As the long weekend approached, a familiar tension started to build. Would we make it? Would it be worth it? There's something about these small windows of freedom that stirs a quiet urgency inside me — a need to move, to live more than the clock usually allows.

I glance at my camera gathering dust — and I can feel it: the itch to create, to explore, to not let this rare stretch of days slip by unnoticed. Questions pile up: Where? How? Will it work? There's never a guarantee when you travel on standby. You pay not with money, but with patience, resilience — and a stubborn belief that the road is still out there, waiting.

This time, the road pointed toward Morocco. A single flight from Montreal to Casablanca, a decent chance of getting a seat. Beyond that? No hotel booked, no car rental secured. Plan B, C, and D hovering in the background. We would only book once we were in the air — if we got in the air at all.

As we lifted off from Montreal, the sunset outside our window set the sky on fire — deep reds, burning oranges, the kind of color that makes you believe anything is possible. Mid-flight, thanks to the tiny miracles of Wi-Fi and willpower, I booked a riad and rented a car. With the burning sky as witness, the first part of our adventure was sealed.

*The sky was burning - as it was burning our need to book our hotel and car.*

First challenge - getting a seat - mission accomplished. Now we needed to reach our Riad in Marrakech. We get to the arrivals at the airport, and… where is the rental car agency? Nowhere to be found, we inquired some locals to no luck. We head out of the terminal and there it is, on the very left corner besides Terminal 2. A very short walk is required, nothing will stop us now.

Paperwork done, the car needs gas, and the Avis agent goes with us to pay for it - only for us to witness a Moroccan fight about… I don’t know, the Avis agent was shouting in Arabic, which I clearly can’t understand. We stay quiet until he comes to us and say: “Here’s the key. Enjoy your trip!”. Off we went.

I enter the coordinates of our Riad on Google Maps, and in no time, we’re sliding through one of the smoothest asphalts I’ve seen. Yes, Moroccan highways are not decent, are amazing. There’s limits though, 120Km/h - which, let’s be honest, is more than enough. As soon as we access the highway, the toll station comes, and… obviously we go through the wrong lane. If you driving in Morocco with a rental car, take the lanes with the green sign. The other lanes are for the privileged ones, with the auto-pay enabled. Not our case. You’ll take a ticket which you’ll pay right when you exit the highway. Casablanca to Marrakech - 70 dirham - no bad at all for a 2.5h smooth drive.

The Riad

I know you’re asking yourself: “What exactly is a Riad?”, Well, I’m glad you asked. In the labyrinth of Morocco’s medinas, Riads were private sanctuaries where multiple wives and generations lived unseen, their lives unfolding behind latticed windows and blooming courtyards. That’s where we’d stay for 2 nights. Our Riad was a pretty simple, but location-wise, nothing better. At least for us. The Riad Winarouze is a worth choice - it cost us 350 CAD for two nights. The parking, that was a public one just across the street from the Riad. 150 dirhams for two nights.

Marrakech - Day 1

Once settled, we went on our challenging mission - feel the streets of the Medina in Marrakech, and translate the feelings into photographs and videos to be shared with the world. The goal was not to rush, but to savour. We walked along Rue de la Kasbah observing the local community. This area of the Medina is not very touristy, which is our preference.

As photographers, we obviously want to photograph. However, as storytellers we also need to absorb the story happening around us. It’s a conflict, and sometimes we have a split second to decide what to do. Still, life happens non-stop, there’s always the next scene.

*As life happens, we observe and photograph. We photograph and observe.*

We end up at the Koutoubia Mosque. It’s sunny and hot, and we’re grateful the Mosque is surrounded by parks. We stroll around the Mosque, impressed by the colourful flowers, but notably by the number of orange trees. Morocco is the land of orange! Our energy level is not that great after a flight and near 3h drive, but we’re resilient… until the sight of an empty bench reaches our eyes. We’ve got to do that. We sat there and for some long minutes, and just watched the people who were not only walking around, but reuniting with friends or simply taking a nap under a tree. That’s when we have that feeling that “life is good, life is worth being lived”.

At some point, we had to continue on our journey… this time, back to our Riad. Not without going for one of the most basic needs of every being on this planet - food. We set our target to Dar Chef Restaurant, which is somewhat hidden, we had to follow the clues to get there, but we made it, and was it worth it.

The restaurant is in a… guess what - Riad. It’s cozy and friendly. The food, well, what can I say? Our tajines were delicious. Yes, you should go there once in Marrakech.

Food mission accomplished, we head to our secluded Riad and not long after a well-deserved shower, we’re both sleeping.

Marrakech - Day 2

Could we have slept more? Yes, but the thought of having a breakfast at the terrace of our Riad was pulling us out of the bed. Not a traditional Moroccan breakfast, but a tasty one nonetheless. Once properly fed, we were once again in the streets of Marrakech. An earlier walk means fewer tourists, more locals. All we were looking for.

