Greece (part 1)

October 21 through 27, 2022

We finished up our tour of Morocco with a lovely dinner at Rick's Cafe in Casablanca (we're fans now :-). The flight to Greece went well; we connected through Istanbul and even got fed on both flights (even though the Istanbul to Athens leg was barely an hour). When we arrived we were picked up by Art's backgammon friend Tony and his wife Maggie. There's nothing like being greeted at the airport in an unfamiliar country, even if we barely knew them (Art says he'd never met Tony in person before). They have turned out to be the most gracious and hospitable people we've ever met. It's like they are the welcoming committee for Greece.

We wound up going out for Greek food (best lamb chops ever!) the evening we arrived although we said we'd already eaten. We ate again anyway 😄 Tony and Maggie's house is in a suburb of Athens and is absolutely amazing. It's got 3 floors and an elevator (!), a pool, a jacuzzi, and lots of acreage. The views of the Aegean Sea from the terrace are amazing (already added to my numerous sunrise and sunset photo collection). The next day they took us to Athens to check out the flea/artist markets, see the Acropolis (from a distance, we'd been there before), and have an amazing Greek lunch (kebabs etc) with Tony's daughter and son-in-law (one of their 6 kids). Lots of meat in this country, all of it delicious. Art got to play lots of backgammon with Tony (and Maggie who is also a serious player) so he's a happy camper. And as an added bonus, they have an adorable 1-year-old dog named Memphis so Deena's a happy camper too 🐶

After spending two nights at their house, the two of us flew off to see 2 Greek islands (Santorini and Mykonos). Probably the most popular and populated, but we hadn't been before so we just had to see them. Turns out end of October was a great time to go since the tourist crowds are mostly gone and the season is nearly done (bargain sales!). I loved Santorini which is very picturesque; we checked out the famous Akrotiri ruins (similar to Pompeii) and took a sunset sailing cruise ⛵. It was a quick visit but worth it! Mykonos was even quicker (we took the 2-hour ferry from Santorini and stayed just one night); we had time to check out the famous windmills (I knew nothing about them before), eat delicious food, and get a Greek massage (just me!). Might as well check out all of the world's massage techniques, amiright? The food was excellent on both islands and our hotels were high-end (since Tony booked them for us).

Side note: the hotel in Santorini was built into the side of the cliff (like many hotels there) so every time we wanted to go anywhere we had to literally hike up a mountain. Maybe it was only about 5-10 minutes and perhaps 30 steps but it felt like many more. Made us think more efficiently about going places 😆

Second side note: Strange thing about Greece is that you cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet 😕 Not my favorite thing and kind of odd in a country that is largely developed and very tourism-driven. At least we can use the water to brush our teeth (but not drink??) and credit cards are much more widely accepted 👍. I'll take my wins where I can find 'em.

Anther side note: I finally discovered the primo photo spots in Santorini (thanks Google) so we got up super early to catch the sunrise there, which was definitely worth it! I wish I had my new zoom lenses for my iPhone (would have really helped) but they are still half a world away thanks to customs issues. I expect I'll have them in December 😞.

Last side note: Everywhere in Santorini there are signs prohibiting drones. I'm guessing they take away from the photo experience for everyone else, plus they're just annoying. We didn't see any until the day we got up for the sunrise (!). I'm sure the locals have a love-hate relationship with tourism, even though it is truly their bread-and-butter. 😑

We have a few more days in Greece (so there will likely be a part 2 blog 👍). Right now we're at Tony and Maggie's Athens apartment which they loaned to us (for free!). This weekend we'll be going to their Halloween toga party (the only reference to Halloween we've seen so far here), playing more backgammon, and then going to see Meteora next week. Stay tuned!

Deena and Art

The steps down to our Santorini hotel

Getting up for the sunrise views

More sunrise views

Coastline in Santorini

Mykonos windmills

Mykonos coastline

Lunch/salad
 

Playing with the pup

Athens coastline

Greek church (I assume)

Athens coastline
 

View from our hotel

Hotel views

More Greek views :)

Morocco (part 2)

October 12 through 20, 2022

We are nearing the end of our stay in Morocco, having spent the past week or so in Essaouira (a lovely seaside town) and Casablanca, with side trips to Tangier, Rabat, and Chefchaouen. Each has been unique in its own way 😊. I think we wound up seeing quite a bit of the country's diversity and culture in a relatively short amount of time.

Our Atlas Obscura group tour ended in Marrakech (where it started) and we got to experience it once again in all its chaotic glory 😝. We had a final farewell dinner, a home-cooked meal at a local's house, which involved making our way through scary back alleys and dodging motor scooters in the streets. (The food was delicious though 😋.) Happily our final memory was a hot-air balloon ride, which involved getting up quite early to catch the sunrise 🌄. This was definitely a highlight, very professionally organized, and worth the steep price. It allowed us to take in the beautiful landscape and "see the big picture" of the city. 

