Ksar es-Seghir

Fresh off the blue-drenched high of Chefchaouen, the Vagabond Couple and Shehzadi found ourselves chasing a different rhythm. Gone were the dreamlike alleyways and chilled-out cats of the mountain town. The road (here's a map) pulled us westward, toward the sea, into lands that had seen too much and still stood proud: Tetouan, elegant and stubborn and Ksar es-Seghir, tiny but heavy with centuries.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Somewhere between continents and centuries, history and myth, we rolled Shehzadi off the ferry deck in Tanger, waved at the sprawling skyline and felt it in our bones: this was no ordinary crossing. This was a threshold. A leap. A portal into Africa. And with that, the next chapter of our overland odyssey — one that began in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia, crossed the Bosporus into Europe and zigzagged west — began again (map). The Silk Road, in all its winding, tangled glory, was calling.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

If you missed our day in Tanger — the Ibn Battuta trail, Cape Spartel and those Hercules Caves — catch up first. We left the city the next morning with full stomachs, salt still in our hair and Chefchaouen on the horizon. Our return to Morocco (we arrived on a boring airplane the last time) was to be our launch point across the African leg of this ancient artery and no place better to start than Chefchaouen — the blue dream tucked into the mountains of the Rif. But first, we had to get there. And like all things with us Vagabonds, the journey matters just as much as the destination.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Natural map of Africa at sea-facing entrance to Hercules Caves in Tangier, Morocco

After the long push across continents with Shehzadi, our Toyota Tundra with Georgian plates, we reached Tangier, Morocco, after crossing from Algeciras to Tanger Med by ferry. Asia had become Europe. Europe had become Africa. The route map was starting to look less like travel planning and more like a geography teacher having a small episode.

The plan for this part was simple enough: spend a full day in Tangier, follow the city from its Medina gates to its sea cliffs, and give Shehzadi a short break from border officials asking the very fair question, "You drove from where?" Here is the map for the wider Georgia-to-Morocco overland route.

The Rock of Gibraltar rising above the strait between Spain and Morocco

This Spain to Morocco overland leg carried us from Mar de Pulpí in Almería to Tangier, with Shehzadi, our Toyota Tundra, doing the usual diplomatic work of making border officials stare at Georgian plates as if we had arrived from a cartographic prank.

The map, because we enjoy making geography look mildly accused, is here: MAP. It followed directly from our Greece to Spain via Italy ferry crossing. This time the route ran across southern Spain, down to Algeciras, over the Strait of Gibraltar, into Tanger Med, and finally to Tangier. Three continents had now become a practical driving problem.

Hassan II Mosque and Casablanca shoreline across Atlantic ocean from Cabano Beach

After the lanes of Fes el-Bali, we trade the medina for ONCF train 132 to Casablanca. The route runs through Rabat to Morocco’s Atlantic commercial capital, where a port, twentieth-century planning, oceanfront neighborhoods and Hassan II Mosque have spent decades refusing to fit into one tidy description.

This July 2023 stop belongs to our Pan-Africa journey. We arrive by train, tour by petit taxi and leave for Mohammed V International Airport by grand taxi. The transport is public, the timetable is optimistic and nobody has to find a parking space.

Khrachfiyine Bridge over Oued Bou Khrareb at Souk Sabbaghine in Fes el-Bali.

We reached Fes el-Bali at about 5 PM on July 15, 2023, after our Merzouga-to-Fes road trip through the Ziz Valley and Atlas Mountains. That road day had begun after our Erg Chebbi desert camp and sunrise dromedary ride; it ended at the edge of a city where the useful vehicles were feet, handcarts and a good memory.

The medina of Fes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose core developed from the Idrisid city founded around the turn of the ninth century and reached another major architectural peak under the Marinids. Our visit covered the evening of July 15 and most of July 16. The full walking map shows the alleys, gates, madrasas, markets, fountains and shrines that turned a short distance across town into a very long list of left turns.

National Highway N13 near Zebzat on the long drive north from Merzouga.

After a night at our Erg Chebbi desert camp, we picked up where our Ouarzazate-to-Merzouga road day and Erg Chebbi camp ended. We started July 15, 2023 on dromedaries and ended it at the gates of Fes. Between those two sensible extremes were the Ziz Valley, the High Atlas, Midelt, Barbary macaques near Azrou and a cappuccino in Ifrane.

This post covers that single road day from the dunes to Fes. The complete Morocco route map appears below; detailed Fes wandering belongs to the next story, where streets become alleys and directions become a form of optimism.

Sahara Desert, Morocco

Continuing our 2023 Morocco journey, we picked up where our Marrakech to Ouarzazate road day ended. After an early breakfast, we left Ouarzazate for Tinghir and Todra Gorge, then crossed the stony desert to Erfoud and Merzouga before riding dromedaries into Erg Chebbi.

This post covers the Ouarzazate-to-Erg-Chebbi leg only. The complete route remains on our full Morocco expedition map; the next road day turns north from Merzouga toward Fes.

ⵣ (yaz) Amazigh (Berber) symbol of freedom painted on a wall

From the medina of Marrakech, after our Marrakech stay, we turned southeast for a full road day across the High Atlas to Ouarzazate. Our shared van would climb N9 over Tizi n’Tichka, stop at Aït Benhaddou, pass the Noor solar complex and Ouarzazate’s film studios, and finally deposit us at a hotel east of town. Morocco had apparently decided one theme per day was inefficient.

This post covers only the Marrakech-to-Ouarzazate leg of our 2023 Morocco journey. The complete route is on our full Morocco expedition map; later posts continue toward the Sahara and, eventually, Fes.

Cascades de Setti Fatma, Ourika Valley

Finally arriving in Marrakech after a wonderful couple of days in Zanzibar, Tanzania, we traded an island for a walled city and, the next day, a mountain road. Marrakech came first; the Ourika Valley and Setti Fatma came next. It was a compact plan. Morocco had other ideas about scale.

The full map below covers our wider Morocco journey. This post stays with Marrakech and our day trip into the High Atlas foothills; the Full Map is there for anyone who enjoys zooming until geography starts filing complaints.