Rabat: Morocco's out-of-the way modern capital rewards visitors

 

Landmarks such as this mural help visitors navigate the Rabat medina

A sleek electric tram runs parallel to a mile-long wall dating to the 17th century in Morocco's capital city of Rabat. 

The sand-colored wall -called the Andalusian Wall for the muslims who were expelled from Spain by Christian conquerers-  tells the story of a time when Rabat was established as a military base for launching campaigns into Spain. Defense was crucial to daily life.  

The Andalusian wall in Rabat

On one side of the wall is the modern city with wide streets lined with government buildings, parks and French cafes. On the other side is the medina, the historic old town where muslims expelled from Spain settled in the1600s. Today souks (shops) for locals and visitors as well as markets, hotels and homes are tucked into a maze of alleyways barely wide enough for pedestrians and bicycles.

Among the grand gates or arched passageways separating 21st century Rabat from life on the other side is the Bab el- Had, one of the original five fortified gates to the old city, set on massive square with elaborate wooden doors opening into the medina.

It's here my husband, Tom, and I meet Soufiane, a surfing instructor who moonlights as a walking tour guide for Freetour.com, a website that connects visitors with locals who work for tips.

We are in luck. Soulfiane tells us that six people have  signed up for his walking tour the next morning, but this afternoon, we are his only clients. He becomes our private tour guide for the next few hours as we follow him into the medina, and eventually outside the walls again, then inside another portal leading to the Kasbah. Once a 12th century former military fortress, it's  an exclusive neighborhood filled with gardens and homes overlooking the Bou Regreg River that feeds into the Atlantic ocean.  Soulfiane and his mother own a small store in the Kasbah. They are among just 200 or so Moroccans still living in the neighborhood, now mostly populated by wealthy diplomats. The doors or "gates" close at 11:30 p.m., and only residents  can get inside.

Surfer and tour guide Soufiane

 "There's no reason to go to Rabat,'' a seasoned English traveler whom we had met in Spain told us. He favored nearby Casablanca, Morocco's largest city with a population of about 3.7 million. But I had read blogs written by people who loved Rabat, finding it more organized, let hectic and less tainted by tourism than other parts of Morocco.  Now, walking with Soufiane through the medina, stopping to take pictures of an aging vendor who sets up shop every afternoon, making and frying "Moroccan donuts,"  we were glad we came. As the capital as well as Morocco's fifth-largest city (population 1.7 million), Rabat exists for Moroccans. Tourists who come here after spending time in Marrakesh will feel the difference. 

Donuts made from unsweetened yeast dough and fried

Vendors in the larger cities often cover their faces to avoid being photographed, but here people seemed more open. Soulfiane assured us it wasn't necessary to to buy anything, but of course, we did. 

Muslims in Rabat observe traditional Friday prayers at the mosques, with the faithful sometimes setting up prayer rugs on the sidewalks outside to accommodate the overflow. Couscous is traditionally cooked or served on Fridays, but unlike in other parts of the Muslim world, Moroccans' work on Fridays and take Saturdays and Sundays off. Women can choose to wear whatever they want, but both men and women tend to dress in traditional garb for Friday prayers.

Tucked into alleys are riads - traditionally-styled Moroccan hotels - and fine restaurants such as Dar Ziki, a charming restaurant tucked inside an old house with an open  courtyard. We went back twice for the vegetable and lamb tagines, Friday couscous and the date and nut pie. Our guesthouse was Dar Zouhour where suites with private baths surround a flowered courtyard. Breakfast was a mix of French and Moroccan treats, eggs, coffee and mint tea. Like most riads, it also served dinner on request.  

Breakfast at Dar Zouhour

Almost every city in Morocco has a Kasbah but the beautifully-restored Kasbah of the Oudayas in Rabat is unique. A UNESCO site named for the Udaya tribe, a group of soldiers settled here in the 17th century by Sultan Moulay Ismail. it's  now a peaceful neighborhood with gardens and white-and-blue houses, traditional Andalusian architecture—a legacy of Muslim refugees from Spain - and gardens created when Rabat was a French protectorate.

