Morrocking it

It has been a while since I have graced the internet with my writing, so i have a lot to go through. Since my last update my family and I left Barcelona and took a flight into Morocco. After a dodgy landing in a cross wind we were in yet another country.

Mom had organised for us to be met by a driver from the tour company we had organised the Morocco leg with, and in hindsight this turned out to be a very good decision. Morocco, and Marrakesh in particular (the city we landed in) has tendency toward large numbers of tight, crowded alleyways guaranteed to make the average tourist lost. I do not believe that we would ever have found the Riad that we were staying in without them. Resembling a flat roofed 3 story apartment with a big rectangle cut out of the middle to form a court yard, Riads are the most common type of hotel/motel/guest house to be found in Morocco. We did discover, however, that the hotel staff had misunderstood our booking slightly, and the room my brother and I were to share only had a large queen sized bed in it... At least the pillows were fairly substantial and prevented William from rolling onto me in his sleep. The Riad staff did sort this out before the next night though.

Our first full day in Marrakesh involved a foot tour through the alleyways and markets that made up the city with a 20 something year old tour guide named Jamal. We wove our way through spice shops, littered alley ways and exquisite artisian show rooms as part of our tour. William even got to see snake charmers in action and we both had snakes put around our necks, fulfilling one of the categories on his "holiday Bucket List".

The second day we did something that I think has been the highlight of the trip so far. When mom and dad were planning our trip over seas, they decided NO MOUNTAIN BIKING for a change of pace for our travels. However, in the end we just couldn't resist going for a ride in the majestic Atlas Mountains. Under the supervision and guidance of local company Argan Extreme Adventures, who are also the local Giant importers, we went for a guided tour through the mountains. Steep climbs at altitude of over 1000m in 40C heat meant we went through water like a bucket that has been dealt to with a nice big axe. However, the rocky, fast descents through Berber villages were worth the climb. Hicham, our guide, and Cj, our driver from Argan were great and if you happen to be in the area I would reccomend them.

One of our break through moments in Marrakesh was with the jack of all trades at our Riad named Hazma. Hazma lives in a tiny room under the stairs of the Riad that lead to mom nick naming him Harry Potter... he was genuinely enthusiastic, very friendly and a good cook to boot; always willing to help out. However, his english was very broken; it was hard to communicate with him. That is, until I found out that he spoke fluent spanish, and not the catalan dialect i struggled to understand in Barcelona. Pretty quickly I could translate everything he said and we were able to happily talk to him. One of the highlighting moments of the trip.

The days following were quite a rush. We spent two of them with another driver, Khaled, working our way up the country through gorges, mountains and even a local wedding. We visited a remote "Kasbah" which is the local equivalent of a small palace and met a Berber nomade named Ali who showed us around. An absolute character; after all, how many nomads would you expect to break out singing "Rock the kasbah" as they show you the view...

Back on the road again, we got to fulfill another one of William's "Bucket List" items; we took an overnight camel trek in the gigantic Desert Dunes of Erg Chebi. Sleeping under a Super Moon in the desert is a surreal experience that I will remember for a long time, along with learning to play the bongos.

Our last stop in Morocco was Fes. What came first; the city or the hat? Apparently, the hat, and although I really wanted to buy one we had no way of preventing it from being crushed in my pack so it had to pass. I did however earn the nick name "Hagglemeister" from my family after managing to argue 50% of the price off  an ornamental dagger. Have YOU heard of the Hagglemeister???

Fes was a much cleaner city than Marrakesh, and harder to get lost in. However, it was always a relief to return to the Riad with air conditioned rooms in the 45C heat. The takings? 2 ornamental daggers (one for me, one for william), A large carpet, and a lot of fabric that mom and dad have plans for.

The final day in Morocco was a rushed one; up early to catch a train to the coat of the country for a passage to Spain. We travelled first class (which in Morocco means you don't have to share your seat with a goat and a chicken) and soon found ourselves at the coast, with the sea breeze keeping the temperature at a lovely 25C. However, this same sea breeze meant that there were rather large waves during the ferry crossing to spain; I have never heard so many people be sea sick simultaneously. I, who usually does not succumb to sea sickness, came very close to joining the crescendo too. Thankfully the trip was only an hour and a half.

My summary of Morocco runs like this:
GOOD
The people here are genuinely lovely and happy to help out. With one exception, all off our guides were engaging ad  brilliant.
The scenery is a huge change to what we are used to, and large parts of the country are quite beautiful in their own way.
Mountain biking.

BAD
Due to water quality almost guaranteeing some kind of intestinal parasite, you have to buy bottled water for every thing.
The Food. It tastes good, but the only bloody thing they seem to serve is Chicken Tagine! Also, the portions are ALWAYS three course meals with each course being enough to feed several people as an outright meal. Those portions are ridiculous...

So, we are now in Spain again, this time the southern region of Andalucia. We are slowly working our way north and are currently in the village of Ronda. Stay tuned!

Robin