This was the time we noticed some stories happening around us, such as the lady making it clear who is the boss, or the man just sitting behind a wall of bread. Daily life might sound insignificant, but that’s where the amazing resides, if you pay enough attention.

As much as we like to observe the local life happening, we were set to see a couple of landmarks. First stop - El Badi Palace. Built to be a king’s masterpiece after a historic victory, El Badi took a quarter of a century to rise — and just a few decades to fall into beautiful ruin. Its marble once came from Italy, its gold from Sudan — but today, only the bones of El Badi remain under the Marrakech sun, with its seasonal residents - the White Storks (and of course orange trees).

The palace was a worth stop, but we now must continue, and after a few minutes of walk through the vivid, chaotic, charming and sometimes claustrophobic souks, we’re in the middle of the Jemaa el-Fnaa. This is the famous square in Marrakech, where tourists gather. If we’re truly honest, not our favourite spot, but eye-catching indeed, especially the snakes, the monkeys and all the orange tents.

Not much time is spent there, since we had another target - The Secret Garden. Well, we tried, but the secret garden didn’t really seem secret at all given the huge line up in front of its entrance. I must say the garden remains a mistery to us. Maybe next time. As flexible travellers that we are, we head to the Museum Dar El Bacha.

Dar El Bacha is a former palace turned museum in Marrakech, built for a powerful pasha and now showcasing Morocco’s cultural crossroads. Guess what we found in there? Orange trees… and yes, stunning walls, doors, ceramic. I don’t know about that secret garden, but this museum was worth the visit. Yes, go there!

Ok, it’s all great, but let’s go back to our original mission - embrace the local life. With that in mind, we head towards the old Jewish neighborhood Mellah. We start at Rue La Bahia. Narrow streets, motorbikes and scooters passing by at full speed (as they do throughout the souks, which is unbelievable), but we continue appreciating the architecture, the ochre-coloured walls. fewer tourists and that good feeling of touching at another cultural aspect of the city.

Walking through the Mellah neighborhood, we’re going towards our Riad. It’s almost 7pm and hunger is starting to show its signs. Our choice for this time is Café Clock. A trendy café with some tourists, but not too crowded (although lively). I couldn’t resist but try their Camel Burger, and yes, it’s legal and tasty. If you’re there, just try it. By this time, we were getting tired. It was a long walk, almost 20K steps (thanks Apple Watch), and we had some intriguing plans for the next day. So yes, we walked to our Riad, took our well-deserved shower, and… zzz.

El Jadida - Day 3

So we fell asleep before I could finish the previous paragraph. You get me. Once again we go up our Riad to have that tasty breakfast, then we checkout, and hit the road again. This time on a simpler road, no tolls, but not as smooth. And that was exactly what we wanted. The route is more scenic and entertaining. Our destination this time - El Jadida. A small town by the coast, 1 hour from Casablanca, where guess what… the Portuguese settled for some brief time around the 1500s.

3 hours and 15 police checkpoints later, we reach the city, and let me tell you - we like it. It’s not as big and touristy as Marrakech. In fact, the tourists are mostly local. We parked directly in front of the Cité Portugaise, a 16th-century fortress built by the Portuguese, where thick stone walls and an eerie underground cistern still tell the story of a short but intense colonial chapter. Since we were born in one of the colonies of Portugal (Brazil), we had to visit this city.

As we enter the fortress we realized what we had done. We did right when we included El Jadida in our weekend getaway. It felt just like walking the cobled stones of Portugal, with remembrance of certain places in Brazil. We cross the entire fortress towards its walls, so we could walk on top of them, overlooking the sea. We slowly walked around the whole fortress for a few hours. Very narrow alleys, clothes hanging to dry, kids playing soccer. After the chaotic souks in Marrakech, this was the way to close this wonderful weekend.

By 6pm, there was one more thing we had to do - drive back to Casablanca. We took the chance to drive along the coastal streets in El Jadida, and let me tell - this is a beautiful city. Soon we were once again on one of those excellent Moroccan highways. The toll this time was about 20 dirhams, short 1 hour drive. We head directly to the Onomo Hotel by the airport. If you need a good night of sleep before you flight to Montreal the next morning, this is a hotel I recommend. It set us back 140 CAD, but well worth it.

The next morning, after our last hotel breakfast that we enjoy so much, we took the car back to Avis by the terminal two and walked back to the airport. By 11:30am we were back at home in Montreal.

The message here is clear - you got a long weekend ahead, go to Morocco. We did it, and truly enjoyed it.

In four days, we raced through centuries — and realized that while walls and roads crumble, the human spirit keeps moving forward.

Have you ever travelled this far on a long weekend? What destination would make you travel far regardless of how little you would stay there? Comment below. I’d love to hear from you.

All photos taken by Marlon Guerios, except the one where you can see me - at the Riad’s bathroom.

Here’s the itinerary for a long weekend getaway in Morocco in PDF format for easy reference: 3-day Itinerary in Morocco