Its Moorish-style cafe is popular in the late afternoons for its sunset views and what Soulfiane called "Moroccan whiskey," cold tea served in tall glasses stuffed with fresh mint.

Entrance to the Kashah of the Oudayas

Fishing in the river below the Kashah

Rabat's other main sights are few, but impressive. At the recommendation of our riad, we hired a Velo (bicycle) taxi to take us to Chellah, a recently restored archeological site where nest atop ancient minarets set among Phoenician, Roman and Islamic-era ruins.

Ancient ruins in Chellah with the rocket-shaped Mohammed VI Tower in the distance. At 55 stories, it is the tallest building in Morocco

A stork sits atop an ancient minaret in Chellah

Our Velo taxi 

Our next stop was Hassan Tower. Commissioned by the sultan in 1195, it was intended to be the tallest minaret in the world, part of a grand mosque complex that was never completed. Construction halted in 1199 following the sultan's death, leaving the tower incomplete at 144 feet—about half of its intended 282-foot  height. Next to it is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. housing the tombs of King Mohammed V and his sons, King Hassan II and Prince Moulay Abdallah. Both are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a major draw for Moroccan pilgrims.

One of the things we enjoyed most about our three days in Rabat was becoming morning regulars at a cafe Soufiane recommended across from the Kasbah. We would walk from our hotel each morning, through the medina, using landmarks and a GPS as our guides, then exit through an archway across from the Kasbah. "Come once, and you're a stranger," the saying goes. "Come twice and you are a friend"

A young waitress who recognized us on our second morning approached Tom with a message translated from Arabic into English on her mobile phone. 

It read “You remind me of my grandfather, bless his soul. Could I take my photo with you?” Of course, he agreed.  It's moments like this that make the best travel memories.

Fes: Morocco's oldest city where tourism takes second place to daily life

 

Parking a donkey in the Fes medina

The last time we were in Morocco was 15 years ago on a short hop from Madrid to Marrakech. It‘s a beautiful city filled with history, but we were hassled to the point that I didn‘t think we would ever return.

The souks overflowed with cheap reproductions of traditional Moroccan handicrafts, some made in China and almost all priced in euros for the convenience of French and Italian sunseekers. Haggling is a way of life as it is in many parts of the world. Sadly, it wasn;t always good-natured.

“You are Jewish, I can tell,” one shopkeeper called out to my husband, Tom, when we left his jewelry shop without buying (Tom is Italian-American). Another accused us of being from Texas.

The Fes medina

Yet, here we are again, this time deep inside what some consider the best-preserved old city in the Arab world, the sprawling, labyrinthine medina of Fes el Bali. On a walk with our friend Jamal, a freelance guide whom we met on Airbnb, we encounter a donkey and its owner along one of the 9,000 “streets” - maze-like alleys really - in the 13th century walled  old city. 

Vendors use push carts to deliver fresh mint to tea shops 

With traffic limited to animals, pedestrians and push carts, we walk with Jamal through lanes once measured by the width of camels to souks filled with vendors working in closet-like niches. They stir vats of soup, brew tea, bake bread and shatter slabs of peanut nougat into bite-sized pieces. One section is devoted to wedding dresses. Others to metal crafts, weaving and woodcarving. Stalls overflow with tiny bottles of orange blossom oil, shiny tea pots and brightly-colored leather cushions. Bargaining is expected, but no one pressures us to buy. 

Tanning and dying leather is one of the major industries in Fes

Tea shop in the medina

Walking through an unmarked opening in a wall, and up several steep flights of narrow stairs, we meet Abdullah, 71, and drink our first of many glasses of tea brewed with piles of fresh herbs delivered daily to the stand he has operated in the Medina for 50 years. We sit in stools while he boils the water in copper cups on a tiny stove, then pours it into tall glasses stuffed with mint, lemon verbena and orange blossoms.

