Memories of Morocco – Part II – More in Marrakech

Sunday we spent the whole day in Marrakech. After sleeping in and having a traditional breakfast of bread and jam, mint tea and fresh squeezed orange juice, Anne and I went for a walk to see the Bahai Palace. It was a warm and sunny day. We wandered the open concept palace with many others. Moroccan building interiors are intricate and highly decorative, with multi-coloured tiles set in complex patterns. Within the palace walls, there is a 2-acre garden with rooms opening onto courtyards. We find a turtle living in the garden.

Next we stopped across the street for a smoothie for Anne, and an orange juice for me at a streetside stall. Then we ventured across the street in search of the Artisanal Complex, Morocco’s version of a department store. Unlike the souks, there is no negotiation; prices are fixed. We wandered the three levels of the store and headed back. The skies had clouded over and the temperature had cooled. Not ten minutes after getting back to the hotel, the skies opened up and it poured for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.

Three young women from Toronto arrived that afternoon: Charmaine, Evelyn and Wei. As a group, they were dubbed “The Girls”.  Around six, we were all rounded up and loaded into a van which drove us to a nearby parking lot to choose and set up our bikes. I shivered in the wind and rain as the guides worked on each bike. I looked for the shortest head tube I could find and nabbed the silvery Rockrider. By the time we got back I did not feel like going out into the rain again so I had dinner solo in the hotel while the others went to the Clock tower for some food and live music. My pasta with mushrooms was scrumptious and good fuel for the next day’s ride.

The next morning we got up bright and early for 7:00 breakfast. We loaded all our bags into the support vehicles and headed into the countryside for our first day of riding. We had a white Mercedes Benz van which carried bikes on the roof and food and cookware inside. A Ford mini-van carried nine people plus luggage and a smaller SUV carried 5-6 people and also had a bike rack on the roof and bags in the back. With three vehicles, three drivers - natch!, one cook, and 2 guides, we were well supported for the next ten days of traipsing around the Moroccan countryside by bike and by van.

Our cycling adventure was about to begin!