DAY 46 MARRAKESH- CASABLANCA

We had a later start today, on the bus at 9am for the trip to Casablanca which was only 4 hours or so. An easy trip which we all enjoyed as it is our last full day together.

Graemes tummy is feeling a little better although he isnt really eating much but at least the fever is gone. Pretty much everyone has had at least an upset stomach for much of the trip, but I think that is par for the course in Morocco and while it makes you very sanitary conscious, it isnt enough to put us off.

We went to the medina at 3pm when it all re-opened so we could get some of that much talked about shopping done. Had a good time haggling and feel like I got slightly ripped off once, but got a reallly great buy on an outfit that has the tradidional long embroided top and pants for § 20 nz: Graeme got several jallaba- the long Moroccan robes and wore one to dinner. We are going to hang them on the wall at home. Cannot imagine what these would cost at home but we paid §40 and §30 so very cheap here!

Then back to our hotel- the sheraton where lots of princely looking people are staying! for a rest before dinner. Had our farewell meal and said goodbye to Abdul and Razak our driver- they have both been so excellent, the best we have ever had on a tour. Then a group of us sat in the bar and talked, listening to 2 ladies sing abba and 70s country songs.
We have really enjoyed the people on this tour, a fairly quiet but very civilised group of people. We especially enjoyed the company of Rick amd Adrienne from Canada, who have really changed our experience of Canadians. They would do anything for you and we enjoyed a few laughs!

On a whole in Morocco-most people speak arab, french and english here so it hasnt been that hard to communicate which is great. Our impressions of this countrye is that it is one that is seeing huge growth at a time where there is worldwide economic recession. It is awash with smells and filth but also has an enchantment to it. Certainly wouldnt want a life with fruit and veges though where the risk of stomach upsets is an everyday thing to foreigners. But it also has the most mind blowing cultural sights and natural wonders like the Atlas mountains and the Sahara desert. Eight days but just about right for a visit too I think.

Tomorrow Abdul has arranged for us to keep our room until 1pm as we dont leave until 1.30pm, which is great. Rick and Adrienne dont leave until late either so we will go for a last walk around Casablanca together before heading to the airport.

Note the motorbike pics today- the one of the family, we have seen Mum, Dad and 2 kids on a bike also! I see that Dad is the only one wearing a helmet- guess whose life he values the most?

The other pic of the 2 men on the scooter- that is the police!! It is very rare to see any of the public wearing helmets and since the road rules are largely (and totally) ignored, it is amazing we only saw one accident in Morocco!

DAY 45 MARRAKESH

A quiet day today as we didnt do the optional first thing this morning, so just had to be at the bus at 9.45am to go to the medina. But Graeme wasnt feeling too hot with his tummy and was breaking out in sweats so we went back to the hotel rather than shop in the souk today.

He crashed out in bed and I later went to the pool and had a swim, then a very quiet afternoon. Tomorrow we go back to Casablanca for our last full day on tour. Abdul our tour director has been so great- by far the best we have ever had, he cares so much for everyone, looks after you like a mother hen and wants you to love his country as much as he does!

DAY 44 OUARZAZATE – MARRAKESH

We reluctantly left the gorgeous hotel this morning but were in for a more comfortable day on the bus as, moving back by the rotation we got to the section where you have a ridiculous amount of leg room- after 2 days of no more room than on the Trafalgar buses. It seems stupid that the seats on the left had side of the bus have such different amounts of room when they are all on sliders that look like they can be moved if you had the right tools!

We had a very windy trip today with amazing views right through the high atlas mountains and OMG they were high! That took about 4 hours along the only road that takes you to Marrakesh. In winter the snow here is about 5 foot deep and there are red and yellow markers lining the road to mark where it is- hard to believe only 3 months before when we are all hot as, outside!

Abdul is still telling everyone to eat just cooked food as another of the group is sick, an older lady was vomiting today, felt sorry for her having to endure the winding road when she was feeling so ill. Lots of people have had diarrhoea but think it is more from the different food rather than a bug, as people mainly have jippy tummies rather than an obvious food poisoning or bacteria caused.

Arrived at the hotel- another really nice one, and after lunch we were back on the bus to souk where the markets are. It is oppressively hot and sticky here and got to 36C on our way back. We decided to walk to the hotel with another couple rather than wait while they took as us to the obligatory silver shop that wasn’t very cheap. Then into the pool to cool off.

