Marrakesh Mama: May 2017

Sunflowers en route to Chefchaoun

When the pictures tell the story, it has been a good week! It was one of those weeks, where I couldn't stop taking pictures. There was an amazing meal with Moroccan friends that fulfilled my need to try Rfissa. There was a mother's day breakfast in bed, a trip to the blue city of Chefchaouen, and there were celebratory events galore as life winds down in anticipation of Ramadan.

One of Brianna's friends invited us to her family's home to enjoy a Moroccan feast of epic proportions (as they all are), and we got the opportunity to stuff ourselves with rfissa, which is a traditional Moroccan dish of lentils, onions, and chicken served on a bed of shredded msemen (the layered, buttery pan-fried crepes that are eaten at all hours of the day here). If you want to try this yourself, here's a recipe (https://spontaneoustomato.com/2015/03/26/chicken-rfissa-and-msemen/). As you can see, it is a ridiculous amount of work, which is why I was thrilled to have the opportunity to try this amazing dish without having to lift a finger. It is also the reason I will never reproduce it. However, I am beyond grateful for having had the chance to eat authentic rfissa with this wonderful group of friends.

Our rfissa hostess, Sanae

Bri and Sanae with dear friend, and amazing artist, Lori

Rfissa!

And then there was dessert.

In our own kitchen in Marrakech, as the temerature now hits 100 degrees daily, the dining options are officially cereal and fruit. I have banned anyone from even considering turning on a flame to cook something lest the temperature rise another degree or two. Going out to dinner is an option as well, however when it is dark out and still 95 degrees, no one is motivated to move. It could be a very economical month.

From rfissa feasting we moved on to a final road trip for Brianna and Nolan, and we headed to Chefchaouen in the north of Morocco. This city is famous for its blue-washed walls and healthy kief (cannibis) trade. The blue mountain town was a cool and peaceful respite from the heat of Marrakech. The seven hour drive to reach Chefchaouen was scenic, and we watched the red of the desert turn into green and yellow flower-covered hills. We spent hours taking pictures of all things blue, shopping for scented treasures, hiking to the Spanish mosque overlooking the city, and just breathing in the fresh air. Never-ending blue photos are at the bottom of this blog.

Because when you are in Chefchaouen, you are only an hour from the Mediterranean coast, of course you must go to touch the water. We wound our way through the mountains to the coastal town of Oued Laou, which was not much more than a road alongside the water. We decided to continue eastward beside the ocean to see what we could see. We saw mountains - mountains that come right down to the ocean - and lots of twisting and turning roads. It was the Moroccan equivalent of a Big Sur drive. For two and a half hours, we continued winding our way along the mountainous coast. When we finally found a town big enough to have a restaurant, El Jebha, we stopped and ordered whatever they were offering. It turned out to be a tasty fish tagine. Not having discovered an idyllic Mediterranean beach (and now finding ourselves 10 hours from Marrakech), we decided to head back west in an effort to shorten our drive the following day. We retraced our steps and, then, continued on to Tetouan and its seaside suburb, where we found a beach, a seedy hotel, and some passable pizza for dinner. It had been a long day in the car, but no one was complaining (given that the alternative tends to be long walks in hot places).

A glimpse of the sea from high above.

Our return to Marrakech was an uneventful day of driving that eventually brought us back to the desert heat, our psycho cat, Atlas, and a host of end-of-school-year events. As the Moroccan adventure winds down for Brianna and Nolan, we find ourselves trying to squeeze the last little drops of Moroccan fun from Marrakech life. Brianna spent her last days at the Henna Art Cafe perfecting her henna skills (and completing her fine arts credit). Now she is madly trying to finish online coursework so she can officially say goodbye to high school next month. The Marrakech Amerian Corner, which has been a project close to my heart this semester, celebrated their success on Saturday. And we all celebrated with Project Soar at their annual field day on Sunday. With only ten days left of the family-adventure in the red hot city, we will continue to milk it for all it's worth.