Our flight to Casablanca was okay but would have been better if we didn't get to the gate so far in advance of our flight. For some reason, many of the airports we've been to do not have any services once you've gone through security and made your way to the gate (I have no idea why 😕). Art decided we should check in 3.5 hours early (for real 😑) which left me without anything to drink for all that time. And to make things worse, the TSA folks confiscated my fork at security (my fork?!) so now I'm down to just one real spoon. I'm somehow managing to survive 👍. The flight itself was fine; I'm glad we masked up even though hardly anyone did. I wound up with yet another migraine 😓 but I'm realizing that's often the case with travel days (not enough water or fresh air).

Bizarre side story: When we arrived in Casablanca, we were one of very few people on the flight who weren't connecting to elsewhere. We got our luggage and tried to figure out the taxi situation. The airport security guard came over to help us, even offering to call his taxi-driver friend to get us a "good price of $40". Normally I'm skeptical of everyone and everything when I travel but hey, he had a uniform and a government badge. He had us wait while he called his friend, then determined his friend couldn't come after all (huh?), so he told us we should just take any taxi outside the airport, but said "do not let them charge you more than $40." Such a nice guy, looking out for us 👀. We walked outside, hailed the first cab, asked how much, and the guy said $30. Sold. And wow, that confirmed my belief that you can't trust anyone 😒. Not even a uniformed security guard with a badge at the airport.

We had some other similar situations throughout Morocco. Not to generalize but there was definitely a prevailing "hustle culture" among the tour guides and taxi drivers (especially in the big cities). Definitely a vibe of "how much can we take advantage of unsuspecting tourists?" We were lucky not to get taken in, but we came close at times. Art's lucky that my New York upbringing has made me more wary (and probably kept us alive); it balances his mid-western trust-everyone upbringing. What a pair we make 👫.

In Casablanca we are staying at a very nice "luxury apartment" Airbnb with all the amenities we need (except maybe a dryer and a working microwave). We are very close to the famous (and enormous) Hassan II mosque and the souks, and not far from the also-famous Rick's Cafe (from the movie Casablanca). The area is relatively safe and next to the coastline and a giant modern shopping mall (think Marina del Rey). We've never seen so many security guards in all our travels so far 👮.

I took the opportunity to take some day trips to Rabat (the capitol of Morocco), Tangier (next to the Strait of Gibraltar, and a city with more European influence), and Chefchaouen (a small and charming blue-hued city). Each had its own charm and personality. I think (for me) the key ingredient on these tours is the tour guide and I've been pretty lucky with that. I probably could have done some of these trips without a tour guide but I think solo travel here (especially as a woman) is a bit risky 😮. 

Funny aside: my tour to Tangier and Chefchaouen was an overnight trip and involved the lovely and modern bullet train 🚅. I was picked up from my apartment area and taken to the train station, given the ticket, and then the driver said "okay the train is around there, bye!" 👋 and left. Huh. I'm pretty smart so eventually I figured it out, and tried to enjoy the train journey without wondering what would happen when I arrived in Tangier. When I got out of the train station, I saw a guy with a sign that had my name on it -- I was honestly never so happy to see my name! 😅 Lots of trust was involved in this journey and happily it paid off. I highly recommend seeing both cities, for longer than I stayed. Two days wasn't nearly enough.

Interesting aside: Until now I hadn't been to a primarily-Muslim country (or at least not for very long) so I wasn't prepared for the daily calls to prayer (5x/day). I think by now my biorhythm has adjusted to waking with the 6am call (and then sometimes going back to sleep 😴). It's fascinating to see a whole country in sync that way. My tour guide did tell me that Morocco is a liberal and progressive Muslim country so no one is actually required to pray daily or wear hijab, although many do (especially in the middle and southern parts of the country).

Final aside: We went to visit the Jewish museum in Casablanca... turned out to be incredibly difficult to find a taxi to take us there since it was far (5 miles away :-) Taxis seem to operate in a small geographic area, and often pick up multiple fares along the way (whether you wanted a carpool or not 😦). Happily we got there safely and happened upon a rehearsal of a Moroccan-Jewish orchestra. We got to watch them for quite a while which was amazing! I'm sure our Cantor at TBI would have been ecstatic to bear witness to it. (Getting back home was yet another adventure but we made it 😅.) Never a dull moment over here.

I'm sure I could write for pages more, but that's enough of an overview of our trip here. Visiting a developing country was eye-opening and mind-broadening for sure, but that's exactly what travel is for 😎. We leave for Athens, Greece tomorrow which will surely be a whole different kind of experience!

