Summer Adventures: June 2019

While we certainly wish we had a larger internet/social media presence, the original goal of this website was to serve as a "journal" for ourselves, and to provide updates to our friends and family. In keeping with that theme, it seems like a post per month is what we're averaging out to :) So, here's a look at what we've been up to since J completed his first year of studies at the International University of Rabat...

We wrapped up May and started June by welcoming our first visitors from the United States! Dedrick and Nicolle spent five relaxing (albeit busy) days with us just before Ramadan ended. **With that being said, we'd like to squash the rumors about Morocco having NOTHING to do during Ramadan for foreigners!** Prior to Ramadan, we heard from many sources that everything is closed and it's a good time to visit places outside of Morocco. And we found this to simply be false.

J and I found living in a Muslim country during the month of Ramadan to be a very cool experience. During the day, the streets were quiet and you could make your way around the city with no issues. With most of the Moroccan-owned restaurants closed during the day, if we wanted to eat out for lunch, we simply located the restaurants owned by foreigners. In the evenings, we enjoyed fantastic family and religious traditions associated with "breaking the fast" during the Holy Month (also known as "Ftour" or "Iftar"). We watched the sunset and had ftour on the beach twice (once with friends and once with our language school); we were invited into the homes of several friends to enjoy ftour in a traditional Moroccan setting; we sampled the ftour buffets and menus at some of our favorite locally-owned restaurants, and we hosted a sunset ftour on our rooftop to welcome Dedrick and Nicolle to Morocco!

The streets were quiet during the day and bustling at night. We appreciated knowing that if we wanted to experience the quiet, we could go shopping between 10am-5pm, and if we wanted to be surrounded by people and take in the sights and sounds, we would go out after 9pm. We travelled to various places and never had issues accessing shopping, transportation, etc. In fact, we were even able to climb Mount Toubkal during Ramadan (yes, our guide climbed the entire mountain with us while fasting)...a feat I certainly could not even imagine doing. In conclusion, don't be afraid to visit Morocco during Ramadan - it has a lot to offer and is truly a unique time to experience it!

Here's a look at where we ventured during Dedrick and Nicolle's visit:

- Sunset Ftour on our rooftop w/ traditional Moroccan food

- Train ride to Casablanca: Hassan II Mosque visit, lunch and recharge, shopping, and dinner at the iconic Rick's Cafe

- Visit to the Dog Shelter

- First visit to Chefchaouen (aka photographer's paradise)

- Tour of Rabat

After Dedrick and Nicolle left Morocco, we had a few days to reset before welcoming our second visitors from the United States - Zach & Paloma. We spent nine days zipping around northern Morocco (and even managed to visit Spain), and had a wonderful time sharing our experiences with them. Here's a sampling of our visit:

- Traditional Moroccan family dinner at a friend's house

- Drive up the coast with stops at: Moulay Bouselham for seafood, Hercules Caves, and Tangier

- Ferry ride to Spain

- Two days in Malaga, Spain (we loved Malaga!)

- Hiking in Akchour

- Lunch stop in Chefchaouen

- Tour of Rabat and the pottery market

- Casablanca, Hassan II Mosque visit

Two days after Zach and Paloma left Morocco, we drove to the mountain town of Ifrane to participate in the Trail des Cedres 3-day trail race...we'll post a recap of the event in another post to build the suspense ;)

All-in-all, June was action-packed and filled with adventure. We had such an amazing time catching up with friends and showing them around our country! We left June feeling tired (and sore), but excited about what our Moroccan future will bring during Year Two of our Olmsted Experience!