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Letters back

  • Rafael Santos

    3 days ago

    I can hear the fountain from here. Which riad?

The plan behind the postcard

Hotel, ride, who went, and the days — take what you need for your table.

Courtyards, then blue, then sand

April, eight nights

Courtyards, then blue, then sand

Medina

The riad, the blue town, the dunes. One country, three rooms, no second app.

Place
Medina
Marrakech, Morocco
Family
2 adults, 1 child
Two adults, one child of seven. We moved at her pace and it was better.
Hotel
Riad Lalla Fatima
Riad · 3 stays
Ride
Petit taxi + Karim for two days
Driver

Goes into your bag. Sit at a table so friends can pack next to you.

Where they slept

Riad Lalla Fatima

The hotel

Riad Lalla Fatima

Riad · 4 nights · Medina

A courtyard with orange trees and a roof that catches the late light. Ask to see the roof before you take the room. Family suite on the first floor.

Casa Hassan

The hotel

Casa Hassan

Guesthouse · 2 nights · Chefchaouen

Two nights in the medina. Dawn is for photographs. Afternoon is mint tea and doing nothing.

Camp Ahlam

The hotel

Camp Ahlam

Desert camp · 2 nights · Erg Chebbi

Low canvas, a small fire, the ridge at sunrise. Book the camp, not a day trip.

How they moved

Petit taxi + Karim for two days

How they moved

Petit taxi + Karim for two days

Driver · Karim — the riad will call him

Medina is walking and petit taxis. Karim drove us to Chefchaouen and on to Merzouga. One driver, two long days, no rental desk.

The days

1

Day 1

The courtyard first

Medina

  1. Arrive, tea, roof.
  2. Jemaa el-Fna after the child has eaten.
  3. Early night.
2

Day 2

Get lost on purpose

Medina

  1. Souks in the morning with no list.
  2. Secret Garden, then the roof again.
  3. Dinner in the riad. The child was done.
3

Day 3

A day that is not the medina

Medina

  1. Jardin Majorelle early.
  2. Long lunch.
  3. Pack for the mountains.
4

Day 4

The road to blue

Chefchaouen

  1. Karim at eight. Five hours, two stops.
  2. Check in. Follow a cat up a staircase.
  3. Mint tea until the light goes.
5

Day 5

Every wall a different blue

Chefchaouen

  1. Dawn alleys.
  2. Spanish Mosque for the view, then nothing.
  3. Sleep before the desert.
6

Day 6

Toward the dunes

Erg Chebbi

  1. Long drive with Karim. Podcasts, fruit, one kasbah stop.
  2. Camel only if she wants. We walked.
  3. Fire, then the sky.
7

Day 7

The ridge at sunrise

Erg Chebbi

  1. Up before the color changes.
  2. A second night because one is not enough.
  3. Nothing scheduled after breakfast.
8

Day 8

Home the long way

Medina

  1. Drive back to Marrakech.
  2. Last tea on the roof.
  3. Night flight.