This final post on our time in beautiful Morocco is being
written the trains from Bern to Zurich, Zurich to Prague and Prague to Krakow.
Get a cup of tea folks. We’re wrapping up one heck of a country here.
Our train back from Fes to Marrakech was a pleasant one (as
pleasant as 8 hours can be). After sweltering in our cabin with broken AC we
ventured out into another area where some Americans invited us in to their cool
cabin, we quickly made friends and enjoyed the chance to speak fluent English.
After they departed the 6 seater cabin was ours and it was lovely to have this
huge space to ourselves. We closed the curtains so no one would see 2 alone
tourists and make their move. Into the last 2 hours of the trip a young woman
joined us, and instantly the conversation began, where are you from, Australia
sounds amazing, how long are you in Marrakech etc. After reading about the
scams we had agreed to say we were leaving the next day to cut off any further
attempts. She looks disappointed but perks up and tells us about the great
Marrakech nightlife, and how we should go out tonight etc. We tell her we need
a good sleep, she keeps trying. Seeing right through it all, we politely thank
her for the conversation and go back to watching a show. Within 15 minutes she
says “oh I’ve left something in another cabin, have a good night” and we never
saw her again.
We arrive late, and are taken to our beautiful riad. We wake
at an ungodly hour to start our Christmas day tour to the high Atlas Mountains,
our driver is meant to be here at 7:15 but at 8 he arrives. We finally get
going at 8:30 – things are not exactly timely in Morocco. Finally we are on the
road, and about an hour in we start to climb. The mountains are beautiful and
the scenery changes rapidly, one moment there is a lush valley of cacti, the
next second there is not a cacti in sight. The higher we go we start to see
snow covering the tops of these large peaks. The mountains are a peculiar mix
of red and orange dirt, greenery, and snow. At the top we get out and nearly
freeze it is so cold, a big difference to the 20 something degrees earlier. We
stop and write a message of the season in the snow, take a few snaps and
quickly get back into the warm car (see pictures above).
It was on this trip that we felt for the first time that we
were in Africa, it was something about the colour and the style of the
villages. You could almost miss them they blend into the surroundings so well.
Made from the local earth they are the same colour shades of grey, red and
yellow. We didn’t get to the proper Sahara but we sure wouldn’t want to get
stuck out here. There was hardly anything growing anywhere. We wanted to know
what the people in these little villages do but our drivers English was poor so
we just left it.
Finally we arrive at Aït Benhaddou (see above pictures). As
soon as we are out of our van we are given a ‘guide’, who can speak ‘English’.
Of course we have to pay, but it is reasonable(ish). As we get going on this
guided tour, we quickly realise that his English is extremely limited and we
spend most of our time nodding politely. Regardless the Kasbah is breathtaking,
and the Berber men are dressed in traditional attire. He takes us to his ‘friends’
shop where they make Berber art, this is art painted using only indigo, saffron
(yes the spice!) and tea, it is then covered with a sugar water mix and then
they heat it over flame which brings out the colour and makes the art pop. It
is really beautiful, of course we bought some but for $7 we couldn’t say no. We
just have to figure out how to get it home undamaged…
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| Our 'guide' burning the painting to bring out the colours |
Aït Benhaddou has been the scene of over a dozen major Hollywood
films most recently including: The Mummy, Gladiator and Prince of Persia. A
fact the locals don’t let you forget with pictures and screen takes of the
films, the sets and of themselves dressed as extras for the movies. Our guide
laid claim to being in FOUR movies.
We arrive at Ouarzazate and find some lunch, there we meet
an Aussie family of 5 who spend each Christmas and NYE in a new country. Again
we enjoy the opportunity to speak English and leave hoping to be able to do
something similar with our children in the future. We walk around the outside
of the beautiful and almost movie like medina of Ouarzazate.
It is nearly a 4 hour drive back to Marrakech so we settle
in for the journey, although there wasn’t much relaxing. We drive at pace down
these winding roads with sheer cliff drops at the very side of the road. To
make things exciting the drivers travel in the middle of the road until they
see another car and then move to their side, even on corners where you can’t
see around. Its times like these you have to learn to trust that they are all
working on the same system. Making our way down the Tizi n Test
pass our driver made it back to Marrakech after 3.5 hours straight
driving. Crazy.
After an 11 hour day, we were thankful to see our riad. We
had a gorgeous 3 course dinner and a bottle of red by the fire place, and
played Christmas carols from our laptop. It was tonight that we tasted possibly
the best tagine in all of Morocco with lamb and apricots, in some
mind-blowingly divine sauce.
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| The worlds most blurred selfie |
In a way this Christmas was unique as it met all
requirements of both a summer and winter Christmas. It was very hot out in the
Kasbah, but yet we also saw snow in the mountains and had dinner by an open
fire. Best of both worlds perhaps?
Essaouira
Rising the next day we did some final wandering of
Marrakech, drinking the delicious orange juice and making some small purchases
in the souk before boarding the coach to the coast. On the bus we sat behind an
American, Nathan, who would become our fast friend and mate for the next 2
days. Arriving at the coast we were met by a man from the riad who loaded our
bags into a large wheelbarrow like thing and walked us to the riad, shouting at
people to get out of the way and clearing a path for us. We felt like VIPs.
