9/17/2026
Not a hiking trip, but worth blogging about. In September, I went to Morocco for a sketching workshop with Christina Wald. I broke up my trip, first flying to Paris, staying at the airport overnight, and then flying to Marrakech.
I arrived early in order to spend some time in Marrakech before the workshop. I stayed at Riad Dalla Santa inside the medina. What is a riad? It's an old house converted into a small hotel. Inside a riad, there is an inner open air courtyard and a fountain. Everyone says if you visit Morocco, you should stay in a riad. What is a medina? It's a walled historic city. The medina in Marrakech is 2.7 square miles. It's a labyrinth of narrow streets, not open to cars (though you will find motorbikes and donkeys inside). Inside the medina are souks, mosques, and riads.
I picked up money at an exchange in the Marrakech airport. The currency is dirham, often shown as MAD. We sometimes went to ATM's to get money too - this sometimes proved to be challenging - sometimes we'd have to try a few before we got one to give us money. Many places here only take cash, not credit cards, so its good to get a reasonable amount of cash.
I worked with our riad to arrange a driver to pick me up at the airport. Aziz, the Riad Dalla Santa manager met my taxi at an entrance to the riad. This was ideal, because getting lost in the medina is very common (and yet fun). Aziz and Christina walked me to the riad, where I was welcomed with mint tea and Moroccan cookies before being shown to my room. Despite the noise and busyness of the medina, the riad is a quiet sanctuary. Christina and I went out to dinner at Le Jardin, a restaurant that was very close to our medina.
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| Inside the riad, looking at the open air courtyard. |
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| A gate next to our riad |
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| Christina and I went to Le Jardin for dinner |
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| My bedroom |
