Jackson in Morocco

Dear blog readers this is Jackson. We were in Morocco from Dec 29 until Jan 9 (with very little internet access).  I had loads of fun. We went to Marrakech first then the Sahara then Fez and now we’re back in Marrakech. There are cats EVERYWHERE.

These are my favorite things I did.

I went to the Jamaa Al Fna, which is the big square in the Marrakech medina. In the square there was a lot to see. I got to have some orange juice that was squeezed right in front of me! We saw monkeys get their picture with people. We saw real snakes (black cobras) with snake charmers! The snake charmers were playing little pipes. There were dried fruit and nut stands and ladies drawing henna on people’s hands. In the square someone grabbed my Mom’s hand and the lady did a henna on it. (my Mom didn’t like it) We ate at restaurants in the square a couple times. We also spent New Years Eve in the square.    

Jackson loves fresh squeezed orange juice!

We went in the souks, which are also in the medina, which is a walled city.  The souks are a series of passages with small shops down every street. You can get almost anything in the souks. Lamps, antiques, bronze, brass, silver, small presents, fruit, meat including live chickens and sheep and camel heads) and things like that. It is like an ancient mall. 

The Sahara. To get to Zagora Dunes, Sahara we had to get a driver but it took 10 hours! We stopped along the way to take photos, have lunch and see an ancient library with very old copies of the Koran. When we got to the Sahara we ate dinner and looked at the stars. We think we saw the Milky Way. You could see a lot of stars cause there was no light pollution. At night we slept in a Bedouin tent. It was absolutely FREEZING! In the morning we climbed some tall sand dunes and saw the sunrise. Then we got on our camels. Dad and I shared a black camel named Lazan. Savannah and my Mom shared a beige camel named Silly Billy.  We rode from Zagora Dunes to Mohammad. It was very uncomfortable but a great experience.

Jackson climbing sand dune (very hard to do)

Fez.  To get to Fez, we took a seven hour train. On the train we met a nice couple and a nice man. Fez is an even older city than Marrakech.  In Fez the streets are filled with souks just like Marrakech. In Fez we had the best dinner in Morocco.  Our starter was harira soup, which is a spicy Moroccan soup.  Then we had grilled chicken on skewers and hand-made French fries.  For dessert, we had Moroccan pastries and peel your own oranges.  My Dad had coffee and my Mom and Savannah had Moroccan tea, which is green tea with lots of fresh mint and sugar.  While we were eating, a small black cat crawled onto my dad’s foot and fell asleep.  It was so cute!

Cat asleep on Paul's foot at restaurant

We took a car ride around the city of Fez with a driver named Abrahim.  We saw loads of stuff like some very old tombs, several great views of the city, a place where they make amazing pottery and mosaics, and several graveyards.

When we got back to Marrakech, my sister Savannah bought me a magic box that has a trick to open it.  I really like it!

I really like Morocco and I will truly miss it!

Jackson learning to weave fabric on a loom