Abdullah has been brewing tea in the medina for 50 years

Boiling hot water for fresh mint tea

Sorting through fresh mint and other herbs delivered daily

Lesson learned:  Morocco's imperial cities of Marrakech, Fes, Meknes and Rabat- the homes of sultans and kings over the centuries - are as different from each other as Seattle, New York, Houston or Los Angeles.

Marrakech, the most well-known, is a logical first choice for most visitors, but on our second visit, we were determined to delve deeper. Several days spent in Fes, Morocco's oldest city and considered the Islamic country's spiritual capital, and then Rabat, the current capital, left us feeling immersed in an exotic culture more focused on daily life than tourism.

One of our best decisions was to forgo stays in modern hotels in the newer parts of each town in favor of staying in riads tucked inside the walled medinas. Riads are traditionally-styled multi-level guest houses with rooms facing an inner courtyard. They were formerly the homes of wealthy families and  merchants until they moved to the new towns (Villes Nouvelles) built by the French. After that time, many of the  riads became rooming houses for poor residents who lived in the medina. As tourism advanced in Morocco, many were turned into hotels, offering a peaceful retreat from the chaos outside.

Deliveries are made by pushcarts or donkeys in the Fes medina

In Fes, the five-story Riad Layla became our home for the next five nights. A taxi dropped us at the nearest “gate,” or portal to the medina. Men with pushcarts wait to help people with their luggage, but since we had only roller bags, and Riad Layla wasn’t far, we walked in on our own and rang the buzzer next to a heavy wooden door. 

Riad Layla's inner courtyard

Our bedroom

Windows open to the courtyard rather than the outside

Overlooking the courtyard garden was our third-floor room, reached by climbing 30 narrow, winding steps with no handrails. Getting to breakfast each morning required going down those steps again, crossing the courtyard, and climbing another 72 steps to the fifth floor rooftop terrace. There a traditional Moroccan breakfast awaited - fresh-squeezed orange juice, coffee, tea, eggs, and assortment of savory pancakes, corn cakes and some French touches (Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912-1956) such as fresh baguette and warm croissants. Like most everything in Morocco, our riad was a bargain at around $125 per night including breakfast. 

Touring the medina with Jamal

Our second-best decision was to ignore advice to not try to navigate the Medina on our own without joining either a group tour or hiring a private guide for the entire time. Using our introductory two-hour walk with Jamal to orient ourselves, we then relied on a GPS to map and track where we were going and where we had been.  Landmarks helped (turn left at the stall where the guy cuts chicken with a scissors) and hints from Jamal such recognizing the shape of street signs indicating a dead-end.

Scattered throughout the medina are mosques, museums, the world's first and still-operating university, and a massive leather tannery where visitors are given bouquets of mint to hold to their noses to mask the smell.

Making chicken sandwiches in the Fes medina 

Street food vendors, woodworkers, metal craftsmen and bakers carry on family-owned businesses that go back generations. Moroccans generally shy away from having their pictures taken, so to create some opportunities to photograph and gain a better insight into culinary traditions, we spent several hours on a street food tour one morning with Mostafa Laachaci, a guide for a local travel agency whom we found on the website Get Your Guide.

Our first stop was to a stall where the fifth-generation owners cook a high-protein breakfast soup of fava beans, olive oil and garlic on a wood-burning stove. Mostafa picked up a few rounds of barley bread to go with the soup which we ate standing while he went off to buy a few eggs, some black olives and a plastic bucket of khlea, a confit of Moroccan preserved meat. 

Making fave bean soup 

Next stop was a carpet shop where Mostafa had arranged with the owners to set up a little table for us to enjoy the meal. While we talked with the owners, he went off to have the meat and eggs cooked in a traditional tagine, a cone-shaped clay pot which Moroccans use to slow-cook meat and vegetable casserole dishes.

