Monday Evening, March 21, 2022

Our farewell event started at the Four Season’s Zest Rooftop Bar pavilion with drinks, appetizers and shared laughs. The weather was delightfully warm even as the day approached sunset.

We strolled back over to the elevator to descend a couple floors to the main dining area where we indulged in our last group meal. It was superb: Kefta tajine, Berber vegetable tajine, sea bass and saffron risotto, ending with a hazelnut praline tart. The food and surroundings were sumptuous!

Most of our fellow travelers had to leave in the early morning hours in order to fly from Casablanca. We chose to stay an extra day, leaving the Four Seasons at noon after receiving the results of our PCR test (negative) and arriving in the Atlas Sky Airport Hotel, Casablanca mid-afternoon.

The travel time from Marrakesh to Casablanca was nearly 3 hours. Transportation was provided by Tauck, making our last day stress free. We shared our ride with Alan and Jane Baron; he a retired physician and she a professional photographer. Both led interesting lives and shared both ups and downs with us, as did we. During a rest stop we witnessed an outdoor bake shop that provided freshly baked Khobz and tajine to the attached restaurant. The baker and kitchen staff thought we had lost our minds as we exclaimed, ”Ooo” and ”Ahhh” while snapping photographs. They’re probably still talking about the ”crazy Americans”!

Our driver dropped us off at a modest airport hotel that immediately brought us down to Earth from our Four Seasons dream. No restaurants nearby and the hotel restaurant would open for dinner at 9pm. Room service, however, was available 24 hours a day, a reasonable solution that satisfied our hunger and energy level.

We flew out of Casablanca the morning of March 23, holding our experiences close and discussing a possible return next year. It was truly a wonderful adventure!

(Random photos of our group, artistic rendition of written Berber language, etc.):