Morocco

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Ouilidia- beautiful, tranquil and peaceful. We got here in the off season and so it was very quiet. It could be quite windy at times but the views made up for it. The lagoon and the cliffs along with dazzling sunsets and clear night skies made this place feel like a little peice of heaven. We stayed in a friendly French hotel, the owner was very nice( I didn't mistake him for a guest this time). We had a tasty meal in their restaurant and went all out with oysters....surprisingly tasty if you don't chew!!

We also met a local man named Mustafa, who deserves a special mention. We came across him whilst exploring the long beach and cliffs. He lived on the top of the cliff in a make shift cave he'd built himself from the cliffs rocks. He showed us a beautiful cove (we thought he was leading us into a trap to mug us) that was inside the cliff and we watched the waves crash up the side of it. He then offered to cook us tagine and asked us to come back to his home on the evening. Robert was still suspicious but I said yes anyway. When we got back to the hotel we both went into a bit of a panic thinking he was after something rather than just being friendly. I think we're so used to people doing things to receive that we forget about the kind people that just do things to give.

We went back up to Mustafas cave as the sun was setting and he had made us a beautiful fish tagine big enough to feed at least 6 people! He'd caught the fish himself that day. Rob consumed most of it as he didn't want to seem rude for not eating it all hehe. We then went into his cave house for morrican tea....this is when things get interesting! He pulled out a portfolio from behind his makeshift carpet wall and started talking about massages and hot stone massages. He then pulled out a stone and began heating it whilst giving us samples of his arnica and rosemary oils. Rob was to quiet so I filled the silence with fake interest!! Which got me in a bit of an awkward situation when he wanted to show me his skills!!

End of the story is I ended up topless with a stranger massaging my back and pulling at my arms in his little cave house, whilst rob looks at me with silent irritation in his eyes that I got us into this situation!! (We're still debating whos fault it is) It took every massaged muscle to stop myself from bursting into laughter from how strange the whole encounter was! Unforgettable memory. We came away that night feeling a little amused, abused and like I'd just had a weird threesome (also rather relaxed) I just thanked the lord he didn't ask me to roll over to massage my front!!

On contemplation - Mustafa was a lovely man who was genuinely being friendly and showed us his talents. He lived such a simple and beautiful way of life. He didn't ask for anything but we gave him some money as a gift for the wonderful day he'd given us. From the little English he spoke he told us his wife and children lived in the town and would come and live in his cave with him during the summer months. It's such a different way of living and I think we're all so quick to judge in the western ideology of consumerism that we forget how wonderful life can be just with family and what's already around us. We don't really need anything else.

Ouilidia to Casablanca - setting the scene... The impossible happened. A five seater taxi fitting in 7 people! As you know Robert is 6ft 5 and I'm slightly on the wider side. Us two, a long with two extra wide morrican ladies squished into the back of this taxi. Somehow the two ladies manage to spread out whilst I sat on my side for 40 minutes in the heat with a dead leg. It must have looked like one of those circus clown cars as we all tumbled out at the end of the journey. We then got on a train from El Jadida to Casablanca. Which takes another two hours. A long day of travelling and we're glad to get to our hotel in the Medina.

Casablanca seems like its on the rise as a modern city. It has a small Medina with walls. It's not a pretty place but it was an interesting place to see. There is a mix of rich and poor areas very closely set together. It was quite eye opening to see this huge mosque so beautiful and intricately designed for a kings 60th birthday whilst the people are poor and they're homes around it are slums.

On a deeper note... It's strange to think people build mosques, temples and churches for the home of God and treat them with such respect but then treat the home (Earth) that he built for us as a waste ground. No real respect for the land as blue plastic lies everywhere and people just drop the rubbish on the floor.

I couldn't figure out Casablanca. Some people were friendly but I still didn't quite know if what I was wearing was suitable. I may have just been paranoid but I felt a hostility from some of the women who quite openly stared at me and when i smiled at them their plain expression looked straight through me. I had shoulders and legs covered but from what I read and saw people wore pretty much whatever they wanted.

Casablanca airport was an utter nightmare!! So many scanners and securities to go through and no real organisation or queuing system as people just pushed straight passed us. I was glad to get on the Emirates plane! Economy felt like first class!!

On to Dubai..... :-)

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