Our street food lunch served in a carpet shop

Street cooks start early preparing special dishes, using techniques handed down by generations of family members. Old photos in this woman's stall showed her parents or grandparents making a type of pastry dough called warqa in the exact say way she makes it today. The dough is used in a savory pie called pastilla. She rolls a ball of dough flat, then stretches it over an upturned jar that looks like a bald head that is heated underneath. The result is a thin and crispy pastry which is wrapped around the ingredients - usually chicken or vegetables - in the pastilla.

We love finding ways to connect with locals when we travel. Booking a dinner in a family home through Eatwith.com, the Airbnb of dining, is one of the best ways. A search on the website connected us with Fadila Eddaoui and Driss Mikdar who live in the Ville Nouveau, the modern town filled with high-rises, swank cafes, gardens and wide boulevards.

Avenue Hassan II in the Ville Nouveau is lined with palm trees and gardens

A short taxi ride from the Medina took us to their flat, a spacious upper-floor apartment where Fadila teaches cooking classes when she is not teaching French at the local middle school. Driss is a tour guide, and together, they have been working on a cookbook called A Feast in Fes available on Amazon.

Fadila uncovers her special lamb tagine 

There were too many dishes on the table to count, starting with homemade dates, honey cakes and Harira soup, and moving onto to chicken Pastilla – A savory and sweet delicacy made with layers of crispy pastry, shredded chicken, almonds, cinnamon, and saffron - followed by a slow-cooked lamb tagine accompanied by a half-dozen side dishes plus tea and homemade cookies. 

It was meal to remember but more importantly, people to never forget.

Next: On to Rabat

Our favorite pastime: Stopping for fresh mint tea available everywhere for $1.50 per glass

Vancouver repurposed Shipyards District welcomes spring visitors

 

 A yellow crane still sits in Shipbuilders' Square where the former copper shop houses the Tap and Barrel pub

Canadians may not be coming to the U.S. this spring due to hurt feelings over President Trump's tariffs and threats to annex the country, but there's no reason Americans should stay away from Canada. 

The exchange rate is favorable, and no, you won't feel as if you're not wanted. The Canadians my husband and I met on a recent trip from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. were polite and friendly as usual. Of course we weren't driving a Tesla and didn't have a Trump/Vance bumper sticker on our car. Nevertheless, I didn't feel that anti-America feelings were translating into anti-American sentiments.

Our destination was North Vancouver, home the Lower Lonsdale neighborhood and the Shipyards District, a repurposed industrial area filled with hotels, restaurants, cafes, a historical museum and art galleries. 

The SeaBus crosses Burrard Inlet from the Vancouver waterfront

Anchored by the Lonsdale Quay Market & Food Hall, parks, public piers and community gathering spaces invite lingering on sunny days and relaxing by night next to blazing gas heaters and fire pits.

Day One; The Shipyards

Hope on the TransLink SeaBus for a 12-minute SeaBus ride across the Burrard Inlet from the Vancouver waterfront, and arrive 12 minutes later at the Lonsdale Quay.

Settle into one of three hotels. The Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier and the Seaside Hotel have  views of the Vancouver skyline lighted at night. The Lonsdale Quay Hotel is inside the market. If you drive, leave the car parked. Everything is within walking distance.

Get the lay of the land by taking a Taste Vancouver Food Tour, a walk that combines a walk through the Lonsdale Qua Market bites from restaurants, breweries, ice cream and chocolate shops with historical tidbits about the area.

The Lonsdale Quay Market

The Wallace Shipyard, opened here in 1906, and grew into one of the biggest industrial operations in Western Canada. Productivity peaked in World War II, and as demand for ships declined, the yard was sold in 1971 and closed in the early 1990s.

 A large yellow crane still sits in Shipbuilders' Square where the former copper shop houses the Tap and Barrel pub.  Named for the family that ran a tug boat business here in the 1900s is Cates Deck, a  plaza where visitors can relax with a beer or glass of wine.

The heart of the development is Shipyards Commons, a covered gathering spot that was once the machine shop. A community splash park open in summer converts to an outdoor ice skating rink in winter. The Shipyards Night Market takes place Friday nights from May 16 through mid-September with food vendors and live music.

