Blogs from Morocco, Africa - page 12

Morocco is spectacular! Its been one week already and I can't think of where to start - that means it's been amazing :) So I started off in a hostel called Marrakech rouge which is right next to the old citys main market, D'jemma El Fna. Its been a great place to get my bearings with loads of other travellers passing through, so I guess now I'm a little more clued up on how best to travel here too. To sum up the first week: Sun-Wednesday: I explored Marrakech and took some pictures, got sick then better again (standard tummy troubles) and missed out on a trip to Essaouira because of that. It was great though with plenty of fascinating cultural experiences in between. Thurs-Friday: Finally went to Essaouira! Much less full-on than Marrakech with a ... read more

I have a LOT to say about the last weekend, however I have to write fast because I have a cold and I just took Nyquil, I want to get this finished before I fall asleep.... Firstly, a week ago we had our CIEE culture party at my Resident Director's house. It was amazing, we all wore traditional clothes, ate couscous, got to dance with bellydancers, and got henna done for the first time. My Director's two year old daughter also got henna done, and it was hysterical because it was only on her palms, and she was clearly not content waiting for it to dry. They eventually had to bribe her to wait longer by adding small amounts of glitter to her hands every once in a while, but it did not change the look ... read more

J'ai decide d'ecrire quelques pieces de mon blog en francais, chinois, et l'arabe, a partir de maintenant. Il faut que j'utilise tous mes ressources de practiquer mes langues, et encore, je vais etre une vraie adulte bientot et si je voudrais etre traducteur, j'ai beaucoup de travail pour faire! Le weekend derniere, je suis allee a la cite Chefchaoun. C'est grande et positionnee sur les montanges, et elle est la plus celebre pour etre "la cite bleue". Si on est debout sur les collines, on peut regarder la cite entiere--c'est une groupe des maisons blanches et bleues qui on ne peut jamais prevoir qu'ils seraient situee la. On peut voir cette scenerie si on acces mes photos sur facebook si nous sommes amis...ou google si nous sommes pas...qu'est ce que vous preferez... .شفشاون مضحك، لأنه هو ... read more

Well trip went without a hitch to Marrakech travel wise. Started off nice and early, which was good because the flies were starting to become more than a nuissance the warmer it got. So with 180 plus miles to Marrakech we took the toll road to ensure we made good time. Unfortunately Dave woke with a very bad stomach, but managed to make it all the way to the campsite before being sick. Later that evening after phoning home I also felt bad all of a sudden, so went and got it out of my system, after which I was totally fine. This was luckly as I think that if I had slept on it I too would have been out for the count all the next day. So it turns out that Pesto doesn't keep ... read more

So we decided to go to Casablanca on Saturday, which was really cool. It was definitely a highlight to be in Starbucks again...There is a huge mall there, but it's pretty expensive so we did not spend much time there. We went to the biggest mosque in Africa and it was absolutely breathtaking, probably one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life. The street vendors were pretty good, for such a huge city with a lot of draw for tourists, they did not try and up the prices for us, which often happens to us since we do not look Moroccan. I tried to focus on using more Arabic than French, because I only have two more months here and I really want to better my Arabic, since this is an excellent ... read more

Casablanca had a cold and gritty feeling. Much of our time was spent organising parcels and onward travel. The first night we visited the medina. It is a narrow web of streets and markets that does not possess the character or charm of the Marrakech souks. Most of the products at the market are Asian imports. The vendors sit in their stalls waiting, as opposed to greeting people as they come by. The medina area has recently had the pavements ripped up in strips, probably for service reticulation. Unfortunately the city workers did not repave when they filled-in the trenches, leaving quite a mess. We ate at the café at the end of our street and had the Moroccan equivalent of the Greek Giro. When I realised no one in the café spoke English, I ordered ... read more

We arrived in Marrakech after dark and were met at the airport by a driver who took us to our Riad. After a welcoming mint tea we went to our room to settle in before having our prebooked evening meal. Eileen visited Marrakech two years ago and loved it, barely venturing beyond the medina for her five day stay. For our visit she booked a Riad for us that is in the medina close to Djemaa el Fna and in a quiet lane. We enjoyed walking through the labyrinth of streets and discovering the wonder of the souks (central market area). I would joke with Eileen whenever we got lost that I was finding my way like an exocet missile. As it turned out we did not have too many difficulties and our Riad was easy ... read more