Back From Morocco

My grandmother always told me that if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all. That possibly explains my lack of posts since my return from Morocco almost 2 weeks ago.

I spent 8 days in Morocco, 5 days in Marrakech and 3 days in Fes. I've been thinking of what nice things I can say about the country and my trip. Thinking, thinking, thinking...

I shouldn't be so harsh, the main reason I had such a bad time was that I became very ill in Fes. I had the worst food poisoning of my life. The pain was excruciating and for the last 2 weeks I have been struggling to get over it. I have never felt so weak. I haven't even had the energy to go and check the mail. It's been tough.

Anyway, on to the good stuff...

Orange Juice - We were definitely in Morocco at the right time. Everywhere you walked you could smell orange blossoms and there was fruit on all the trees. The oranges were picked and squeezed the same day. I've never tasted orange juice so good.

Berber Whisky - Everywhere you went you were offered mint tea and it was delicious.

The Weather - Sun and clear skies every day. What more could you ask for?

The Food - When I wasn't being poisoned, the food was amazing. Fresh, delicious and huge portions. After starting with a Moroccan salad, I was always too full to finish my main course or either lamb tagine, couscous, or chicken brochettes.

The People - Always smiling and very friendly.

The Tanneries - I found visiting the tanneries in Fes to be really interesting. The smell is horrendous and I feel sorry for the poor people working in them but it's an amazing job they do.

A Couple of Villages - We got a taxi from Marrakech to Fes and along the way stopped at a couple of villages which were so beautiful. One, in the Middle Atlas, was just like a German or Swiss village, with the same style of buildings. That was unexpected.

Monkeys - During our drive through the mountains we stopped at a place were you can feed wild monkeys. That was a first for me. Children and animals always seem to hate F (I know I should be worried by that) and one monkey saw him, ran up to him, and took a swipe at him. He has a nice infected scratch to prove it.

I never listen to my grandmother so here comes the bad things...

The Food - I almost died from food poisoning (if you didn't pick up on that). I thought I'd try the speciality of Fes - Pastillas (sp?). It was delicious (lol) but thankfully I was too full to eat it all and only had a third of it.  I wasn't the only one to get sick, F was too and so were some other people I met. As someone mentioned to me, my stomach isn't up to African standards.

The People - Always smiling and very friendly but with their hand out at the end. Friendliness comes with a price tag it seems.

The Prices - Bloody hell it was expensive! I thought it was going to be cheap. Restaurants weren't much cheaper than Paris, especially in Marrakech. I know I was eating in tourist areas but in Marrakech there is no where else to go. F bought a leather jacket and I got a bedspread for my mother. Neither were cheap but the quality is great.

The Medina - I love walking around the old streets in cities, like in the old city in Montpellier or Nice. That was one of the main things I was looking forward to doing. To my surprise, there isn't much to see in the Medina aside from the souks and as a non-shopper, that was of little interest to me.

The Mountains - Although the Atlas Mountains are beautiful, when we went hiking to see some waterfalls, the hiking trail was full of cafes and shops trying to sell all their crafts. Not exactly the beautiful walk I had in mind. Then at the top of the hill we had to go up a 3 metre vertical climb with no safety protection! I'm kinda scared of heights and with my wet and slippery Converse shoes on, it wasn't a fun experience. If the guide wasn't holding on to me I wouldn't be here to tell the story.

The Rich/Poor Divide - In Fes we met a young guy who became our guide. He showed us his house in the Medina and it was just a room in a crumbling building (which foreigners were trying to buy to make it into an upmarket Riad). He lived there with his mother and 3 siblings. They shared a bathroom and kitchen facilities with the other families in the building. The flooring was concrete and they didn't have a door to their room, just a curtain.

Then you see the mansions and golf course and the beautiful Riads where foreigners stay (including us) and it's just sad. Most people are only earing 5 or 10 euros per day and yet the king has a massive palace in every city.