Abdul then took us to the medina by night- where it comes alive with sights and sounds and smells- it was overwhelming really there was so much going on and so many people who come out every night to socialise! Snake charmers, musicians and poor monkeys on leads, there for you to pay for a picture with them. The men want money for everything. Then on to the optional meal at a flash place where we had all the different dishes and watched the entertainment of a fire eater, acrobat- who did amazing things with his body! And belly dancers. Yes Graeme ended up again!

When we were leaving all these black Mercedes arrived with drivers and police and we were like hmmmm whats happening? It turned out to be a international delegation for something or other, coming to the show we had just had. Graeme tried to tell us all that it was Gaddafi!

Then all into bed- are feeling a bit tired now!

DAY 43 ERFOUD – OUARZAZATE

Up and at ‘em at 6.15am today, feeling a little worse for wear after yesterdays long day and rough drive but ok once everyone was up and going!
We hit the road and drove for a couple of hours to the Todra gorge, which has towering rocks in a long skinny canyon with a clean river running through. The scenery outside is still eye popping at times, then stretches of flat rocky ground as far as you can see.

But today we saw lots of Kasbah’s (“Rock the Kasbah, rock the Kasbah”) which are fortified castles/ houses- originally built to protect its inhabitants. This is called the road of a thousand Kasbahs as many have just been deserted and left standing after hundreds of years of its communities living there. They apparently move on and build a new one when the old one begins to crumble, so they line the roadsides like ghost towns (with satellite dishes??!!)

Stopped at a fantastic hotel for another included lunch, sitting next to the pool that tortured you as it was hot and we didnt have time (or togs) to swim in! We were also taken into a traditional tent for a mint tea ceremony, which is the national drink here- very strong! Then back on the bus until we reached the final destination – of which it is impossible to pronounce and involves a lot of phlegmy sounds!!

Abdul took us into another Kasbah that is inhabited and we looked around and tried a bit of the tortilla like bread the woman made for us. Felt a bit like we were invading their homes but know they need the money, therefore let us in??

Down the road to the hotel Le Berbere Palace- SO flash! The pool area looks like a 5 star resort, with day beds and rattan furniture and a humongous pool. Bummer we come in late and move on early so cant partake, but nice to look at.

Same routine – dinner, internet and bed-still really enjoying it though. This crowd are pretty good, less Australians than previously, and some really nice Canadians and Americans. Of course we have several moaners with loud voices- female this time but we just give them a name like “Fog Horn Alice (Springs)! But the slightly younger age has been good too, no old old biddies really- a few single older women but at least they aren’t too doddery (how do you spell that?)
Sat and had heaps of laughs today with Maureen a Writer and Nurse from New York- we have the exact same sense of humour, so spent an hour or so having quite a few laughs about the personalities you meet on tour.

DAY 42 FES – ERFOUD

Up early, early today as we needed to be in the Sahara for sunset and it’s a wee way- left by 6.15am!! Drove for 9 hours with a nice stop for an included lunch in a hotel and a few “pee pee” stops as Abdula calls them- he is so funny!

Drove through the Atlas mountains where the temp went down to 8 C, it had huge plateaus and equally huge mountain ranges- some barren and rocky others in an oasis, all lush and green. Its pretty amazing to the eye. We ended up taking over 400 photos today so there was plenty to see!

We stopped on the way in a little shanty town, where they were cooking food in taugenes, but also goats and cows with their throats cut, hanging up in the halal way- eeuu, they look better when they are skinned and just meat!!! There were flies for Africa and we certainly would never eat anything there but a cool experience to see

There is an excited fervour in the air as we neared Erfoud as the Moroccans beloved King Mohammed was about half an hour behind us. All the men were dressed in their best, wearing their fez’s and children lined the streets with flags. It was so funny when I waved out of the bus window and all the kids started cheering and waving madly back- then I thought geez I hope they don’t think we are part of the official entourage as they knew he was due!!!!