When we arrived at our riad it was incredible. Softly lit
with candles the place glowed and exuded warmth. Abdel the manager was very
friendly and we were showed the riad from the gorgeous central courtyard right
up to the upper floor library and then the rooftop with ocean view. Finally our
room, just wow! By far the nicest place we have stayed so far and probably will
this trip. Beautifully decorated, spacious and with all the niceties we’ve
learnt to live without. Luxurious. This was our Christmas present to each
other. We put on the robes in our room and settled in with some mint tea and
felt like royalty (naturally the ibis budget in Switzerland brought us right
back to earth).
We slept in the next day and after our typical Moroccan
breakfast of flatbread, orange juice and a tasty omelette we arranged for the
afternoon to have a traditional hammam in the riads spa. Leaving the riad after
a slow morning we set out to wander the town. Sure enough 10 minutes into our
wander we bump into Nathan who is out exploring as well. We all spend the early
afternoon exploring the beach, old fortress and the town before returning to
the riad and hanging out on the rooftop.
Agreeing to meet Nathan for dinner we say farewell and are
keen for our hammam. We had originally planned to go to the local hamman and get
an authentic experience but we ended up opting for the touristy spa version
because 1. We are worn out and deserve a spa treatment. 2. It’s really
convenient inside our riad. 3. It has a 1 hour massage at the end and who are
we to say no to a 1 hour massage? A hamman involves sitting in a hot steam room
in your undies (ladies tops off), getting water tipped all over you by
attendants who then soap you up in the local black soap derived from Olives.
You then sit in the steam all covered in soap for a little while before the
attendants come back and rinse you down, again tipping water on you before
getting what is basically and exfoliation glove and scrubbing you neck down.
Once again you are left to steam before being rinsed off and left to steam a
little more before being towelled off. The whole process taking just over half
an hour. It’s not relaxing but it’s not rough either.
That evening we met up with Nathan and went out for dinner.
We were seeking the pigeon pastille! Another guest at the riad has recommended
it, so we attempted to seek it out. We failed but instead found a fantastic
little restaurant after much to-ing and fro-ing. We even had the private dining
room to ourselves, the waiter called it the romantic table for 3 (he was
French)… We ate divine Moroccan food, and chatted until we realised everyone
else had left and the lights were being turned off.
The next day we set out to explore some more and take some
photos. We walked the very fresh and not so fresh fish markets, got our feet
wet at the beach and wandered the old town again. The medina is much more
chilled out then any others with a mix of eclectic shops and typical tourist
traps.
On our final day we finally find the pigeon pastille
restaurant, it was tucked in a tiny street in the middle of the medina right
where no-one can find it. The pigeon was delicious! We would eat it again.
We took the super duper business class bus back to Marrakech
that evening (only $5 more than the regular bus). Hello legroom! Simon needs to
fly business class from now on!
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| The view from our Riad rooftop |
Our last night in Marrakech was low key, we said our
goodbyes to Nathan who had come back on the same super bus and turned in for
the night for our early flight to Switzerland the next day. Conveniently the
taxi the next day was 100 dirhams, the exact amount of cash we had left.
#winning
Essouria is a beautiful laid back beach town, and one of the
must sees of Morocco. There is not a lot to do, it’s all about relaxation but
this is the beauty of it. You can just spend your time walking along the beach,
or perusing the markets or eating at the many delicious restaurants on offer.
There are loads of French restaurants here, it seems like the place where not
only a number of French holiday but also live. The beach is nothing
spectacular, but the atmosphere is, you can get a camel or a horse ride along
the beach for a very good price (although we are saving our camel time for
Egypt).
General Observations
in addition to those littered throughout the 3 Morocco posts
Orange juice is everywhere, it is amazing and it is cheap.
Orange trees grow everywhere, they are beautiful, and they are no doubt used in
the making of the amazing juice.
Moroccan artwork is stunning, again you can find it
everywhere, there are loads of talented artists, and we wanted to buy a lot of
it.
You have seen from previous blogs that there are beautiful
and vibrant wares everywhere and trying not to buy things was very hard. We are
very sad that we haven’t had room or the ability to post large things back – it
serves as an excuse to go again.
Most native Moroccan people speak a minimum of 3 languages,
Arabic, French and Spanish or English. Usually all four is not uncommon. It is
great for convenience for us but when vendors fail to get your attention in
French they switch to something else, English. Ignore them again and it
continues in Spanish. We’ve heard Japanese and Chinese, German and Italian
called out as well.
Mint tea is everywhere and it is delicious. It seems like
every third person has a cup in their hand, every fourth shop is selling
teapots and glasses. Poured from height from shiny teapots with expert
precision Moroccans have the art of tea pouring down pat. The tea is
unsurprisingly minty and varies in sweetness depending on where you can from
sickeningly sweet to refreshingly tart.
Olives are in everything, on everything and given as an
appetiser everywhere. Neither of us like olives and have been declining them
when delivered to our table. A raised eyebrow or a surprised look usually
follows. How can we not like olives, it seems to say. Well they’re salty, have
hard pips and are a flavour kick in the mouth. Yuck.
