Weird what coincidental timing

“Hey guys, wouldn’t it sweet to just go to the desert to climb after the election”

Sometimes things start as jokes on the group thread and turn into reality. In a week of unfunny jokes, this one is playing out rather nicely.

In total, there will be seven of us meeting up in Marrakesh for some Moroccan adventures. Five of us left Minneapolis together on Wednesday. We had a long-ish layover in Amsterdam, which gave me enough time to take the train to Utrecht to surprise my friends at Hedge. Kat was nervous that I’d miss the flight, but for once Schiphol was operating efficiently.

We made it to Marrakesh around 7:30pm and made it to our riad around 8:30pm. The lovely host Yasseen gave us tea and cookies and showed us around. The riad (Riad Inara) has a gorgeous rooftop, and a lovely central courtyard with a small pool. After we picked our rooms, Yasseen escorted us to Jemaa el-Fnaa, the main square. It took me about five seconds to become a fan of Marrakesh – chaotic, twisting, old. We had a meal of grilled meats and vegetables on the square, before making our way home and collapsing.

Today, Friday, is our only full day in Marrakesh. We had a lovely breakfast at our riad, before wandering back to the square for a food tour. Our guide Lhoussaine took us through a speed run of Morrocan meals, starting with a breakfast of msemen (the Moroccan equivalent of roti) along with a fava bean soup.

Second (well, technically third) breakfast was shakshuka, which was stellar. Marrakesh is a city of twisting alleys and it was great to follow Lhoussaine through the twists and turns to these great food stalls. Next was pastries and smoothies, followed by meat skewers, sandwiches, and deserts. Lhoussaine was sad that the brain sandwich stall didn’t have any brain ready to go. I’m not sure everyone in the group was as disappointed as him.

After our tour wrapped up, we wandered through the souks and explored all the wares on offer. It’s a real mix of same-y items for tourists, and artisans crafting lamps or doing woodcarving on the spot.

Eventually, some members of the group peeled off for some rest. Kat and I decided to wander to a cafe for blogging and painting. We plotted a route through some areas we hadn’t seen yet, and discovered a bunch of textile producers – uh oh. Unburdened of some dirham, we found a spot on a rooftop terrace at Pikala Cafe and enjoyed tea, coffee and banana spread as the sun set.

I’ll have some more thoughts on the place after I’ve shaken off the jet lag – for now this is just a “write before I forget” blog post. I promise wit and vigor tomorrow.