Morocco 2/16/2024 - 3/2/2024 |
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Tuesday 2/27/2024 - Hot Air Ballooning, Majorelle Gardens, Berber Museum, Menara, M Avenue, Motorcycle Sidecar TourWe woke up early and were in the lobby at the appointed 6:20 am hot air balloon pick up time. We chatted with the overnight reception worker while we waited for our pick up. By 6:35, there was a phone call. It was the driver saying that he was waiting out at the road. We wish we had known that sooner! The reception worker walked us out. We felt badly because we had been on time and now we were 15 minutes late.The driver took us to a location where we got into another vehicle with two other couples, and then we were driven a bit outside of the city to the Moroccan Sky hot air balloon camp. We arrived there at 7:10 a.m. while it was still dark outside. It was chilly this morning, and we wore our packable down coats. We found a place to sit inside and were served a cup of tea. Other guests were still arriving, so we weren't as late as we had feared. There was plenty of time. We decompressed while drinking our tea. A man walked around telling us that there was the option of buying a video of the hot air balloon ride for $30 USD. There was a sample video playing on a TV, and it looked really cool because they used a combination of iPhones and drones to get footage that it isn't possible to get any other way. He came around later and asked ahead of time who wanted to buy a video. We decided to go for it. At around 7:35, as the sky was lightening up a bit, we went outside to watch them prepare the balloon. This would be my third balloon ride, and Craig's second. I had gone once with my parents in Virginia when I was 9 years old, and we had both gone in 2006 in Kenya. As we watched and took photographs of them unfolding and inflating the balloon, the videographer made sure to get footage of us, since we were buying the video. They fired up the burners and the balloon rose to a vertical position,setting the basket upright. There were 20 of us passengers, who were split into 4 different compartments in the basket. We could see other balloons inflating and taking flight in the distance. The pilot gave us a safety briefing, teaching us how to brace for landing, and telling jokes all the while. Soon, we were up, up, and away. It never gets old, the feeling of floating...that if you closed your eyes you would swear you were still on the ground. And yet you look down and you are rising over the gorgeous landscape. There were scattered clouds and there wasn't much of a sunrise, but the sky was turning a bit yellow over the mountains. A dozen other colorful balloons were soaring in the distance. Every once in a while the cute little drone belonging to the videographer would make an appearance, looking like something out of that 1980's movie "Batteries Not Included." We could see old dry riverbeds beneath us, always reminding us of the drought that has been ongoing for 6 years. I took lots of photos, but had a death grip on my phone, fearful of dropping it from such a height. There were three influencers in our balloon. Luckily, they were not in our compartment. One had bad hair extensions and huge pouty lips. Another was wearing a totally see-through lace catsuit and you could see her thong...it left nothing to the imagination and seemed incredibly disrespectful to be wearing such a thing in a Muslim country where people dress modestly. All they were doing the entire time was fixing their makeup and posing for selfies. And we could see the photos that they were taking...you couldn't even tell that they were in a hot air balloon. What was the point? It was a very peaceful ride, and we chatted with a nice couple from Kerala who live in the UK, Gigin and Hafis. The ride lasted around an hour. We could tell we were near the end when the chase vehicles came in closer and people started to get out of the trucks. As we descended, they grabbedropes on the outside of the basket and guided us down. We touched down very lightly, staying upright the entire time, and didn't even need to do the brace position for impact. We got into the vehicles and they drove us back to the headquarters from which we had taken off. There was a continental breakfast buffet. We only had a little bit to eat, as we had scheduled a late breakfast reservation back at the riad. We had an msemen pancake and a pastry, as well as orange juice. The videographer came around and took our payment and got our e-mail address so that he could send us a link to download the finished video. He said that it would be ready by tomorrow morning. They gave us each a certificate with our names written in Arabic, and took a couple more iPhone and drone shots for use in our video. We then got into the same car with two other couples, and were driven back to our hotels. Our driver wasn't the one who had picked us up, so he didn't know exactly where to drop us off. We were useless in terms of finding our way around in the Kasbah, as we always relied on Jamal to get us around. But we told the driver the name of our riad, and he Googled it and eventually dropped us off in the right place. We were then able to retrace our steps from this morning and get back