MOROCCO, AFRICA!

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(just apologizing for the extremely late blog entries i haven't had enough internet to catch up on all the travels! )

On our way to AFRICA!!! We spent the day in athens at the airport after arriving early morning so we decided to get comfy and set up our sleeping bags and a movie in the airport in the floor. About 30 minutes into our movie a airport staff came up to us and told us we were laying in the middle of the line for check in and that there were qeues forming around us. we were so engrossed in our movie we hadn't realised!!! we sheepishly relocated after a couple of glares from the people waiting in the line. We were going to explore athens but the buses were so expensive to get out of the airport so we stayed there. We were all so starving but couldn't afford the food in the airport so we rationed ourselves to a sandwhich but when we saw people throwing out all the food we got so jealous and almost helped our selves haha! this is what happens when your on a budget like mine! we got to milan for another stopover and spent the night sleeping here at the airport. I had my first pasta in italy... I was so upset i paid 5 euro for what looked like an amazing tortellini but they pulled out a microwave pasta and chucked it in the microwave - right in front of my eyes! I couldn't believe it! Needless to say was not the best pasta i have tasted but was so hungry it didn't seem to make a difference! We found comfy benches to sleep on and jammed our luggage in with us with seats etc.

Drama when i woke up my laptop was gone, we had no idea how it had been taken it was hidden and right by my face where i was sleeping but someone must have seen me using it and hiding it and somehow snuck through and took it. I couldnt believe it! At least i had all my photos on my facebook and blog so thats the most important part! but still upsetting also scary that someone was that close and i didnt wake up! so the morning was spent in the police station trying to speak spanish and english to the italians and finally i got a report for insurance.

After a rough day WELCOME TO AFRICA!!! we arrived in morocco totally unsure of what to expect but were met by our topdeck leader (we went on a 10 day guided tour around morocco made for youths) He then told us there was only 4 of us in the group- which we were really gutted about but thankfully the other girl, Bobby was so lovely and we all got on so well instantly! Our host gave us a bit of information about morocco and proposed we all be his 4 wives- legal here!!!

We headed to supermarket and it was sooo cheap so we had a mini feast and went back to the hotel (yes a hotel - pool and all) and slept - so exhausted after our travels.
Woke up the next morning to a huge moroccan breakfast consiting of pasteries and bread- we try to food store but it never works! We keep attempting anyways!

Heading into marakesh in a horse and carriage ride through the city, everything just looked so different, so many of the buildings looked like big sandcastles and there were palm trees everywhere. We went into musuems and palaces and was so good to have a guide with us as we learnt so much about the customs and traditions here. Huge stalk nests dotted the rooftops and they swooned down on unsuspecting victims in the street. It was like time had stopped here, horses, carts and donkeys were still viable forms of transport and the shops were more than antique.

We headed to lunch, it was so expensive but so worth it, it was amazing! we shared a menu of the day:
small mixed salads, olives, eggplant metzis etc complete with hot fresh bread
vegetable and chicken cous cous
and then a lamb tagine with dates and almonds, it was sooo amazing! most memorable food so far ! then they bought out a huge plate of fresh fruit and melons and biscuits tea and coconut sweets!

After lunch we went to a moroccan pharmacy. They dont seem to use commercial pharamaceuticals everything was all natural different herbs/ minerals for each problem. Even a barklike toothpaste, which i bought i haven't been brave enough to use yet! but they had so many natural alternatives it was amazing! i had to control myself so much, i wanted everything but ended up with lipstick made out of poppy powder and all you do is add water to powder in a small tagine shaped bowl and it turns bright red and stays really well, also agran oil, this grows only in morocco and supposedly the goats climb up the trees and eat the fruit and spit out the argan sead then this is crushed to make the oil. It was really cheap but is becoming a demanded product in the western world so thought i better buy some!

