Morocco

The first word that comes to mind about Marrakesh is Wow!

The place is amazing. I admit that I was a little apprehensive about going there from some of the stories that I had heard. "You'll be hasselled more than you have been in your life, don't go there with a blonde girl becuase she will get hasselled." Etc.... But it was great. The people are friendly, the food teriffic and the atmoshpere is buzzing. We stayed in a beatuiful Riad ( a courtyard home converted to a hotel) that had a lovely atmosphere, great staff and even had a plunge pool to cool us down from the Moroccan heat.

Above: Photos of the Riad we stayed in.

We (Em , me Tim and Traci) spent the days wandering through the souks (a maze of alleyways filled with local goods for sale) and eating as much local food as we could.

The souks and some of the small markets.

I had heard from a few people that the food in Morocco was not all that good, I have no idea where they had eaten but the food is incredible. Mildly spice meats and vegetables cook in tajine's, ( a kind of clay oven that is left on coals to cook for hours until the meat falls apart). Great skewers, squid and fish, cous cous, salads and excellent olives all at real cheap prices. From the early evening in the main square of Marrakesh the local guys set up huge food stalls selling all of the above as they try and lure you into their stall with a friendly "G'Day mate" or some other typicle aussie saying.

Culinarey delights for every one and yes we did eat one of those heads.

As the sun sets the Square really comes alive. In the day you can stroll around it with ease and a lack of crowds but come night time and it is as Em says "Like being at the big Day Out." People every where. Snake charmers, story tellers, you name you'll probably see it in the square.

Above the square in the day and at night below.

Some of the sights in and around the square.

To get out of the city we decided to hire a car. Tim Didn't have his licence on him so the driving was left up to me. Fun! Well actually it was, once out side the city the roads open up to some beautiful landscapes, though the further you go the worse the actual roads get, but we made it all the way to Essaouira and back which was good news to us. Essaouira is only 175km from Marrakesh but it took us 3 hours to get there. It is a lovely coastal town full of colour and ambiance. We had a quick look around, ate a pizza and pretty much had to head back before it got too dark. The drive back was easy until we got into the city again. Push bikes, motor bikes, cars, pedestrians, donkies, all comming at you from any and every direction without warning. It took me an hour to come off my adrenalin rush! Our Riad manager explained Moroccan driving to me as this: " In Morrocco there are no laws on the road, we drive by instinct". Now there´s a statement!

Views from our drive to Essa wera.

The four of us decided to head to the new city for a night out, we walked into one restuarant but decided against it due to it being the type of food that we could get anywhere in the world. We were wondering around looking for local food and stumbled upon one of Marrakesh's finest restaurants. Pretty much bookings only, quite posh. So we walked in, in our board shorts and flip flops and some how managed to get a table. The place was beautiful. As was the food. We had a feast of different tajines, cous cous and about 15 different types of Moroccan salads accompanied by a bottle of red. All of which cost us about fifty Euros between us. Not bad for a flash place.

All this and wine for 50 Euros.

After a few more days it was time to say goodbye to Tim and Traci and then a day or two after we too left. We took with us very fond memories of Morocco and Marakesh and recommend it to anyone.