to the riad. The video was emailed to us around midnight that night, and we were very pleased with all of the personal touches that they included. It really was a bespoke video, rather than a canned one that was the same for everyone. Well worth the $30 that it cost, because it really captures the experience in a way that we ourselves couldn't. Hot air balloon ride After breakfast, we went back to the room to relax before our afternoon excursion. Housekeeping came to clean the room, so we went out and sat on the patio. I posted to Facebook and Instagram about the morning's balloon ride and took some notes on my laptop. Jamal and Majid picked us up at 1:30, and Majid drove us to the Majorelle Gardens. These gardens, a two-acre oasis in the midst of bustling Marrakech, were created by the French Orientalist artist Jacques Majorelle. Majorelle had been sent to convalesce in Morocco in 1917, and fell in love with Marrakech.He purchased this property and began developing the gardens starting in 1923. In 1931, architect Paul Sinoir, designed a Cubist villa for the property. The garden was expensive to maintain, and in 1947, Majorelle opened it to the public, charging an admission fee to defray operating costs. He sold off parts of his land holdings to fund the growing gardens. Majorelle and his wife resided on the property until their divorce in the 1950's. He then sold the house and the land, and it fell into disrepair. In the 1980's, fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé bought the property and restored it to its former glory. The site today houses the gardens, the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum, and the Berber Museum. We were originally scheduled to visit the YSL Museum, but it was temporarily closed, as they were switching out the exhibits. The gardens were very busy, but most of the visitors were good about taking turns to get photos at the most picturesque spots. There were meandering walkways through bamboo groves, palm trees, orange trees, cacti, bougainvillea, water features, and pavilions. We saw frogs on lily pads, and huge koi. Jamal was very gracious and got many photos of us, making it look at times like we were the only ones there in this extremely crowded area. Many of the buildings were painted a very beautiful shade of cobalt blue. Majorelle took the color from Berber architecture and tiles that he had seen around Marrakech, so it seems sad that he appropriated the color and eventually patented it before he died. Still, the color was quite striking, especially when paired with bright lemon yellow flower pots. Of course, it was sad to see people not following the rules. You are not supposed to touch the plants, yet somehow many people feel compelled to do so. It is especially sad to see how many people have carved their names or other graffiti into the cacti. We saw an area which had a column as a memorial to Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. Next we went into the Musee Pierre Bergé Des Arts Berberes. No photos were allowed inside, so we didn't take any. There were various examples of Berber arts and tools on display. There was one room in particular that was absolutely spellbinding; it was dark and through the use of mirrors and pinpricks of light, it looked like you were in the middle of the Milky Way. Mannequins were dressed in different Amazigh clothing and jewelry. One young woman was sneaking taking pictures, and Craig told her that it was not allowed. She continued to do so, so Craig pointed her out to one of the many security guards inside, who instantly made her stop. Jamal loved this, and joked that you have to follow the rules around Craig! We went to the museum shop and I bought a book of the exhibits. Since photos had not been allowed, buying a reasonably priced ($10) book of the exhibit seemed more than fair. Before leaving the gardens, we stopped in a small museum of YSL's Love posters. From 1970 until 2007, he made posters with the motif of "Love", which he would send to friends, clients, and collaborators. We looked for the one from my birth year (1975) and were amused to find that it was hung next to the one from our marriage year (1998). We met up with Majid at the road. We didn't have anything scheduled until our sunset motorcycle sidecar tour, but Jamal offered to take us to see some more sights unless we preferred to go back to the riad. Always wanting to pack in as much as possible, we gladly took him up on his generous offer. He first took us to a spice store, where we purchased a packet of chili powder and a packet of ground ginger for $2.50 apiece. Then Majid drove us to the Menara Gardens. These gardens date back to 1157, when they were established by Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min. They are massive olive groves, in the midst of which sits a large, rectangular water reservoir, 195 meters long and 160 meters wide. We walked around the reservoir. The airport is very close by, and we struggled to try to get photos of planes taking off in the same frame with the 19th century pavilion and the High Atlas Mountains in the background. We sat for a while just enjoying the beauty of the reservoir, as carp breached the surface of the water. As we walked back