THE ROAD BEST TRAVELLED

This morning, we had a quiet breakfast of a cheese omelet, fresh orange juice, bread and tea at a small cafe in Assilah, south of Tangiers, right on the coast. The local people were already busy, kids on bikes heading to school, women heading for the market, men off to work. A man walked by, […]

I make a little square by putting my thumbs and index fingers together and look out through the window. With this little bit of finger-cropping, I could swear that the view is “somewhere” in rural Canada or the American Midwest. The terrain gently undulates under a carpet of broad fields of knee-high wheat and barley.

GOOD MORNING! Ready to go?? Okay. We’re getting a nice early start, so I’m scheming… How’m I going to advocate for my hidden agenda? Yes, we’re heading for Fes, and yes, we’re going to go through Azrou and Ifrane… but I’m going to try to convince my fresh and well-rested ever-faithful driver to take a

Today, we’re driving one of my very favorite routes: Erfoud to Fes, and I’m on the hunt for pictures. This route is seldom written about. It’s true that the route to the desert from Marrakech through Ouarzazate and up through Skoura and Tineghir has many rewarding and well-publicized attractions like Ait Ben Haddou and the

It’s hard to be anything other than a morning person in Morocco. Around 4:15, the first call to prayer drifts gently over rooftops. To me, it sounds like, “Come ONNNN, sleepyhead…” Then the real call to prayer comes around 5:30. Yes, I admit, more than once I’ve whispered to myself, “Thank goodness I’m not Muslim,”

This is deceptively fertile ground for an imagination that wants to go wild. Ouarzazate is another red city bleached to terracotta peach and pink by the relentless sun. It lies at the crossroads of age-old trade routes linking North and West African regions, and eventually, the European ports along Morocco’s Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. I

Morocco is one of those countries where the journey is the destination. Yes, you’ll tell stories about the amazing cities, the beaches, the mountains, the desert… but never without also remembering the road. We’re heading to the Erg Chebbi desert from Marrakech. I love the road between Marrakech and Merzouga, and I’ve travelled it in both directions.

It is just under 200 km from Marrakech to Ouarzazate, and yet, it’s a solid four-hour trip if you drive with appropriate care. If you don’t – that is, if you speed – you can arrive about 15 minutes soon. Or never. There are lots of reminders as to what part of the world you’re