The Skype's The Limit

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Due to crossed wires we nearly missed breakfast this morning. We dressed hurriedly and dashed up to the terrace to find it completely empty. Breakfast was outside by the pool and fairly good.

We decided that because there were no particular sights in Taroudannt we would have a walk around the walls and a look around the streets in the medina. Taroudannt's medina is similar to Marrakech with the chaos and mass of people but without the tourist traps and hustlers. Here you are more likely to be stopped by someone wanting to chat to you and try out their French/English. You really can't go anywhere quickly and you definitely cannot be inconspicuous.

We got part way around the walls when we came across a section that you could climb up onto. We climbed up and one way we could see the Kasbah and palm trees surrounding it, and the other way we looked down on an unusually organised game of football which we watched for a while.

We continued walking around and stumbled across the bus station where we attempted to find buses for tomorrow. A combination of lack of patience, not wanting to waste the day and a funny tummy lead us away from the hustlers at the station and back to the hotel. We will deal with it tomorrow.

The pool was calling our names despite the staff’s insistence that it was too cold. We changed into our swimming things and headed down to the pool. We dipped our hands into it and recoiled in horror. Despite it being around 20°C the pool was unbelievably cold. My hand actually went numb from dangling it in there. Rob jumped in first and immediately jumped straight back out again, we then proceeded to sit by the pool daring each other in. Eventually I took the plunge and kept swimming up and down to stay warm. Rob joined me for a split second and then gave in and got out. It just proves that we're made of stronger stuff in the North East.

Ideally I would have loved a hot shower to warm up after our icy dip but with hot water being a novelty in these parts, we dived under the covers instead. (No heating in the room either)

We got up in better spirits and set out to navigate the bus station and successfully discovered that there is a bus leaving tomorrow morning that you just turn up for. After that we had a brief look around the souq and bought another one of those increasingly addictive crepe like snacks. We then found a table at the most popular café in the square and ordered two pots of mint tea. We sat and drank and watched people passed as the sun set. The call to prayer drew people away from the cafes and with this we also decided to leave. It cost 10dh for the two teas and this prompted a discussion on wages, tipping and cost of living. I felt it was an insult to leave 1dh (7p) as a tip but we read that the average daily wage is around $4.

We returned to the hotel for a warmer change of clothes and then found somewhere for a quick and cheap tagine. After that we tried to find an internet café with a working Skype so that I could phone nana. I did manage to leave an answer phone message, but we tried three cafes and it wasn't working in any of them. Somewhat defeated we returned to the hotel and a game of monopoly later; bed.

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Photos

Chickens
they are just loose in this area and you go up and pick the one you want to buy.