We arrived at the hotel at 3pm and straight out to the 4 x 4 wheel jeeps. Of course we managed to get the “suicide driver’! who wanted to beat all the others and veered off the road and took off through the desert alone. One word for him- m.a.n.i.a.c.! We were like corks bobbing around as he hit ruts and bumps, then he would swerve it left and right at 100kms. Anyhow we got there in one piece and out to the camels. You had the choice to ride solo or together, so got one together and we were off with a handler with our beautiful gray camel with long, long eyelashes

Up the dunes and it was gorgeous watching the desert as the light changed and all the tracks in the sand looked freaky. When we got to the top, we dismounted and sat on the top of a ridge and watched the sun go down. Really great in the still and quiet. One of the handlers, a teenage boy came along and put the traditional dress on us and wound the scarves in the way they wear them. It actually cooled me down strangely- since it was covering your whole head. He obviously loved technology as he asked for our camera and video and took heaps of pics of us, then went and found a scarab beetle and showed us- reminded me of the ones in the movie ‘The Mummy” thank goodness these ones don’t eat you like those!

All the different shades and hues of the desert sky changed to an orange glow as the sun went down and after- it was quite eerie and surreal…… So this is one big tick off Graeme’s bucket list and he is well happy with the experience he came here for.

We travelled back in the 4x4’s albeit more slowly this time as Abdul had a word in the grumpy drivers ear, and back to the hotel. Had to go straight in for dinner, then showers to get all the dust off from the dessert. Funny, everyones showers are badly designed – the tile surround on the bath is lower than the bathtub so when the shower is on- it pours like a water fun park around the tiles and all over the floor, flooding the room. There was water running out of the front doors of some of the rooms! The hotel being made out of mud and straw like american style adobe- don’t think they should leave it or all the rooms will rot!!!!

The food is certainly a little different and we are under strict instructions not to eat or drink the coffee, tea (the water) or salad and cut fruit or fish- So we are all getting thinner lol! Apparently his last tour, Abdul had 20 of the group come down with diarrhoea so he is being very careful with us. The most unusual food we have had was a filo like pie that was very hard to cut and had meat and savoury spices inside and icing sugar and cinnamon on top- odd flavours in the same mouthful but a good experience to try

DAY 41- FES

Stayed in Fes again today (Its Fez for the hat and Fes ('Fess') for the city) and had a great day.

We started out by going to the Medina this morning, which literally translates to the Old City. People who live in these massive cities dont venture out and life is much as it was 1300 years ago when it was built. There are no cars only donkeys and carts.

We had local tour guides take us in in 2 smaller groups and just as well as it is so, so narrow compared to the grand bazaar in Istanbul. It is very skinny and even though the shops are really all shacks, you can only glimpse the sky. The smells are something else again. We started in the food market and OMG even me with a nurses stomach, felt squiffy as the pungent smells from everything you can imagine wafting through the alleyways! Saw live chickens stuffed into a cage on top of each other, some dying- didnt like that and got Graeme to delete the photo he took as it was awful to see.

Other than that you get your head around the donkeys being laden with supplies and they all have shoes on which at least is a plus. They yell "ballack ballack" as they come through meaning, 'attention,out of the way', as there is no room for people and donkeys at the same time. We were taken to the tannery to see the dyeing process of the leather- soaked in ammonia and urine (whose I do not know?!) and they gave us fresh mint leaves to sniff!

Then on to a carpet store and served fresh mint tea with sugar. Even though it was a tourist set up for sure, it was very interesting and of course we liked the traditional tribal antique carpets- woo- he, but at around $10,000 each, I think thats a no! But they were huge!

Then on to the caftans and olther muslims silks and cottons- gorgeous but too expensive and heavy to bring back so had to sit on our hands or we would have been walking home!

After 3 hours of the store owners being constantly in everyones face, it was good to go- although a great experience and Graeme got his Fez hat that he wanted from Fes! The guide bought it cheaper saying it was for himself then Graeme gave him the 5 euro for it! There were much dearer ones too I think....

Back to the hotel for lunch and then we did an optional to a small town where the Berber people still live in caves. The host - around 50 years old still lives in the cave he was born in. Amazing way of life and the older woman is his mother in law, who recently lost her husband but they all band together and care for each other.
She doesnt know how old she is and is always smiling. She let us take lots of photos which is great as some muslims wont let you- its a bit hit and miss.

A really amazing day of seeing things you will never see elsewhere! Lots of pics today cos there were so many amazing sights! Tomorrow we have to be up at 4.45am as we have a long day of travel and are riding the camels at sunset on the Sahara, so may not be able to post for a couple of days but will get some good photos Im sure!