Who could’ve imagined?

by Myriam Coulibaly (United States of America)

Making a local connection Morocco

I went to Morocco... in fact, to be honest, Morocco found the key to my heart, entered, settled down and never left again. What I am about to write is not a travel story. To me, it’s a love story which will last until my last breath. I have always wanted to visit Morocco because of the cultural richness of the region and it’s predominantly Amazigh population famous for their hospitality, solidarity and food diversity. Hence one night, my mom came back from work, started asking me questions about Morocco and - during the discussion - told me that she finally booked our flight tickets to the Casablanca Mohammed V airport and a room for 2 at the Royal Mansour hotel. I shivered. A million things were running through my mind and I had butterflies going crazy in my belly. Fast forward, I started preparing for the travel, gathered information about the country and the places we planned to visit, talked with some locals through internet forums about the do’s, don’t’s and to-do’s of a stay in Morocco, shivered, did my luggages, shivered again, went to the airport, emplaned, closed my eyes and the next morning I was there. Physically this time, and it couldn’t feel any better. I took a deep breath and there was a fresh air perfumed by what looked like flowers freshly watered. Loved it! We hopped in the hotel van, drove about 30 minutes and the next thing I know, we were in the Royal Mansour Casablanca beautiful lobby, checking in with a handsome gentleman named Yassine. I was in awe. Never saw that much beauty in the same place. The hotel room was clean, well prepared with a comfortable bed which we found a towel-made duck and a platter of exotic fruits on. The masterpiece was the breathtaking view of the city, which made me forever fall in love with Casablanca. The next morning, after a solid breakfast we walked a few blocks to get to the Medina market. The small shops on our way sold everything from cellphones to essential oils (mostly argan and olive oils). The Medina was quite crowded and it was only 10 am. We spent about 2 hours buying shoes, traditional items, oils etc... then we found a small restaurant where we ate deliciously cooked and perfectly spiced seafoods with Msemen and a delicious and warming cup of tea. That’s where we met Saïda, an amazing Moroccan woman who we discussed with and who offered to bring us to Marrakech, because she wanted to show us the “True” Morocco, from her Amazigh point of view. It was a date! After spending a week discovering the Moroccan gastronomy through street restaurants unusually inhabited by cats of every shape and color (but they were really lovely, I could pet 2 or 3 of them), sipping the traditionally made tea and enjoying its narcotic virtues (that thing got me high!) and trying to seduce Yassine my charming prince, we hopped on Saïda’s car for a road trip to Marrakech. 2 hours on the road and we got off on the Barcelo Palmeraie parking. The valet rushed to us, greeting us like we were some royal personalities and took our luggages inside. The lobby was Ouh La La and the hotel was architecturally beautiful. I took a deep breath of the beautifully incensed room. It smelled myrrha and patchouli. Loved it! We enjoyed the warm giant pool and the spa has been the most relaxing experience I have ever had in my life till this day. We had professionals scrubbing us with coffee made mixtures and we had a Moroccan black soap shower before getting 2 hours of warm oil massage. Later on, we visited Saïda’s family and ate the Couscous and lamb dish prepared by her mother. I was drooling. The flavors were just bursting inside my mouth, almost like that scene in the Ratatouille movie. Then we went on a long walk to the beach, talking and laughing about Saïda’s adventures and odd experiences. I finally made a new friend and more importantly a new family because Morocco became my second country and I now consider every Moroccan as a family member.