Morocco

A whole new country, and one that we have wanted to visit for a long time. With a week to fill and no idea which destination to choose, we finally opted for a weeks break in Marrakesh. It is January, so whilst the weather is lovely, we prefer to be coastal in the summer months, a city break was perfect. We flew into the most beautiful airport building at Marrakech, and unfortunately as we tried to get cash out at the airport, this is a closed currency, we then discovered that Mr B`s wallet was empty. Gone were our credit cards and other essential cards. We presume pickpocket, as we had them on the plane, but gone by the time we reached a cash machine. Secret pocket or not, the cards had vanished.

A short taxi ride to our hotel, passing lots of football related flags. The country is hosting the Africa Cup, and the atmosphere is great. Morocco have made it to the semi finals, and spirits seem high. A very clean looking place on first inspection, not modern, but we are heading for Marrakech, not Casablanca. The taxi pulled up near the city wall, and asked us to wait. A few moments later a breathless young guy came running towards us from a tiny side street. Our riad, another name for small family home, is in the old city with its it myriad of tiny winding streets. The walk proved us to one thing, we would never have found our residence without guidance! Left here, right there, down this alley, walls and doors and not a lot else. where on earth were we staying? Stopping at the oldest looking door, our host handed us the keys, asked us to unlock the door to prove we could wiggle the lock, and we entered the most amazing building. For a small building it was very beautiful. Pure traditional Moroccan architecture, rooms around a central courtyard. For the first time in a long time, we got the room that drew us to the riad in the first place. Incredibly cosy looking with orange painted walls, lamps, wall lights, marble floors and a fully tiled mosaic bathroom. ( and air con with heat, its January, its needed)

Google Maps, downloaded offline, would prove to be a godsend. The Medina in which we are staying, Medina meaning old city, is just a maze. A maze of souks, streets, alleys and passageways. No cars allowed in the centre but instead a whole host of motor cycles, scooters, donkeys with carts bombard you from every angle. But it works. Donkeys, quick reference to. I always hated the thought of Morocco due to its use of the beast of Burden, but for the most part, the animals I saw were reasonably well kept, no evidence of being mis treated. A few foot issues could have been sorted, but generally the animals we saw looked as well as they could given their role.

Unlike the appalling harassment you get in another country, Christmas meat, if you get me drift, it was surprisingly easy to wander the souks and even look at the goods for sale without the hard sell a constant presence, in fact in the tiny shop where I chose to buy a tiny hint of a souvenir, we had to hunt for the seller. There are thousands of shops. and they all sell more or less the same things. How anyone ever makes a living baffles me. I could confidently say, that if you pass say 20 shops, you have seen everything that is available. Every other stall is just rinse and repeat, over and over and over.

With six full days in Marrakech, we chose to spend each day at a different place of interest. Short days, rather than endless wanderings. Little B had given us a list of must see places, and we endeavoured to see each one in turn. Starting with the Secret Garden. Not secret, as just about every tourist and group ends up there at some point. Yes it is a garden...hmm...what else can I say? Go to say you have been, might mean a bit more to you if you are a gardening guru, but other than that, its just a nice pleasant space in which to be.

Next days little adventure took us to the Ben Youssef Madrasa. Once a school for religious purposes, it is now a beautiful, slightly repetitive building in which to wander around. You need to look for yourself, but you could just trust me when I say that see one room, and you have seen them all. Day three was the square. This large open space came to be known by us by a couple of names. Stamp Your Feet Square, or more frequently, Snake Square. Why stamp your feet square? Because I did. How was I to know that the overly familiar rooftop cafe was the same one we had visited two days previously, when day one had market stalls on semi rough road surfaces, yet two days later was on a marble tiled floor! Convinced it wasn`t, I `stamped my feet`...how was I know they had paved the whole darn area almost overnight! After that incident, we would refer to the square as Snake Square. This was where you found all the snake charmers. You know why they play those weird flute things? To stop you standing on the damn snakes!!! Hear the flutes? look down for the snakes. We would watch the every day goings on in the square from a high rooftop. No alcohol is supplied in Morocco unless you go to certain licensed places. Suits me, I don`t drink or feel the need to. Coffee or Tea suits me just fine. Watching the square, and on a clear day you can also see the snow clad mountains of the Atlas, was just mesmerising. Snake charmers, guy with monkeys dressed in tutus, (so sad) fruit sellers, henna tattoos, psst wanna buy a watch guys, genuine rolex of course , acrobats, con artists with the `where`s the money` switcheroo coconut shells, magnet for pickpockets, it all takes place in that square. Quite fascinating. By the way, the actual name of the square is Jemaa el-Fna.

Another day we went to the `Bahia Palace- Stunning 19th Century Palace with ornate rooms courtyards and gardens` Well that was the description on the guide anyway. Not entirely certain who wrote the guide, but in our opinion, scruffy old building, not a lot of interest, once upon a time in the past this may have been a garden, average looking courtyard, and a lot of lovely scaffolding , would pretty much sum up this place. A whole raft of carefully taken photographs just outside the palace suggests that inside is quite beautiful, meh. no its not.

Other places we could or should have visited were the El Badi Palace (closed for lunch so we gave it a swerve) But if you want to see Storks a plenty, then this is the place. Every rampart had a storks nest, with many birds in residence. Saadian Tombs. sorry, life is for living, we felt no desire to go tomb hunting. The Yves Saint Laurent Museum had a lot of interest, leaflets etc, but for us to go it would have been a very long walk out of town, and with the average time spent there (according to google) being 40 mins, we decided not to bother.

Food in Marrakech, not entirely certain I should comment, granted this bunny doesn`t eat much in the way of local food anywhere, any country. The crepe stall was very good, with the French influence quite obvious. The Lamb Tagine eaten by Mr B was `nice`, I think it very British fish and chips. You get the chippies with people queuing up outside forever, and then you get the back street chippy, good for the odd occasion. I think Mr B and his lamb was the cheap back street version, bit of a shame really. The evening was late, the shops that you give you a hint of where you are were rapidly closing for the night, they close quite early, so we ate at the nearest place to the Riad. Not researched or Tripadvisor, we just went. Tough chewy chicken kebabs for Mrs B, and the meh, Lamb tagine for Mr B. On other evenings, let me quickly add, the breakfast at the hotel was incredibly filling, the need for more food at any time of day not actually needed, Mr B frequented a nearby stable door cafe that sold the most awesome hot sandwiches for 80p. One evening both bunnies ate at the Riad hoping for some good home cooked food. As per usual Mrs B swayed towards a chicken dish, Mr B the meat. Both Tagine. Not entirely certain what part of the chicken I was given, but it wouldn`t have been on any plate of mine in the UK. Bones a plenty, what looked like a rib cage, brr go figure. Then there was the little accompaniment of onion, a least 4 of them, and a pound of sultanas. Now this bunny loves sultanas, but a whole bag full? cooked? in oil and onions? Two spoonful were more than sufficient.

Marrakech is wonderful. In Summer it may be worth filling out a week with trips to the desert, camels rides, or quads, but for a winter city break, personally I would say 4 days is quite sufficient.

Will we go back, probably not to Marrakech, but we will certainly go back to Morocco.

Thank you for your hospitality.