Blogs from Marrakech, Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz, Morocco, Africa - page 34

It's difficult to sum up a busy week after it's over, especially when you've been enjoying it with someone else, but in the interests of long-distance voyerism and journalistic total coverage, I'll give it my best shot. On Sunday after a tasty breakfast overlooking the main square of Djemaa el Fna I decided to continue getting lost - I mean explore the area - until I had to leave for the airport to collect Clement. The disparities here are striking - the motorbikes speeding past the donkey carts, the shops selling wares reflecting centuries of tradition next to shops selling televisions, cellphones and knock-off CDs. In this way I discovered a second route to our fantastic yet laid-back riad, Tlaata wa Sitteen, which I was thrilled to move into after another night in the busy and ... read more

It's only been a few days since I've written but I have much to say and not quite enough time in which to say it. To begin with, on the plane ride here I decided to try to turn over a new leaf and start focusing on the present, instead of dwelling on the past - why did I let that camel rider talk me into giving him so much baksheesh?! - or planning for the future - where will I be having dinner after the museum this afternoon, and where will I get stamps for those postcards? This appears like a good idea, and undoubtedly it will be when I get to France and back to San Francisco, but attempting to fully experience Morocco can be a bit overwhelming, to say the least, and I ... read more

Today we swam in the pool at our B&B, then we headed off to Oasiria which is a huge water park with slides, wave pool, inner tube river ride, and lovely gardens. The slides were quite slow except the big one I wasn't allowed on. My Dad went on it and hurt his elbow. The lunch was really good! Then we went into the city and went to the craft centre, which is a good place to shop because nobody hassles you. Then we went into the main square which was pretty manic; there were lots of stalls selling juice and food, as well as musicians, drummers, snake charmers, story tellers, and all sorts... The next morning we flew home on Ryanair. It was a great holiday! ... read more

We decided to take advantage of St Paddy's and Easter weekends being back to back and headed to Morocco for a 9 day adventure to soak up some sun, and enjoy some mint tea and tajines Spent our first 3 days in Marrakech, staying in an amazing Riad (traditional Moroccan house) and exploring the old city. The main square was very impressive, full of sights and sounds including snake charmers, a million fresh orange juice stalls and henna tattoo artists Then we decided to catch the train up to Fes for a couple of days of wandering through the maze that is the medina, all the streets are very narrow and look exactly the same so it is very easy to get lost which we discovered quickly. Fes is also the leather capital and a visit ... read more

After returning from a fresh 3-month renewal of our Moroccan visas in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, we wanted to spend as little time as possible in Marrakech and get back on the road. Outside of its famous medina, Marrakech is a large Europeanized city of vicious traffic and wicked dust storms, and on the whole held few attractions for us. We had already arranged a flight for Kate to her family gathering in North Carolina and had written off the attempt to retrieve our package of supplies sent from the States by UPS but now apparently marooned in the Customs shed at the Casablanca airport. We had a vague itinerary planned for the next phase of our trip in the regions south of Marrakech: to explore the Draa Valley as far south as the Sahara ... read more