Winter ice skating

Day Two: Bikes and brews

Rent E-bikes from Reckless Shipyards, and hit the North Shore Spirit Trail, a flat 20-mile paved greenway for cyclists and pedestrians. Head west through Waterfront Park just past the SeaBus terminal, then through residential areas with views of Grouse Mountain to the north. Follow the trail under the Lions Gate Bridge and through a wooded area along the Capilano River. Container ships heading into Vancouver come into view at Ambleside beach and village, a good stop for coffee or lunch before heading back.

The North Shore Spirit Trail

For a light dinner, check out out one of the Shipyards happy hours, then spend the evening exploring the Lower Lonsdale neighborhood and the North Shore Ale Trail.

Along the North Shore Ale Trail

Popular with locals are seven garage door-style local breweries, a distillery, a winery and a cidery. Favorites include dog-friendly North Point Brewing with an outdoor deck, and the tiny Streetcar Brewing, named for the vintage street cars that took shipyard workers up the hill after their shifts. 

Chicken sandwiches from Cream Pony

Order a fried chicken sandwich or lemon curd donut from Cream Pony next door and settle in around the fire pit with a low-alcohol peach radler, the brewery's take on a German-style mix of beer and lemonade.

Day Three: Culture crawl

Start with a breakfast of salmon or avocado toast and at Nemesis Coffee next to the Polygon Gallery, the North Shore's premier art and public cultural facility operated by the British Columbia Photography and Media Arts Society. On now though May 25 is an exhibit dedicated to the work of Nigerian photographer Rotimi Fani-Kayode. The first-floor boutique is one of the area's best destinations for finding quality North Coast native art, jewelry, pottery, clothing and skin care products made by Canadian artisans. 

Nearby is the Inuit Gallery of Vancouver with a museum-quality collection of Inuit, Northwest Coast First Nations and other Canadian art. 

Vintage street car at the Museum of North Vancouver

A block away is the Museum of North Vancouver with a permanent collection of exhibits tracing the area's history, beginning with the economic contributions of the Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh people.

A volunteer gives visitors guided tours

The museum's centerpiece is a restored vintage street car that ran along Lonsdale Avenue from 1912-1946. Car 153 was one of 13 street railway cars which carried passengers from the ferry wharf to Upper Lonsdale and the Capilano Canyon. 

Decommissioned in 1946, it was sold for $150 and was being used as a chicken coop when transit historian and Vancouver bus operations manager Brian Kelly found it in a farmer's field.

The City of North Vancouver purchased the car, and stored it for 33 years until it was restored and given a permanent home in the museum. 


Nighttime view of the Vancouver skyline from the Shipyards District

If you go:

If coming without a car, take the SeaBus, a passenger-only ferry that runs daily between the Vancouver waterfront and the Lonsdale Quay every 15 minutes.  See https://www.translink.ca/schedules-and-maps/seabus for schedules and fares.

If driving from downtown Vancouver, take the Lions Gate Bridge (BC-99 N) to Marine Dr and Chesterfield Avenue in North Vancouver. Nearby sites include Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.  

Visit Vancouver's North Shore Tourism Association for more information

Travel in the Time of Trump

 

Trump featured on the cover of a Mexican newspaper 

The year was 2017, and my husband, Tom, and I were in Myanmar, floating along the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay to Began.

Donald Trump's harsh immigration policies and his "Muslim" travel ban were just starting to take hold.

American travelers like us were finding it hard to muster a sense of pride as he upended the reputation of the United States as a country welcoming all.

What should we do? I asked myself. 

The situation today is far worse than it was then, given arrests, deportations, cuts in U.S. aide overseas and threats against Canadian and European allies. But the answer is the same: Keep on traveling. 

Real Americans, the ones who make an effort to get to know people of different religions and cultures, whether at home or abroad, are our country's best ambassadors. Now, more than ever, our country needs us. 

As travelers, it's our job to show the world that Donald Trump's and Elon Musk's rhetoric, policies and attitude do not reflect who we are - as a people or a country.

