Morocco Day 15

Seeing as how it was our final day in Morocco, we got to sleep in a bit. However since we have had lots of early mornings, we actually woke up before our alarm. We had set it in order to eat the delicious, free hotel breakfast.

Marrakech was HOT when we set our at 11 AM on foot and it got hotter at the day progressed. We headed to the square to get a few forgotten presents and enjoy the ambience of the place one more time.

On the way there, we passed an artisan’s market and went in to have a look around. There was a large variety of nice things and the prices were fixed which is good for someone like me.

We continued on to the square for something cold to drink and up to a terrace overlooking everything. At that time of day there is a lot of people but nothing like the evening crowds. The hundred plus food stalls literally set up and take down every single night and the place looks bare without them.

This view cracks me up - Moroccans love their satellite TV!

I wanted more tea and spices so we went in search of a herbalist souk where they sell everything. We got what we wanted at good prices and our salesman even threw in some freebies!

The hot temps were really baking us so we went back to the terrace for ice cream, which they didn’t have earlier. We decided to go back to the artisan mall for some nice calligraphy art and stopped for a bite to eat at the same cafe we were at with Abdellah many days ago. The chicken schwarma with fries was so good, Mike had 2.

We passsed by this table out in the square. Dentist? Denturist? No idea and I didn't want to stop by and ask!!

As we headed back to our hotel I took a photo of a temperature sign on the street. At 3PM it said 36C! We collected our luggage and there was a van all ready to take us to the airport. When I tried to pay, the driver said it was covered. I attempted to clarify the situation several times but he was insistent that we were good. Who was I to argue?

The Marrakesh airport is small but spacious with lots of cool shops. Fortunately (unfortunately?) I had no room and no money for anything else. I just bought food for the plane and found a lovely market area with soft seats and nice music to listen to while we waited. 

The flight was relatively on time and we arrived in Amsterdam early. Unfortunately, my luggage went on to Calgary although I had asked to be able to pick it up in Holland. By the time we found out what was going on, it was late (after 1AM) and the hotel shuttle was no longer running. We arrived by cab, got our small room and some needed zzzzs. The next day we had a great flight back home with KLM.

It's been an amazing trip! Now it's time to sort through my 5,000+ photos and relive the memories! 

Morocco Day 14

Breakfast on the terrace was delicious again, but oh so windy and cool.

We left Essaouira at about 9 AM for the 3 hour drive to Marrakech. We have 2 vans today instead of our beautiful large bus.

Once we arrived in town we made a relatively short stop at the Menara Gardens. It is a place a lot of people like to come with their families. The focal point is a lovely pavilion with a large man-made lake to the side. The reflection of the building in the lake is quite beautiful.

You can see the Koutoubia Mosque in the distance. No building in the city of Marrakech is allowed to be taller than the mosque.

After that, it was lunch time and we ate chicken pastille on the terrace at a nice restaurant near the square.

Our next stop was the famous Marjorelle Gardens. Designed by Yves St. Laurent, it is a beautiful respite from the hectic activity of Marrakech. The temperature here today is considerably different from Essaouira – 37 C and sunny. Thank goodness for the shade of the wonderful bamboo trees in the gardens!

There are many plants in pots of yellow, orange and the most heavenly shade of blue you ever saw!

There are also a lot of cacti growing. I enjoyed photographing not only the flowers, but lines, angles, shadows, and close-ups.

That was all the touring on the agenda today and we headed back to the same hotel we were in the last time. I tried to check in for our flights tomorrow but the booking reservation number isn’t working for some strange reason. Oh well! It’s snowing and cold back home. What’s the rush? Haha!

Abdellah took us for our last supper together as a group down many roads and alleyways.

We were amazed at the splendor inside the restaurant.

The service was fantastic, as were the many courses of food served for us.

There was even a belly dancer who convinced a few of the group to join her! Oh how I wish I could dance like her.

We had good conversation, a few speeches and promises to keep in touch.

It’s been a wonderful two weeks with a great group and leader!!!

Morocco Day 5

The day in Marrakech started with a local guide in addition to Abdullah. We toured the Koutoubia Minaret with Mohammed, who is also a Berber.

Then we explored the historical sites of the Palais Bahia, as well as the Palais Badi. The grounds were large in area and some restoration has been taken place.

We got on the bus again and got a ride to the medina in the old quarter where we toured the alleys of the bustling souks. There were many interesting wares displayed and the women were anxious to shop. Just like Fes, we saw the various sections such as metal smith work, lanterns, shoes, leather goods, fabrics, etc.

One of the big differences between the two cities was that Marrakech is more touristy and modern. Instead of people yelling “Balag” to announce oncoming donkeys, a horn beep signalled the approach of small motorcycles. Sometimes we even saw women driving them – unheard of in Fes.

In the souks, we made a stop to visit the Medresa Ben Youssef. It wasn’t as peaceful as the one in Fes either, but filled with small and large groups of tourists. This made people-free photos quite difficult but I did what I could.

We would have dearly loved a break for water/coffee/Coca Cola and the chance to give our feet a rest but we continued on through the maze. Besides, we wouldn’t have been able to find our way out very easily anyway at that point!

Our next stop was at the spice/herbalist store. We were shown many different types of spices, herbs and concoctions to cure a multitude of ailments and we got the chance to smell everything.  There were cures for snoring, cold sores, bronchial congestion, psoriasis, headaches, constipation, weight loss, and sleeplessness to name a few. I bought a blend of 35 spices and herbs for cooking. The herbalist said it was for ‘people who don’t know how to cook – with this blend, it’s all done for you.” I also bought some mint tea of course. I was hoping it was like the Egyptian tea I got there, but it’s different. Anyway, mint is good!

Finally it was lunch time and I was ready to kill for a Coke Zero! Abdullah took us to a place he knew and it was good. I had a chicken shwarma platter and the meat was very delicious. After we were done, he let us loose for the rest of the day!

Mike and I headed over to the souks to start shopping for the things on our ‘list’. Our first attempt at negotiations didn’t go all that well, or so we thought. We picked up some silk table runners at what we first thought was an exorbitant price. But later we realized that we got pretty good quality for that price. Mike found a knife he liked. I found some Moroccan lanterns. Mike made a pretty good deal on a Berber mask and I bought some belly dancing coin belts. The way to get the best price is to walk away when they don’t like your offer. If you really want it, you throw out a low price, then they counter, and you counter, etc. etc. until you are both happy.

We were completely exhausted and headed to find refreshment of some type. We got a street table with a view of the goings on and ordered a juice and an ice cream sundae type of dish. Mine was chocolate and Mike’s was a most delicious pink kind of IC.

After that we were refreshed and Mike wanted to head out again to see the sun set and the craziness that is the square. Before I knew it, he had a snake wrapped around his neck and the owner was telling me to take a photo of him. The snake charmer also wanted to place one on me, several times in fact, and didn’t seem to comprehend that “No!” meant “NO WAY!!!!!”!

 We headed back towards the shopping area but didn’t want to enter the souks at night. Finding your way around in the daytime is bad enough.

Although we weren’t too hungry, I figured we should eat some kind of supper besides ice cream so we sat down at one of the long tables like we ate at last night. We ordered salad and pastilla. The salad and bread were good. The pastilla was nothing like what we had in Fes. I was short of cash (or so I thought) so we decided to walk back to the hotel even though my feet were screaming. Besides which, it was just as crowded as last night and getting a cab would have been impossible anyway.

I will have NO trouble sleeping tonight!!!