The guide then left and we headed around the square. I turned around to find a snake put around my neck, needless to say i was freaking out, but the grossest part was that it was really limp and you could tell it had been drugged. I was telling the man to take it off while my friends were taking photos and once he was convinced we had taken photos. He took it off and demanded money when we refused they got really aggressive and being 4 18 year old girls in morocco we decided to just give him some money.There were also people with monkeys and the monkeys were chained and doing back flips- it was horrible ! Tourists were all standing there taking photos and hence giving money, so sad this animal cruelty (greece + morocco) is all fed by tourists! Without us it wouldn't be profitable.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the market streets, they all had amazing things but as soon as you looked interested in their shop they would pounce and all plead with you to come into the shop and try to bargain, we got soo sick of being hassled and decided to head back to the hotel. Young people offered to show us back to the main road as we had got a little bit lost, we chatted away and then when we got in a little alley close to the main road they demanded money for taking us there! We refused and just walked really fast to where people were! we couldn't believe it compared to turkey, as the people there were so amazing and genuinely wanted you to have a great time in their country. I guess its just a different mentality.

We headed back to cool off in the pool, it was so small and right in front of the glass doors to the entrance so everyone was watching us, felt a bit exposed when you saw the woman in the traditional dress.

We met our actual guide called Yunes, he seemed nice but after half an hour he just started to bitch about all the other tours, bitchiest man i have met haha but oh well. It was ramadan while we were there so maybe thats why. He explained the basics to us about ramdan they are not allowed to eat or drink (even water in the moroccan heat) from 4am to 7pm. Also the dates are determined by the moon and when the moon disappears Ramadan starts and when it is seen again they can stop.

The next day we headed to Casablanca one of the imperial cities to see the mosque. This was the second largest mosque in the world after a mosque in Meka.It was absolutely amazing, sorry the photos don't do it any justice! The building was constructed in order for the worshippers to be close to all elements. So it was built on the water and there were streams running down through the floor, it was all built out of cedar wood and the most intricate details the roof also opened and the light comes through on the worshippers. It was the most amazing religious building i have been in, and the more i visit the more i am amazed at different societies and countries dedication to a higher power.

Rabat was the next stop, another imperial city. The vibe here was instantly different and we could tell this was not a place you would want to be alone. Our thoughts were confirmed when our host told us that if we wanted to go anywhere even the supermarket we needed to ask him to come with us for everything. 2 South african girls were held at knife point here last year when they were on tour and thankfully there were other people on the streets who saved them.

Exploring the coastline we noticed a guy playing with a chameleon! was so cool though didn't see the color change they are renowned for. The owner of the chameleon asked if we were the guides 4 wives- in all seriousness! Shocked we were to say the least!

Our guide mentioned marriage is so expensive here, and also some of the traditions that go along with this. A man must have a house, car and good job in order to afford this. Also families usually arrange the marriages, the woman must be a virgin, also the family wait outside the bedroom for the men and woman to inspect the sheets. To an outsider the traditions here and cultures seem so degrading to woman.

Morocco is seen as a liberal muslim country and there is a large french influence, many of the teenagers wear bikinis and it is a personal choice for women to wear traditional dress or western clothes- although these are very conservative. We dressed very conservatively our whole trip as you felt the stares following you down the street.

Heading back to the hotel i found a bath in our bathroom! All you home dwellers probably won't understand the huge significance of this but i haven't had a bath for 6 months. So excited I ran the bath and went to hop in, only just glimpsing at the bath. Thankfully though as the bath was full of bright yellow water! I was so upset! It will make it so much better when I get to Nz but definitely am missing the home luxuries!

Today was Alices birthday! We jumped on her bed early morning with the crazy idea to head for a early morning run as a celebration 😊 We got a lot of stares one for the fact we were woman publically exercising and also with our shorts!

We then jumped in the van to head to Fez- the least touristic place of our tour, hence the one we were most looking forward to... On our way here we stopped to get photos and saw a large congugation on the road side and paddock, it was a traditional market and to the outsider looked like a refugee camp. Goods were sold from blankets on the ground and when we walked through it was as if we were aliens. (i would have loved to take photos but the muslim have a problem with photos being taken as they believe this effects their soles.) This market would have to be one of my favorite moments here, it was the real morocco and extremely eye opening. It was the first time our guide had taken any group in, but we suggested this formed part of the itinerary!

After lunch we visited roman ruins (in the 35 degree heat wandering around roman ruins in Morocco didn't really interest me but there were beautiful mosaic floors preserved which were beauiful 😊 )

Finally we arrived in FEZ!!! The medina in Fez is made up of over 9000 narrow cobbled streets, some so narrow the wider people have to choose a different route and the only transport is donkeys. The next day we had a guide of fez and explored the town, their were hardly any tourists anywhere! It was genuine, there were chickens alive and tied together being sold in the markets with butchers nearby in full view going about their business. Constantly there were yells to make room for the heavuly ladden donkeys coming down the thin roads- cars would be impossible here!