This is not to say that we shouldn't take the normal precautions to stay safe and minimize problems. Nor does it mean we shouldn't expect not to be questioned about what is going on with the U.S. Trump's  picture appears on the front pages of papers everywhere, accompanied by stories written in a language that we might not understand.

I do believe, however, that if anti-American sentiment builds in countries popular with travelers, it most likely will be directed towards the U.S. government rather than individual travelers, given people in many parts of the world don't admire their own leaders.

So, what can we expect? Some hassles, to be sure if the Trump administration impose new rules or bans on travel for citizens of other countries. Being revived in a long- dormant rule that Canadians staying longer than 30 days in the U.S. must register and be fingerprinted.

European countries participate in the same visa waiver program for Americans as the U.S. extends to European citizens. If Trump is serious about stopping immigrants from entering the U.S., will he begin requiring our allies to apply for visas?  

As always it pays to be aware of our surroundings, make efforts to blend in, follow local customs and check U.S. State Department travel advisories.

What I refuse to buy into are scare tactics about the "dangers" of travel due to expected or perceived anti-American sentiment. Unfortunately this is a narrative gaining traction, manly as a result of media reports not based on actual examples, but rather what might or could develop.

Most disappointing are some recent reports by Christopher Elliott, a traveler consumer advocate whose columns I usually admire.

His latest, accompanied by a cartoon of a group of men dressed in black staring down a tourist, began with a story of a guy who visited İzmir, Turkey who suddenly found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He'd taken a casual stroll through the streets of the coastal city on a Saturday morning, but when he turned a corner, he was confronted by a group of young men who looked like they were up to no good.

"American!" one of them exclaimed. Another one shouted, "Donald Trump!"

 "I was the guy," Elliott wrote. "And, say experts, if you're not careful, it could happen to you."

The first red flag in this story was the line "experts say. The second is what Elliott characterized further down in the story as a "small disclaimer." 

"Although my would-be assailants made references to my nationality, that wasn't the real problem. I didn't have a clue where I was going and ended up in the wrong part of town. Many, if not most, incidents of anti-American behavior are the result of ignorance," he acknowledges. "There are places foreign visitors should avoid, and knowing where those places are is more important than ever."

Fair point, but hardly enough to raise the question, as he did in a previous column, "is it safe to go ANYWHERE?"

Elliott admits that "it is difficult to measure anti-American sentiment in a systematic way. It's more of a feeling -- the stares, the hostile reception, and perhaps more confrontations about U.S. foreign policy," he says.

Not to seem naive, which by now you may think I am, but this sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy - the psychological phenomenon that occurs when a person's expectations lead to their own actions, which then make those expectations come true.

So back to the question, what can we do other than pretend we are Canadian? 

We can work harder than ever when to connect with people living and working in the countries we visit. We can support them by booking local experiences, hotels, B&Bs etc. that are owned by locals rather than chains owned by U.S. companies. 

My husband and I will be traveling in Spain and Morocco this year.  Besides signing up for some small-group walking tours led by locals in Fes, Tangier and Rabat. I've booked a dinner with a Moroccan family in Fez through the website eatwith.com. The riads (traditional Moroccan courtyard inns) we booked are family-owned. In Spain,we will spend five days helping Spanish professionals improve their conversational English through a program called VaughanTown set up by Vaughan Systems, the largest language training service in Spain.

I will also be traveling on assignment soon in Vancouver, B.C. No doubt I will see signs in the  liquor stores notifying customers that no American products are being stocked. Maybe I'll go to a cafe and order a Canadiano instead of an Americano. 

When I'm not traveling, I volunteer at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, guiding passengers to their gates or solving any problems they might have.

"Thank you for being nice,"  a woman said to me the other day.

 Perhaps that's the best advice of all. 

Culinary, cultural rewards await those touring Mexico like a Mexican

 

Taxco's cobbled streets double as sidewalks

While many American travelers to Mexico favor beach areas such as Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, my husband and I drift towards the country's colonial cities. 

