Travel Flashback #2: Moulay Bousselham and Larache with the Habib

Almost immediately after Dad departed Morocco, I was once again on my way to Casablanca to meet a visitor- This time, it was my significant other, Krister. Unlike my previous trip, which had a detailed itinerary and hotel rooms booked for each night, Krister and I had decided to play it by ear and, after hitting the major tourist cities with my dad, I was ready for something low-key. On the recommendation of fellow Fulbrighter Sam, we decided to visit Moulay Bousselham, a small coastal town south of Tangier.

We left my apartment in Rabat mid-morning and made our way to the train station, where we got on a fast train to Kenitra, about 45 minutes away. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of Moroccan trains, there are two options: old and new. Old trains, while fairly reliable, are sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter. The smell isn't particularly pleasant, and they seem to make stops every 15 minutes. New trains, on the other hand, are extremely punctual, make limited stops, and are a joy to ride in. I highly recommend them.

We got off at the wrong stop (there are two Kenitra stops, and it turns out we choose poorly), but we made it to the grande taxi stand with high spirits. Again, for those of you who have never traveled to Morocco, grande taxis are a common and convenient mode of transportation throughout the country. They generally have fixed routes and travel just about anywhere. The catch is that you need to wait for the taxi (usually an old, white Mercedes) to fill up- The capacity is six, plus the driver.

When we arrived to the taxi stand, we were the first ones heading to Moulay Bousselham, and so we waited for our taxi to fill up, which gave us some time to observe an impromptu chess game on the street.


After about an hour of waiting, our taxi finally had its six passengers, and Krister and I squeezed into the front seat for the hour-long ride to Moulay Bousselham, where we were dropped at Villa Nora, our hotel for the night.


Villa Nora is a beautiful British-owned bed and breakfast right on the ocean, run by a quirky Moroccan caretaker. After getting settled, we walked along the water down to the lagoon which boarders the ocean, where we had arranged for a bird-watching tour.


Our guide, another quirky Moroccan named Hassan, did his best to point out birds to us in broken English and Spanish (which Krister speaks) as we motored around in a tiny boat. Mostly, it was a two-hour tour of the beautiful lagoon, but we did see some flamingos and terns.

Our tour finished around sunset, and we made our way back to Villa Nora, where we shared a tasty dinner of fresh fish with a French-Moroccan family.

The following morning, we enjoyed the view from our room and a ate huge breakfast before we hit the road again.


We had decided to head further north to Larache. Larache, like Moulay Bousselham, is a popular beach spot for Moroccans in the summer, but it was still April and we were looking forward to another low-key few days. We hitched a ride with the hotel's caretaker, and arrived at the city's lively market mid-morning, making our way to Hotel Essalam, which the Rough Guide dubs the "best budget hotel in Morocco." The hotel has large, immaculately clean rooms, and our high expectations were met and exceeded.

With the goal of visiting Lixus, the dilapidated ruins of an ancient city that has Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman roots, we packed a picnic and boarded a city bus with the word Lixus written on the front. We should have known better than to blindly trust public transportation in Morocco- After about a half-hour of winding around the city, we returned back to where we started. At least the driver took pity on us and refunded our tickets. Undeterred, we ate our picnic on the corniche and took the afternoon to explore the city. Larache was formerly part of Spanish Morocco, and it was a little jarring to read signs and labels in Spanish instead of French.

At night, we headed out for dinner and found ourselves in the midst of throngs of people strolling the city streets. We bought some snacks and we ventured down to the corniche to people-watch and enjoy the ocean breeze.

The following morning, after a huge, tasty breakfast at Cafe Triana, we once again were on our way to Lixus. We boarded the correct bus this time, but, alas, we overshot the ruins and had to wait for the bus to loop back around before we reached our destination.

According to the Rough Guide, Lixus was the first trading post in North Africa, and is one of the oldest inhabited sites in Morocco. It's also famous for being the spot of the Labors of Hercules, where Hercules gathered the Golden Apples.

The ruins of Lixus are nowhere near as well-preserved as Chellah or Volubilus, and only partly excavated. There is no main entrance and no entry fee; when we entered, a man halfhearted tried to faux guide us, but, mostly, we were on our own to explore the site. Nothing was marked, so we tried our best to navigate the site using our guide book: "Oh, yeah. This could totally be an amphitheatre. Right?" Mostly, it just looked like a lot of old walls. (Apparently, there used to be a well-preserved mosaic, but someone tried to dig it up and sell it.) Nevertheless, the site, perched on a hill and bordered by an estuary, is undeniably beautiful and peaceful.


According to the Rough Guide, Lixus was the first trading post in North Africa, and is one of the oldest inhabited sites in Morocco. It's also famous for being the spot of the Labors of Hercules, where Hercules gathered the Golden Apples.


We enjoyed our picnic at the site, and then returned to Larache, where we headed to the bus station. While we waited for the next bus to Rabat, the ticket vendor invited us to eat with him and his employees. We ate steaming hot couscous from a communal plate, and then boarded our bus that took us the few hours trip back to Rabat.

Overall, our jaunt north was the perfect complement to my busy vacation with Dad. The hassle was minimal, the people were friendly, and the cities were beautiful. I'd recommend Moulay Bousselham and Larache to just about anyone.

PS- Check out my good friend Jackie's recent post on Moulay Bousselham. I can take credit for the hotel recommendation, but I can't take credit for her fabulous blog.