The French love to holiday here, probably because everyone
speaks their language. Most riads have French owners.
Everything we have been to see as an attraction in Morocco
has been cheap. Not like $7 to go up Telstra Tower cheap, like you can buy
anything in the $2 store for the cost of entry cheap. Attractions are usually charging on 10 Dirham
($1.5) entry with few exceptions and even then you will pay $6 at the most. For
the quality attractions we are seeing, palaces, restored universities and
beautiful lush gardens they are a bargain. The only let down is there is never
any signage to let you know what you’re looking at and if there is it’s in
Arabic and French. We really need to learn French.
99% of the Moroccan population is Islamic, but it seems with
varying degrees of orthodoxy. Prayer rooms are always available whether at the
bus station, a road house etc. Wherever you are you look up and see the minaret
of the mosque, when the prayer call goes out people stop to go to Mosque to
pray, even leaving work to do so. Radio will stop when prayer time is on, so
that people who are driving know that it is prayer time. Religion is throughout
everything and everything works around it.
Sugar, sugar, sugar everything is super sweet, almost too
sweet. A packet of sugar is about 2.5 teaspoons, Moroccans love sweet biscuits
and pastries – almost like Baklava. Bees often surround biscuit stores because
they are so sticky sweet.
The Medina is the old town which is always surrounded by a
wall. On the outside is the new town, the new town is very modern, KFC, Maccas
and other globals all are here, and new apartment complexes are going up as
people want to leave the old style to get a more modern lifestyle. Leaving the
French to buy up all the old riads, and making prices of property in the medina
skyrocket.
The mornings are chilly, much like a Canberra spring you
need to dress for cold and hot. Leaving the riad in multiple layers and
shivering eventually the cold of the morning gives way to the peaking sun
raising the temperature to borderline uncomfortable levels.
Smoking is acceptable inside, and smoking is extremely
popular.
Lessons learnt
This was a rapid learning experience, and to be honest we
read a lot of travel blogs on Morocco to get our head around some of the
protocols and safety tips. This is just the list of things that applied to our
personal journey.
A massive lesson was wising up to taxis, and not getting
ripped off. Grand taxis are a fixed price and are more expensive. Petite taxis
use a meter – but sometimes especially in Marrakech you need to ask for them to
turn it on. Know what a good price is to negotiate with if there is no meter,
repeat the agreed price before entering the taxi. Don’t take a private taxi who
tells you it’s the same price as a regular taxi, that’s all lies.
Texting and talking on the phone is illegal. Taxi drivers
will do it anyway, they will not pay attention to the road, you will think you
will die, but by all accounts we are still alive.
Taking photos of people is not OK, it is against their
religion and you need to ask permission (thankfully we didn’t learn this the
hard way).
You must be aggressive here or you’ll get nowhere – it feels
strange pushing into people, but that’s what everyone does so get amongst it.
Public bathrooms don’t do queues you just stand behind the
door of the toilet you want, if you don’t do this and make your own queue you
will not get a toilet.
Tourist tax 2.5 euros ($3.75) pp per night Morocco, this
adds up quick.
Book ahead if you really want a quality day trip and don’t
go with whats on the road.
Walk with confidence and don’t engage with people, you are
not being rude by completely ignoring someone.
Being more alert and not alarmed to scammers, learning
strategies (the second time around) to deal with them. Ie. Don’t engage in
convo, politely end it and go on with doing something else
ALWAYS re-iterate the price, and make sure they agree both
times.
When you want to get out of a conversation, look at your
watch and say you must be somewhere, if you have appreciated their time but
don’t want to pay for it or buy anything shake their hand confidently say
thankyou and move along.
If someone un-official tells you a street is closed or you
can’t go through they are lying, go down the street.
Be prepared to be asked for money for everything, don’t stop
and chat to someone they will charge you for the conversation even though they
started it, and dropped you a few ‘facts about the city’.
Ask a uniformed officer or shop keeper for directions if
you’re lost, that way they are less inclined to give the wrong info or charge
you for it.
Parting Thoughts
If you haven’t already noticed, Morocco is amazing, a little
stinky and a bit confronting at times but that’s culture and that makes for
good travel. Come here and enjoy, but bring additional space for all the
wonderful things you can buy.
We loved the tranquil spaces which were perfect hideaways
from the craziness outside, and the way they transported you to another time
and made you relax almost instantaneously.
Be OK with getting lost and know that you will get lost at
least once. Even your riad will be in some back street location which looks
like all the other streets, and you will be confused. It’s all good.
Next time what we want to do, and what we would recommend to
others coming is to do a camel ride through the Sahara, stopping at Merzouga. Everyone
says it is one of those must experiences.
Do a Hammam.
Finally, and most importantly if you don’t like cumin you
will starve. Cumin is like salt in Morocco. It is in absolutely everything.
Well just about everything. We don’t think it’s in the bread (well not all
bread), or the orange juice.
Thankyou for reading another stupidly long post. If you
create a blog, we will read yours too.
Simon & Amy xoxo
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