Mexico City always tops the charts, so we carve out time for a short visit there before heading in new directions. With cities such as Oaxaca, Puebla, Guanajuato, Guadalajara and San Cristobal ticked off our list, sometimes more than once, we've focused our last few trips on Mexico's "Pueblos Magicos," small towns recognized by the government for their natural beauty and rich history. 

Our "beaches" are museums, markets, walking tours, even dinners in people's homes through the website eatwith.com. We ride the buses, put in 6-7 miles a day exploring on foot, then settle in for a nice dinner, often at an upscale restaurant where we are often surrounded by tourists - not European or American - but Mexican. 

In 2022, we went by bus from Mexico City to Orizaba and Xalapa in the state of Veracruz, the jumping off point for Coatepec (Hill of Snakes) and Xico, two Pueblo Magico towns in a premier coffee-producing region.

Winding mountain roads lead to Taxco

This year we headed to Taxco, a former silver mining town about three hours by bus from Mexico City, and Tepoztlan, a highland  town with a rich Aztec heritage and a 700-year-old mountaintop pyramid dedicated to Tepoztecatl, a god of fertility and pulque, a drink made from the fermented sap of the agave plant.

Being an American in a tourist destination favored by middle-class Mexicans translates into a choice of affordable hotels and Airbnbs, authentic restaurants, and the chance for cultural connections with local travelers. The downside is that not much English is spoken. It helps to know a bit of Spanish or get comfortable using Google Translate.

Our Taxco Airbnb

After a few exchanges with Tito, our Airbnb host in Taxco, I began to realize that is what he was using the translator to read my messages and respond back. He spoke no English, as it turned out, but we managed, sometimes amused by awkward phrasing such as "I look forward to yourselves, OK?"

Taxco is at an elevation of 6,000. We had been warned about the twisting roads the buses took to get there. Dramamine worked until the last hour of the ride when the driver lurched back and forth over bumps in the road, then picked up speed to avoid arriving late after being delayed by a motorcycle rally.

I managed to avoid getting sick on the bus but my arms were tingling when we got off. My husband felt dizzy. While we sat on a bench to steady ourselves, the first of many people who would make us feel welcome in town was a woman who offered us chewing gum to settle our stomachs. 

When the Spanish conquered the new world, Taxco became Spain’s primary source of silver and precious metals that were shipped back to the crown.

Mining stopped 17 years ago due to depletion of reserves and labor problems, but Taxco remains a hub for silversmithing with dozens of shops lining its steep, narrow streets, once donkey paths, now paved with rough, raised cobblestones. 

Walking Taxco's hills

Visitors can visit a small museum dedicated to American William Spratling, who moved to the town in the 1920s, creating silver design workshops and exported items, mostly to the United States. 

Silver mine open for tours

Open to the public is Mina Prehispanica de Taxco, an old silver mine excavated and restored by a Mexican family who discovered it in 2014 after purchasing the Posada de la Mision. We donned hart harts for a guided tour in English that began with a long climb down a ladder to reach a network of tunnels streaked with veins of silver and gold. 

The narrow streets mean that using local transportation usually involves a ride in a Volkswagan taxi, an ATV or a mini-bus that charges 50 cents per ride.

Getting around by ATV

VW taxis navigate narrow streets

All rides begin and end at the Zocolo or Plaza Borda, part pedestrianized town square and part transportation hub. Towering above is the Santa Prisca Cathedral, the Spanish Baroque-style church built in 1751 by silver baron José de la Borda. 

Rooftop view of Taxco at sunset 

The bells in its two twin towers are rung by hand on feast day celebrations honoring patron saints Saint Prisca and Saint Sebastian, Best views are at sunset from atop one of the rooftop restaurants serving Rosa Mole, Taxco's special mole tinted pink with beets.

