Blogs from Morocco, Africa - page 14

Three days in Marrakesch. The blog has been all over the place, I know. Tangier to Algeciras made sure of that. I'm doubling back to Marrakesch because it wasn't given full cover, apart from our lovely riad..... Our guest mansion (Riad Tizwa) was perfectly located. Selecting accommodation online isn’t the easiest thing to do, there are so many options available all glowingly described. It takes plenty fact-checking plus imagining what the facts could translate to in reality. I looked for a place where we could walk at will to some of the city’s major attractions, getting there without taxis or transport, free to move when and where we wanted. Tizwa was that. The #1 attraction in Marrakesch is the thousand year old Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site. madīnah al-qadīmah "the old city" lies within high ... read more

Of all the places we visited, Marrakesch was my favourite. It was our first destination after arriving at Casablanca airport whose long lines of arrivals were reminiscent of Piarco! 25 immigration counters were open yet we took an hour to exit. Good news aside - next year they are dispensing with the documentation that takes all the time at immigration desks everywhere. A six hour train ride brought us to this bustling ancient-modern city and our accommodation - Riad Tizwa - on the edge of the old Medina. The taxicab found our street but a "foot taxi" (i.e a man on foot with us walking behind) took us to the door. Farrida had put me on notice about this and here they were “taking” us the final way, because vehicles cannot drive along the narrow ancient ... read more

Happy Anniversary to us. Sleep in till quite late because we can and because Lee is recovering from a bout of tummy upsetness which is not a word but something all travellers know about. It was a concern a few days back when it would have been tough to travel and we had 6 hours on the train but now at least it’s sort of OK and should not stop us having an small anniversary dinner tonight (that’s a small dinner not small anniversary) nor travelling tomorrow. We have the trip back to Kénitra, the change of trains and back to Tangiers. Whilst we walked up to the Blue Gate today our riad flowered our room, left little notes wishing us the best and placed a gift on our bed. It’s a lovely small ceramic container ... read more

We are on the train and heading towards Fes. No wifi which is not a surprise but the air conditioning is working which is equally surprising. Most reviews you read of Moroccan rail are not that glowing or positive whereas we would say they are fine. Their system of numbering trains, then carriages then seats is intuitive and functional. They have so far been very punctual and the staff are helpful. We travel first class in Morocco although the difference does not appear to be that great, perhaps the air conditioner does not function as well there! There is a basic trolley cart service for water, drinks and snacks but we are travelling with cold water and even a couple of small bottles that our hotel gave us as they realised we were travelling by rail ... read more

Another delightful Moroccan breakfast. Well really Moroccan with the lot. Here the olives still accompany breakfast dishes but so do piles of fruit, petit tubs of slightly flavoured yoghurts, a mixture of cheese and meats more extensive than we’ve seen for a while, an array of cooked dishes again extensive but far beyond what we can even look at and then cakes, pastries and little Arabic pancakes that are great with goats cheese and strawberry jam (sort of east meets west fusion food). Additionally the juices are terrific with the stand out exception of some cucumber based concoction that no amount of doctoring could render it drinkable. Breakfast is around the pool but it’s a pool that I’ve never seen anyone in or even near. Sure they have a pool complex not far away but this ... read more