For our final full day in Marrakech, we decided to book a local tour guide. Boujma turned out to be an incredible guide and asset. We first headed to a local Berber house, where we were given a tour and a bit of tea. Inside the house they had a cow.
Berber cow.
They served us tea picked from their fields across the street.
Their farmland
It is important to note that when serving Berber tea, you must let the tea flow from very high to get the proper amount of froth. We eventually had to pour our own tea in the traditional manner. Amazingly, we spilled none!
Remember, pour from a high altitude
After our stop for tea, we continued on our way learning about the Three Valleys. Boujma would periodically stop so that could hop out of the van and get a look around. Not only was he incredibly knowledgable about the area, he was also pretty good with the camera.
Green land and green coats... a theme.
We continued up the mountain as we were slated to have lunch in a Berber house. Little did we know, it was going to be freezing! Lucky for Dana, she had a sweater on under her jacket. I was wearing just a polo under my jacket. Once at the Berber house, we were amazed to see snow covered mountains.
Snow covered mountains. In Morocco???
Our lunch was in a freezing room, but we were served tajine. Warm, tasty tajine. I was so cold, I considered just pouring the warm food into my pockets just for the additional heat. Instead, I warmed my stomach and ate entirely too much. After our lunch, Boujma suggested that we go for a quick stroll to get a better look of the lands. I think he realized it was unlikely for us to squeeze back into the van without burning off a few calories first.
Trekking to stay warm
After spending a couple days in a desert, it is incredible to see lush, terraced lands.
Terraced lands near where we ate lunch
With our lunch complete, it was time for Morocco’s landscape to change once again. We headed onto the plateau and into the fog. When the fog wasn’t swallowing us whole, you’d swear you were in the Midwest. I’ve never seen such extreme changes in the landscape in such a short period of time.
With our tour almost complete, there was one thing left to do—ride a camel. Boujma had done an excellent job of managing Dana’s camel expectations. Throughout the day, he told her that he wasn’t sure that they would be operating because the weather was so poor. As we arrived, there were no camels to be seen. But Boujma stopped anyway and asked if it would be possible for us to ride a camel. The camel owner replied that it would take about 10 minutes to prep the camels, if we didn’t mind waiting.
Dana: “I’LL WAIT!!! YES!!!! I’M GOING TO RIDE A CAMEL”.
She was literally giddy with excitement. You’d think she had just gotten a 50% off coupon for shoes she was so excited.
Perma-grin Dana
Journey officially complete. All that is left is a picture of Boujma—the best tour guide around.
Dana and Boujma
Italia 