It‘s hard to believe the highland mountain town of Tepoztlan is just 45 miles from busy Mexico City. Vendors celebrate their Aztec heritage with colorful dishes made with seeds, fruits and flowers. Young men wear masks with pointy beards at pre-Lent celebrations to ridicule their Spanish conquerors. The drink to order is pulque made from the fermented sap of the agave plant, honoring Tepoztecati, the god of fertility.

Just north of town stands Tepozteco, the pyramid built on a mountaintop by the Aztecs about 700 years ago to honor Tepoztecati.

Road leading to the Tepozteco trailhead

Hiking a steep trail leading to the temple is the reason most people come here, but not the only one. At an altitude of 5,380 feet, the town lies two thousand feet lower than the nearby capital, and its location in the region gives the town warm spring-like temperatures most days of the year

Tepoztlan, in the state of Morelos, has been populated for 1,500 years before Christ, first by indigenous groups and later by the Spaniards. It's long had reputation as a center for mysticism and spirituality. The streets are full of small crystal shops and massage wellness centers.

As in Taxco, little English was spoken around town, so we uncovered the stories behind some of the things we saw by reading. 

Beautiful hand-made earrings made of colorful feathers for a sale in all the shops, for instance, honored Quetzalcóatl, the feather serpent god whose statue stands at the entrance to the city. It is said that a woman saw a feather drop softly on the floor. Without thinking, she put it in her womb. Little did she know that it did not come from a bird but from a Mexica deity, who magically created a child in her womb.

Chenelo masks for sale

The masks for sale at shops and murals around town featuring the faces of men with exaggerated beards, mustaches and blue eyes, are part of a  tradition dating to 1870 when the Spanish would organize elegant dances preceding Lent (Mardi Gras), but only for people born on the Iberian Peninsula.

Mural depicting a traditional Chenelo dance

Native-born young men (called Chinelos, meaning "disguised" in the Nahuatl Aztec language) dressed themselves in old clothes, covered their faces, and skipped through the streets mocking the Spanish. Chinelo dancers perform all around the state of Morelos today, especially at Carnival time 

Traditional street food stalls at the Mercado Municipal surround the downtown Zocolo which leads to an artisan market and the Ex Convento Dominico de la Natividad church and museum. 

Something seemed a little off on the day we visited the market. Perhaps, we thought, it was because it was a quiet weekday. The big market days are Saturday and Sundays when people come from everywhere to sample food and buy local products.

Relaxing at the Nuevo Mercado

As it turned out, many of the vendors moved to a new market, the Nuevo Mercado, a shiny Singapore-style food court with modern hygiene standards and spectacular views of copper-toned mountain cliffs.

Veggie patties on display

We had gone in search of Tlaltequeadas, a vegetarian, Pre-Hispanic fritter typically made with greens, fruit, seeds and flowers. At a colorful stall called El Cuatecomate, we choose two patties, one colored red with beets, and the other made with squash blossoms and spinach. Each was topped with either mole or a tomato sauce. From there, it was onto Vacas Verdes for pulque served in clay mugs and a view of the mountains from its rooftop. 

Pulque with a view

Later in the afternoon, we made it as far as the end of the road leading to the uphill walk to the temple. But it was late in the day and there was not much daylight left for attempting a two-hour climb to the top. It was worth the walk, however, to discover Axitla, an elegant restaurant hidden in the woods with only a small sign leading us down a long path.

Grilled shrimp for sale along the road leading to the Tepozteco pyramid

 

Tables were strewn on small terraces surrounded by trees and plants. Although it was slightly out of season, we were surprised to find our favorite Mexican dish on the menu. 

Chiles en nogada are made from roasted and peeled poblano peppers that are stuffed with a fruit and ground meat, and then covered in a walnut-cream sauce known as nogada, and garnished with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

The dish is traditionally served to celebrate Mexican Independence Day in September because it holds the colors of the Mexican flag: red, white and green.

Our day started with sweet cups of Cafe de Olla, a Mexican spiced coffee with cinnamon and dark brown sugar. Now it was ending with a dish we first discovered in Guadalajara on one of our first trips to Mexico.

Pure magic.