Blogs from Morocco, Africa - page 15

Another lovely breakfast at the El Minza. The renovations have seen a beautiful old serving area that was delightfully decorated in that Arabic mosaic style replaced with a fully functional wood and stainless steel serving counter which to us is such a pity. Other renovations are sympathetic and for the better and really their wifi service and bathrooms are terrific but the hotel has lost something and has not lived up to my expectations. Reception staff seem aloof and their first reaction to several of our requests has not been satisfactory. Our taxes bill was 227 dirham which is fine as that is levied by the government but when I handed them 240 dirham there was no change forthcoming. It’s my decision to tip or not so I said I wanted change but they said they ... read more

I only just realized this blog entry hadn't been posted... Tangier - before the disastrous departure and Spain - worth sharing the memorable highlights and many many photos. ..... Basically we have had a day and a half to enjoy what we can of Tangier. We leave the riad early tomorrow morning to go to Tangier Med port for our ferry to Algeciras. Several booths here on the seafront promenade are selling ferry tickets to various ports, but they weren't available on line when I was searching. Now instead of leaving from Tangier Ville where we are located, we have a 40 minute drive to Tangier Med which is the main harbour. That's where our on line tickets are for. Riad Hostel Tangier our accommodation is in the heart of the Old Medina. Suddenly the taxi ... read more

It's been all go go go since I left Tobago.. It can't be only 2 weeks ago! Toronto followed by Marrakech and now Fes. In transit Montreal I left a precious bracelet in the security bin, but I'm hoping it's in the lost and found on my return. I'll start right where I am now - Fes or Fez the very ancient spiritual capital of Morocco. Traveling with friends Robert and Fitz who initiated the trip. For me this is a very new experience to be moving at a pace set by others. I'm letting go in practice. We arrived in Fes after a comfortable but 6+hours long train journey from Marrakech past neat rows of olive trees and orchards of oranges and pomegranates and cactus plants. Olives are widely eaten throughout Morocco, and everywhere there ... read more

It was our final day in Marrakech today, and we were sad to leave the friendly staff of our riad! But before catching our train, we scheduled a hammam experience, which is a traditional spa originating in the Ottoman Empire and widely used throughout the Islamic world. I'm sure the experience varies by spa location, but in a word, here's what it was like for us: Intense! The spa room itself was quaint, accommodating only two people at once. Two platforms joined in an L, so Sean took one and I took the other. It was steamy and smelled of oranges. Our hammam technician was swift and efficient! In limited English, she told us "Robe" and gestured for us to remove our terrycloth robes. Sean was in his swimming trunks, and she told me to remove ... read more

Today was the weirdest day! But with punctuations of awesomeness. Before leaving home, I had arranged an excursion to the ancient kasbah (castle) and city of Ait-Benhaddou. We wanted to experience where original Berber people lived, and maybe also see where a few episodes of Game of Thrones had been filmed--maybe! As planned, we met our driver Youssef at 9 a.m. and headed for the edge of the Sahara desert...or as close as we would come on this trip. Youssef was friendly enough, but a little boring, and didn't readily offer information about things we were seeing. Surely some of this was due in part to the language barrier. For instance, he didn't understand what Sean meant when he suggested people must enjoy catching up on socializing with friends at the market. "Yes, you can talk ... read more