. I will be combing the fine details as I continue to solidify my upcoming trip.

Great report, Elizabeth. I just found it from a link you posted . . .

We made similar Morocco decisions & concentrated on the south. Marrakesh, Zagora, Erg Chigaga etc & we didn't regret it.

Thanks for posting. And your pics are great!

Ian

Thank you for taking the time to post your report...so much useful information and a joy to read!

I have been following also.

Thank you for taking the time to post , as I know how time consuming it is but rewarding also.

Have you gone on your Baltic Cruise yet ?

KathBC:
I hope you are feeling better now.

I know what it is like suffering from side effects ( my late wife went through chemo and radiation for about 6 months..... but her Lung Cancer was CURED !!!

I wish you all the best in health. ((F))

Thanks all. I should return and try to post the pics that I couldn't get to upload. Will do tomorrow.

Percy - our Baltic cruise is in July. It's in the "maybe" column because 5 weeks ago my husband broke one of the rods in his spinal fusion (which is extensive - T3 to Pelvis) and had to have major revision surgery (which was shockingly successful). Surgeon thinks cruise and pre/post in Stockholm and Copenhagen is doable. We're going to forego the 12 days in Norway on our own in a car beforehand. Not a bad compromise all things considered. Final decision in a week.

Wow!! That really is quite the surgery, it is difficult to remove rods and pins.

I am happy he did so well.

I did the Baltic Cruise and loved every city, you will have a great time.

Keep us posted as to July 1st if it is a go

Best of Luck

I can't imagine how much force it would take to break a spinal rod. There must have been some real pain!

I agree AJPeabody but I am thinking that with rods and perhaps a pin, and with fusion, this must have been quite the surgery and to

be able to go on a Cruise on perhaps July 1st is amazing !!

I like hearing good surgical results like this

Very happy to report the Baltic cruise is a go!

AJPeabody - to your comment the break didn't require much force as the spine had not completely fused. It was an innocent movement he had made probably hundreds of times since the original surgery, but that one time - bang. He felt it break. And yes it hurt like hell!

Percy - we were as surprised as you that the surgeon was open to us traveling .... and now all systems are go.

For you two docs here is a pic of his x-ray - the break occured on the left rod at L4/L5. Warning to others ...... you might want to scroll past it if you're squeamish! But it is a marvel of medicine.

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Elizabeth Thanks for posting this wonderful and inspiring trip report.
What month were you in the desert? We are thinking of going to Morocco in late Nov-early Dec.and I was wondering if we would freeze at night in the desert.

Kathie-I have been away from Fodor's Asia and Europe forums for some time. I was saddened to learn of your health issues over the past 2 years. Best wishes for feeling well quickly so you can continue to travel. Travel is travel whether it is done independently, with a tour company or on a cruise. As we get older most of us have to make adjustments to our travel, some more than others. Howeverr we travel, it sure beats staying home.

We were there in March -- our friend was there in January and FROZE! Not sure how different November/December would be

I guess we had better bring warm clothes. as we just booked our airfare starting the last week in Nov .I checked weatherbase.com and the daytime highs are in the mid 60's, and the evening lows are in the mid to high 40s. Reading your report made me recall what a wonderful time we had in Morocco and made me want to return to Morocco for the third time.