Morocco - snake charmers, hijabs, mint tea, orange juice, dirams, tajines, riads, balloon pants, camels, 25cl beer, carpets, set courses, donkeys, travel, French/Arabic/Spanish, leather, medinas, heat.
Just some of the words to describe the sights and culture of Morocco.
Mum and I spent eleven nights exploring various cities and medinas of Morocco: Tangier - Casablanca - Essaouira - Marrakech - Fez - Chefchouen.
While our trip started a bit slow with the necessary stops in Tangier and Casablanca, Essaouira definitely wowed us. Slightly touristy, this beachy town was a great way to really start our Moroccan experience. Terrace suite, great food, lots of shopping, interesting medina, beach football games, great opportunity for people watching... and camel rides along the beach. The latter was definitely something I could have skipped. Camels are scary animals - especially when they bear their teeth at you!
The next stop (via comfortable private driver to replace the dreaded bus ride) was Marrakech! The Jemaa El-Fna (main square) was certainly a sight to see! Coming alive around sunset it is full of snake charmers, henna women, boxing matches, entertainers, food stalls and fresh orange juice stands. The riad we stayed in was an oasis of calm (despite the dodgy as hell entrance) and definitely provided a safe haven when I suffered from a bout of food poisoning. Surprisingly Moroccan herbal concoctions do help nausea (I didn't ask what it was)!
Fez was our next destination and it could not have been more different than other areas we visited! With the biggest, most windy medina it was definitely good to have a local guide. You know your definitely among the locals when camel, goat heads and choose your own chickens are for sale! As hectic and interesting as the medina was, the riad we stayed in just as easily held our attention. Newly refurbished, it's walls were covered in beautiful mosaic and the stain glass window into our room was certainly not a common hotel experience. An amazing roof top terrace was a great way to end the day over looking the medina.
Chefchaouen - both disappointing and breathtaking. An odd place where blue and white are the common theme, weed is more accessible than alcohol and people think straw hats with coloured pom poms are fashionable. While two days gave us time to get some touristy shopping done and to eat a French hamburger, a 3hr stopover would have been plenty of time!
Morocco was a place full of contrasts, long days of travel, eclectic cities, interesting people & great memories.
