Tag Archives: nature

Fuente Dé Cable Car

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We were expecting rain on Tuesday but the clouds started clearing and we decided to drive two hours into Picos de Europa to the Fuente Dé cable car. The drive didn’t disappoint as you could see mountains all around as you drove the windy road through the different towns. The drive is pretty easy since it was all pretty flat.

We got to the cable car, and there was a little bit of a line to wait in. They get 20 people in each car, and it takes 4 minutes to get the top. There are two cars so we only had to wait about half an hour. But if you are looking to do this in the summer, it can take hours. There was also pretty much no line right after us so it really is all about timing.

Once at the top, you can follow a hiking trail that is slightly up hill around a mountain. From there you can pick if you want to go left or right. We picked left mainly because I kept wondering what was around the next bend. To our surprise we could see a couple of lakes along the way. And yes, at some point I had to agree that we could turn around because I’m always going to wonder what is around the next bend…or mountain.

You also have the option to walk down instead of taking the cable car. But since we really weren’t prepared with water and food, we opted for the four minute ride back to the bottom. This area was well worth the drive. We headed back for about 30 minutes to the nearest town to get lunch/dinner. From there we were able to pick a different route back that took us through a different section of the mountains. It was all very scenic and turned out to be a great day instead of the rainy day that we anticipated.

Setti Fadma Hike

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Our tour guide arranged for a hike in the Atlas Mountains on Tuesday.  The driver picked us up and drove a little over an hour into the mountains so we could meet our guide for the hike.  It was a beautiful drive through the mountains but also very touristy. 

We also stopped at a typical Berber house that is still used by a family.  A guy from the house gave us a little tour to explain how the family lives and everything is really still done manually.  It was interesting to see each room and even a lady making bread.  By the way, they have amazing bread in Morocco and it is always fresh tasting.  The bedroom is shared by the parents and kids under the age of 5.  After the age of 5, the kids are split into separate rooms with girls and boys having separate lbedrooms.

  • Bread mill
  • the kitchen
  • Making bread
  • Bedroom
  • living room
  • making a new way for water

From there we made it to our starting place for the hike.  The road pretty much comes to an end for motor vehicles.  After that, the only vehicles allowed are 4×4 and mules.  Our guide was a nice kid who is from the region.  He self taught himself English by watching different videos and movies online.  He said learning languages is way for him to connect himself to the world because he will never be able to travel.  Many people know 4 languages here (Berber, Arabic, French and English).  

The hike started by crossing a bridge over the river.  It isn’t that full right now because a lot of the snow has already melted but in the winter, people can kayak down the river.  The hike is mainly uphill to the waterfall.  It was a rocky hike but also plenty of shade on the way up.  There are also a lot of stands to buy souvenirs or things to drink on the way up.  They keep the beverages cool by utilizing the water from the river.  I did finally buy one thing at one of the stops because the guy sold me on the fact that it helps the local villages.  And I’m not good at bargaining so I really hope I did help the locals out.  There were a lot of tourists on the hike.  Most of the people do a day trip from Marrakech.  The waterfall was pretty and full of visitors.  Our guide took us a little up past the main part so we could take a different route down.  It was beautiful to see the mountains in the distance even if it was less shady.

One the hike was done, we had lunch along the river.  There are so many restaurants along the river.  It is very charming and the food is all so good.  You sit on pillows on the ground next to little tables along the river.  You take your shoes and socks off to eat but you can also cool your feet off in the river.   A very fun experience.  Some of the restaurants actually set the table and chairs up in the river so you just eat in the river.  It was a fun day and I’m always going to love a hike and exploring a new part of the world.