Shops were open little shacks and you could see people making shoes from scratch and everything else you could imagine. Strings and threads were made of cactus and died using saffron etc. It was like we had gone back in time!

Next stop, moroccan ceramic factory! A guy our age was moulding a large hunk of clay and slamming it into moulds, one after another continuously for hours, and this was his job everyday! As we were walking to the next place Bobby (our tour buddy) accidentally tripped and fell onto the clay bricks that were lined up to dry in the sun- the owners told her not to worry but she felt so bad after seeing the amount of work and stregnth to produce just one of the tiles!

Next we went to see how they made the mosaics and once again a young guy was sitting with a hammer and chisel cutting intricate designs one after another, every day, the guide was asking him to make us some but we felt so bad as he got paid by the quantity he produced but he cut us all beautiful hearts made out of moroccan clay and painted right here. Morocco or just my travels has been so eye opening to how lucky i am in everything and especially the opportunities i have and my future. I felt sad to know that someone my own age would be doing this for probably the majority of his life and never get to travel and experience the world, but on the other hand this is a skilled job and is probably highly regarded in the community. I know life isn't fair and its impossible for everyone to have equal opportunities but its just hard to accept.

We then left the ceramics factory and went to a traditional dress factory.Right in the middle of the store there was a guy on a machine and he was making scarfs and fabric, straight from string. There is a weight that goes from one side of another and this somehow threads thread through the others to make the fabric. It was amazing to see how it was done and seemed like such a time consuming experience my appreciation for the garments in the shop.

We fell in love with the kaftans but my budget didn't quite agree- i would only wear it in the dessert and maybe a dress up party - but bobby bought one and it was gorgeous!

Next the leather tannery, automatically bunches of mint were given to us for the smell and we headed up the stairs and it got stronger and stronger. From the top we could see the tannery, the use all natural colours e.g saffron for yellow. I couldn't resist i found a bag i loved - my last ever leather purchase!!

Lunchtime we were most looking forward to as chicken pastilla is the regional speciality of Fez. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! So hard to describe was a sweet pastery with chicken with spices then topped in icing sugar and cinnamon! Moroccans combine sweet and savory so well. I will be attempting this one at home.

Every night we spent in the hotels which was a shame but it was just too dangerous to go out.

Torturous 7 hour trip to cross the middle atlas heading into the Sahrara, made even worse with the heat. On the way though we stopped at a park for a break and there were monkeys everywhere, we went up to them with apples and they stood on their legs and reached up and grabbed it. They were so humanlike it was unbelievable and a mother and a baby too!! so cute!!! Needless to say many photos were taken!

We finally arrived and saw the sand dunes in the dessert. The guest house was amazing, situated on the dunes with a huge pool looking out into the sahara. We swam and relaxed, helping ourselves to a huge meal it was all so amazing, with traditional berber music playing live behind us. The stars were calling and we headed across the sandunes to stargaze. The stars were unlike anything i had ever seen, size and brightness and quantity. We laid in awed silence until our guide pretended to be a dessert animal grabbing at my feet in the darkness, we couldn't relax after that.

Woke up with the worst stomach bug and sadly to say the next 4 days of our trip we lay in bed covered in wet towels unable to cool down, there was no air conditioning!! We missed our camel ride into the dessert and staying in the berber tents in the dessert, this is what we were most looking forward to! I guess its an excuse to come back.

We left the dessert, sorry i was too sick i couldn't even bring out the camera, and had another huge car ride, all of us silently dying in the back.

When we reached the next hotel we got a henna done, something we had been wanting all trip, they were gorgeous and so cheap. We then said our goodbyes to the host and fell into bed.

It was such a shame we were so sick, not only for the dessert but because now we look back at morocco and just remember this. But writing this blog i realised all the amazing experiences and sights we saw. Truly an amazing country so far from our own!

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Comments

[Grandma]

We realey injoy your blogs,you are so having a interesting time,let us know what you are doing in England and Scotland and Ireland,as we know a lot of places for you to go to.