toward the road, Jamal said that he wanted to treat us to a cup of tea. He asked if we wanted to sit here, amidst the shade of the olive trees, to have tea, or if we should go to the chic new section of the city. We were undecided, so Jamal wanted to show us the contrast, so we went to the new section. Majid picked us up at the road and drove us to M Avenue, which is like the Rodeo Drive or Newbury Street of Marrakech, with international luxury brand stores, the Four Seasons Residences (where Bill Murray stayed when filming "Rock the Kasbah"), etc. I had been craving ice cream, so as we walked down this stylish street and I saw a Baskin Robbins, I decided that I'd rather have an ice cream than tea. Jamal bought me a strawberry cheesecake ice cream cone, which was delicious. I ate it as we continued down the street. We stopped at a cafe where Craig and Jamal had mint tea. Before we knew it, it was time for our motorcycle sidecar tour with Marrakech Insiders. We reunited with Majid, and he drove us to the appointed meet up spot at 6:30. A few minutes later, two motorcycles with sidecars roared into view and parked. We met Safouane and Mehdi B., our motorcycle drivers. We put on our helmets and got settled into our roomy, comfortable sidecars. Craig went with Safouane, and I went with Mehdi B., so that Craig could be in front. I thougt that in terms of getting video of the experience, it would be best for me to be in the second sidecar and get footage of Craig ahead of me. We said goodbye to Jamal and Majid for the next 90 minutes or so and started our ride. We couldn't stop smiling as Safouane led the way. He took less-traveled roads so we weren't in a ton of traffic and led us toward the Palmeraie. We passed mosques and stopped in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Marrakech, but Safouane told us that it is perfectly safe, and that people living there are content. In contrast, as we approached the Palmeraie, we passed some of the most affluent neighborhoods of the city, including a home owned by Paloma Picasso. We started to see camels by the side of the road, and more and more palm trees. Soon we were at the Palmeraie, 54 square miles which contain several hundred thousand palm trees. However, many of the trees died due to insect infestation. Morocco doesn't currently have enough water due to the 6 year drought to support the planting of new trees. They parked the motorcycles facing west so that we would have a view of the sunset, and Safouane broke out a bottle of wine for us to enjoy. He was embarrassed that he forgot the wine glasses, as he had originally packed everything in a case that didn't fit into the storage compartment of the sidecar. But that was no problem, Craig and I were more than happy to pass the bottle back and forth while taking swigs off of it. The wine was from Meknes, Domaine de Sahari Vin Gris du Maroc. All of a sudden a car parked about 200 yards behind us and kept blaring its horn. We were all wondering why the driver was doing that, as we were the only other people around and the scene was oterwise so serene. We soon had our answer. As they heard the horn, dogs started to show up. The man got out of his car and fed them. It was so cool to see; he obviously does this regularly and the dogs have learned that the car horn equals food.After putting out the food, he drove away and the dogs ate every last bite. After a beautiful golden sunset, we headed back to the city to cruise through the Medina in the sidecars. Everyone who saw us seemed to get a big smile. We had many people wave to us, and a little boy gave us a high five. We felt like we were in a movie as we went through the city gates and cruised through the narrow winding streets of the Medina. We simply could not stop smiling. At 8:30, we finished the ride and reunited with Jamal and Majid. Jamal has taken the tour before so he knew firsthand what kind of high we were experiencing. Majid had not, but we told him that he and his wife and son should try it sometime. It is a must-do experience in Marrakech, and we can't recommend it highly enough! Motorcycle sidecar tour We decided to have dinner at the rooftop Bidaya Sunset Bar. The sun had already long since set, and it was chilly up there, but we had our warm coats and they brought over a gas heater. I had a Moscow Mule and Craig had a Casablanca beer. We each got the chicken club sandwich with fries, since we were hungry for something small. It was delicious, and they gave us a spicy sauce for the fries. We learned that the resident cat is named Shakar, and she came to say hello to us. After a long but very satisfying day, we took showers and went to bed just before midnight. Majorelle Gardens Menara Gardens M Avenue Palmeraie |
 Our hot air balloon inflating  Hot air balloon ride  Hot air balloon ride  Hot air balloon ride  Majorelle Gardens  Majorelle Gardens  Majorelle Gardens  Jamal, Majorelle Gardens  Selfie at Menara Gardens (photo courtesy of Jamal)  Menara Gardens  Tea on M Avenue  Sunset wine at the Palmeraie on our sidecar tour  Sunset at the Palmeraie on our sidecar tour  With Safouane and Mehdi B. after our phenomenal sidecar tour See all photos from February 27 |
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