"Enchanted" Valley of Ourika

After my first trip to Morocco, every moment, however short, that I can escape, my destination is one...I decided that I want to know the country in its entirety, the North and its proximity to the Mediterranean, the area Atlantic coast and its beaches as far as the eye can see, so familiar because they resemble the beaches of the West, Western Sahara, where the desert meets the Sea, and all the small Berber villages in the Atlas region...

Last May, the compass pointed to the eastern region of Marrakesh: Ourika and its enchanted valley. And I now share with you the reason why I designate it this way…

After two days in Marrakesh... yes, because I love the hustle and bustle of that city... I packed my bags and took a taxi to Ourika.

Sitting in the front, next to the driver, as if he were my traveling companion, we continued talking between his French and my English, and we began to understand each other. Halfway there, he suddenly stopped to drink a coffee... absolutely normal, except for the fact that there was none nearby. Yes, there was a van, with an open trunk, leaning against the side of the road, with everything needed to serve a good coffee… coffee machine, cups and sugar… and in this improvised and very entrepreneurial way, some make some change and others don't fall asleep at the wheel. Sympathetically, my “travel companion” warned me not to lack caffeine or to dehydrate.

After 40 minutes I arrived at my castle…kasbah Atfel, with four towers, a grand, dark wooden gate, which opened to welcome me…

A true retreat of peace, of tranquility, where every morning I was woken up by the chirping of birds and heard the call to prayer that could be heard coming from the nearby minaret with the azan.

One of the mornings I went on the adventure…Siti Fatma is a small town in the Ourika river valley, framed by the mountains, the river, the Berber carpets displayed in the small shops, and the typical restaurants, where we ate sitting on the floor with our feet literally inside of water.

But why enchanted? Ourika has stunning landscapes, it has stories and stories about Amazigh tribes, it has sounds of nature and pink sunsets and people... charming people, always with a smile on their lips, always willing to help, in exchange for a choukran or bessaha, and because for two days I had three faithful squires who took care of me, Aziz, Mohamed and Lahcen.

I was thrilled when, upon departure, the grand dark wooden gate closed behind me.

I have learned, in Morocco, that happiness is made up of small moments…

P.S. As a footnote I cannot, nor do I want to, fail to mention that on the way back to Marrakesh I shared a taxi with a couple, a Spanish man and a German woman who had been as happy as I was in that castle...

And what fantastic people we meet when we travel, people with projects, people who don't settle down... this couple is a honey producer in Hamburg, Germany. And whoever wants to, take a look at their page…Bee_bueno.