Deena and Art

Essaouira pier

Jewish museum in Essaouira

Woodworking in Essaouira (we bought a platter)

Essaouira (next to silver jewelry shop)

Coastline of Essaouira

At the famous Jardin Majorelle (Marrakech)

Hot air balloon in Marrakech

Up in the air!

Lighthouse at the edge of Tangier

Where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet (Tangier)

New friend in Tangier

Hercules cave in Tangier (supposedly shape of Africa)

One of many mosques

Synagogue from 1902 in Tangier (still in use)

Market in Tangier

Man working loom (which is primarily men's work)

Entrance to town of Chefchaouen

Town of Chefchaouen; view from above

Fresh baked baguette (best I've ever had!)

Picturesque Chefchaouen (plus all photos below)

 

Morocco (part 1)

October 1 through 11, 2022

I was originally going to only cover Marrakech in this post (we were there for the first few days of October) but then our group tour started, we've been on the go, and not always with ready access to wifi. So now we're a week into our group tour and we've been to soooo many places in Morocco, I will try to lump them all into this one post 😀.

We signed up for this tour with Atlas Obscura several months back because it looked interesting and off-beat and we were (kinda) familiar with the AO concept. Art and I wound up arriving on separate days in Morocco due to a fiasco involving someone (I won't name names) forgetting their laptop and pillow at security and therefore missing their flight (okay, it was me 😓). Art was super nice about it, not making me feel bad about the added costs and the need to shlep my suitcase as well as his, not to mention figure out a new city without me. For my part, I got to spend an extra 15 hours in the Oslo airport, and then another 20 or so hours flying to Morocco (thanks to 2 long layovers 😒). I can personally attest to the lack of good sleeping options in the Copenhagen and Munich airports. Happy to report that we both made it safely to Marrakech!  I was thoroughly wiped out so I treated myself to a massage on my first night there. Turned out to be a special form of massage called "Hammam" which Morocco is famous for, that includes a full bath and black-soap body scrub which thoroughly exfoliates your skin (not for the faint of heart 😮). It was followed by a lovely massage which made everything alright again. Our Airbnb turned out to be just fine although in a slightly sketchy part of town 😐.

Our tour started the next evening so we took a city tour to get the lay of the land and checked out the market (souks) in the main square. Marrakech is unlike anywhere else I've ever been - it's a developing country with some infrastructure and tons of history. We were a bit overwhelmed by the number of people, the chaotic atmosphere in the souks, the aggressiveness of the vendors (including people who routinely attempt to rip off tourists), and the sheer busy-ness of it all.  We met the rest of the tour and our tour guide (named "La") that night, had a delicious introductory dinner, and we were off and running 💨. 

The tour itself has been pretty good and included quite a lot in 12 days. I'll assess it fully when it reaches its conclusion.

Highlights have included: learning how to make the local specialty dish (tajin 😋), awesome night markets, shopping in the souks for groceries for dinner, trekking to the Sahara Desert in 4x4's, riding camels in the desert at sunset, glamping in the Sahara, staying at a camp site in the literal middle of nowhere, climbing up and down the sand dunes, visiting a Berber village where they make pottery by hand, visiting the old Jewish quarter, staying at an oasis/hotel in the desert, seeing an ancient 800-year-old granary on a mountain top. 

Low-lights have included: desert heat, shopping for live chickens (soon to be dinner) in the souks, oasis hotels with spotty wifi (one of us really has an issue with that 😑) and tiny pools, 4x4's whose A/C doesn't always work, dealing with bio-toilets when you're camping in the middle of nowhere, tour guides who talk wayyy more than necessary, eating tajin (almost) every single day, steep mountain treks to see an ancient granary 😅.

Fun aside: one of the people on our tour is big into geo-caching and he has been looking for some while here. Today we all helped him find one under an argan oil bush. It was my first geo-cache find (his 11,500th - no joke!).  

Other fun aside: I loved the fact that we happened to wind up camping in the Sahara right around the time of Sukkot (that Jewish holiday celebrating Jews wandering in the desert for 40 years). I even managed to find a "lulav" and "etrog" (or something close enough) to mark the occasion. That was super cool 🍋🌴

We have a few more days to go on this tour, then we head to Casablanca on our own for a few days before Greece.  So much more to see and do! 

Deena and Art

Marrakech mosque (I think)

Market / souk

Mountain pass through the Atlas Mountains

View from above the city

Glamping in the Sahara

Camel rides in the Sahara

Art in the Sahara

Climbing dunes in the Sahara

Relaxing by our tent

Dinner / appetizers

Ancient granary trek

Painted Rocks art exhibit

One of the nicer hotels

Cooking tajin together

Deena in the desert

Lulav and etrog moment