Morocco Mission

Longing to shake the familiarity of another European city trip we decided Morocco was an obvious choice to experience another continent without travelling too far. Although it has to be said that Morocco is a different kind of Africa, being so close to Spain and having been occupied by the French for so many years, there are definite European influences but Africa is still alive and well in Morocco.

Seeing as we had a jammed itinerary covering 10 days it is difficult to condense our experiences so here are some highlights so you don’t have pages of travel stories to wade through!

Marrakech – ate our body weight in traditional Moroccan fare at the hotel buffet, it actually ended up being one of the best dinners on the whole trip which was random! Great introduction into Moroccan tagines, couscous and desserts. Hotel also had a fab roof terrace with a fantastic view over the bustling Djemaa El-Fna square which was shrouded in smoke from the numerous food stalls. The sound of drumming and commotion travelled through the air.

Marrakech to Merzouga tour. 3 days 2 nights taking us into the Sahara desert over the top of the High Atlas mountains, through the Dades Valley. Stopped off at Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazte, the Valley of the Roses, and of course the obligatory stops at tourist shops and restaurants where we could spend our hard earned money on set menus of tagines, couscous or kebabs (the staple set menu!). We actually had no idea where we were half the time as our driver only spoke French or Arabic and constantly cranked out Arabic tunes on old dusty cassette tapes. Thank goodness for ipods…

Stayed the first night in the Dades Valley in some mighty bling accommodation right on the river. Next morning it was on to Merzouga via the Todra Gorge. There was a lengthy stop here so that Chris and Andrew could pose relentlessly with their newly acquired head gear, yes, they bought matching turbans – when in Rome (or Morocco) I suppose!

We finally arrived in Merzouga deep in the Sahara after what seemed like the never-ending drive where our camels awaited. We trekked into the desert to stay the night at a berber camp. Quick summary on the camel ride, it was like having a permanent wedgie and if you were unlucky like Chris the camel behind you might hate you and grunt and drool all over you for the entire ride!

After a 14 hour drive, complete with 1 emergency toilet stop for Chris and Amy, we arrived back in Marrakech. Chris was very sick by the time we got back and unfortunately this was not a 24 hour thing. It meant he missed out on the trip to the Cascades du Ouzoud (waterfalls) the next day which was unlucky. Our last night in Marrakech involved eating in the square, roaming through the souks (markets) and inevitably being ripped off buying things (ok maybe that was just me being ripped off buying fruit and nuts!)

Next stop was the coastal town of Essouira. Loved it there, a big beach, loads of markets, super hot weather and a cool vibe about it. We could have spent a lot of time here chilling out. Chris managed to get a quick surf in and we wandered along to the end of the beach to visit the ruins of the Castle in the Sand which inspired the song by Jimi Hendrix.

Reluctantly we left Essouira and caught a train to Meknes. It was pretty quiet here but it was a good place to get a grand taxi (always a Mercedes Benz) to visit the ancient roman ruins of Volubilis and the town of Moulay Idriss which is apparently where Islam was first founded in Morocco.

The Riad (traditional Moroccan house) we were staying in was owned by a university professor and luckily for us that night he was putting on a dinner party with music for other professors and students and we were invited. The smell coming from the kitchen quickly persuaded us and it was a really interesting night. The food was very good, especially the pastilles which are traditionally made with pigeon but we this time were made with chicken. They look like samoas but are sweet and the chicken is mixed with almonds and you dip them in cinnamon and icing sugar. Absolutely divine, I am currently on the hunt for a recipe. Second course was whole chickens that had been salted overnight then baked with some delicious sauce. We were careful not to rip into the chickens with our left hand being in a Muslim country!

Our last stop in Morocco was Fes and we had been warned it would be chaos and we would be hassled non stop. I don’t know if it was because we were a group of 4 but we didn’t seem to be bothered too much? Despite this the old medina is a complicated network of streets so we opted to get a guide to show us all the good bits. No visit to Fes is complete without going to see the tanneries where they still dye the leather in the traditional style. In order to get a good view you have to get invited into a tannery shop so you can get onto a terrace. They give you a sprig of fresh mint to sniff to mask the hideous smell wafting up. It did seem a little voyeuristic to be standing above looking down on these workers knee deep in various substances with our little sprig of mint to stop the smell. It is hard to believe that people still work in these conditions to be honest.

So our trip to Morocco was full of interesting sights, smells, food, animals, toilets (for some of us) and experiences. It is a fascinating country where people seem to get on with their lives in a very traditional way. The landscape is mixed with lush green farms, high mountains with snow, beaches, old cities and expansive deserts. It was not uncommon to have to give way to a donkey carting various loads in the main streets but then to drive past a McDonalds 5 mins later. The separation from the old and new towns is very distinct, even with the dress. Women tend to be fully covered in the old town and rarely seen, whereas in the new towns they are dressed in more of a western style. We definitely came away more enlightened and happy we had the chance to visit.