Morocco ... Days 1-4

Be warned! This is going to be a long post :)

Right now I'm in Paris and cursing the rain, cursing the Notre Dame for 'stealing' my trusty umbrella all those weeks ago & more importantly, cursing my body for falling apart on me. I was going to stay another night but my hotel was booked out. No room at the inn for me - I now know how unwanted the Virgin Mary felt. Anyway I took it as a sign to get out of Paris. Venice ... here I come!

But before I get there, let's backtrack to the last 12 days in the most wonderful country, Morocco. I know its early to call but this is (& will be) my most favourite part of my trip. I had the most amazing time. I'm sure many of you heard me go on & on & on about hitting the Sahara desert on camel back & falling in love under the stars. And it did happen to a certain extent... I fell in love with Africa. This part of the trip was a little bitter sweet without Ben so I did what all gals do in a time of need...I texted my BF my proclamation of love under the stars of the Sahara desert hehehe.

I'm going to divide this post by days so not to inundate you with information, adventures and pics. Oh yeah pics... be warned I have close to 700 pics to upload to flickr :)

Day 1

I flew into Marrakech via Paris on Royal Air Maroc. I mention this as this airline have squashed my hatred of flying. Got to Orly airport a few hours before flight, no crowds, no queues, Orly have 9 security desks to deal with crowds so its a breeze to get through (unlike the UK and Irish counterparts!!) and I manage to board the flight without breaking a sweat. This is a 1st for me. It made me worry that something bad was going to happen on the flight though. It can't be that easy... surely not. And another thing, I had no-one sitting next to me on the flight with extra leg room being on the wing. *Shoots goal**Scores!!*

So I finally see the city of Marrakech below and the butterflies in my tummy. I'm so nervous. Already this place is like no place I've been before... there are cats wandering around the airport. I guess this is a sign of things to come :) My driver picks me up and I take in more sights of the city; cars, motor bikes, bikes, horse drawn carriages, mule drawn carriages, mules, camels and people EVERYWHERE! My butterflies are justified. When I reach my hotel, my room overlooks a busy intersection so I just sit and watch the sights and sounds of this hectic city. I probably shouldn't have done this... as a result I was too frightened to cross the street to get to the vendor for food.

I have to admit that if you come to Marrakech and successfully cross a street without getting hit by some moving vehicle, I think you can go back home content and proud of yourself. My tactic was to walk closely to large groups crossing preferably in the middle of this group. I figured that if we do get hit, there will be less physical damage if they hit a large group as opposed to one person. Luckily I didn't have to find out if that were true.

Eventually when I did try to brave the city streets, the skies opened up and started to bucket down. I went back inside to the hotel bar and got my first taste of liquid gold... the mint tea **droolz** whilst watching an incredicle thunderstorm. My introduction to Marrakech was quiet and cautious, I suppose. But with 10 more days of travel and a lingering chest cold... playing it safe was probably the best option.

Day 2

Today began with a change of venues to joining point of the tour. I took a chance on a cab and got to experience another Moroccon delight - being ripped off by cab drivers & scared to death by his driving. Yay Morocco! I think I turned that luck around when I paid 50MHD to be taken to the airport on final day - according to Mohamed (our fearless tour guide) I was very lucky to get that price. Lucky... maybe cos it certainly wasn't my savvy bargaining skills. That was non-existent :)

First day of tour, I met my roomie for the trip Betty (or Beeper), a lovely adventurous American woman who was on an earlier Intrepid tour of the northern parts of Morocco. Met some of her tour buddies and thanked the lord (ensh'allah) that I wasn't on that tour... too many loud, young Australians... one squealed at me when I mentioned I was from Melbourne. I think my look of horror was enough to put her off talking to me again. Death stares are so under-rated :P

Betty took me of my 1st tour of the Medina and within the first minutes of stepping in there, I had 2 snakes draped around my neck. I was just tagging along for the ride and instead become the focal point of attention for 2 snakes. I was not overly happy about it. The souks were amazing however I do believe I suffered a sensory overload - the sights, the sounds, the smells, the crowds - it was nuts with a capital N! Not my kind of shopping environment so the purse stayed firmly in my pocket.

In case you didn't know, I was going on a 10 day Intrepid Travel tour. We had a very small group; 3 Americans (or USA-ian's as Anne preferred) Anne, Betty & Jeff, myself the sole Australian and our gorgeous Berber guide Mohamed. Nice and small.... and thankfully we all got on like a house on fire for the whole trip. I was concerned how I would handle being forced to socialise with people I didn't know for that long a period. I couldn't have picked a better group. I giggled so much on this trip... that I do believe I don't have to laugh again for the remainder of the year.

Also for the record, I'd like to mention that Mohamed, our guide is a gidab ... liar to those unschooled in Arabic. The 1st words to come out of his mouth were all lies... "No I'm not the guide, I'm part of the tour" ... and I had to deal with this for 10 days!! Geez Louise! Thankfully he's not a good liar and starts to laugh once you get taken in... Gidab! Gidab :P Anyway, I best not bitch too much about one of the highlights of the trip or he'll get a complex.

So first night with the group, we head to Djemaa el Fna, the crazy square of the Medina with its countless snake charmers, story tellers, acrobats, fortune tellers, jugglers, medicine men and even dentists!! Well. I'm hungry and bypass all of that to hit the stalls for an al fresco feast!! Dinner with my new family was great. Next sleep for busy trip. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's

Day 3

Oh the mini-bus... its to be our home away from home for the next few days. Its so great that there's only 4 of us on this trip as we can all kick back and enjoy the space. I'm greedy and take the back seat. So Hassain will be our kick-ass driver for most of the trip. I say kick-ass and mean it. After my initial shock of Moroccan driving wore off, I felt I couldn't be in safer hands as he manouvered his way through windy mountainous streets or overtook cars, buses, mules, carriages... whatever got in our way. Safe, confident & competent... what more could you ask for in a driver!

Next destination... the High Atlas Mountains. We take a 2 hour drive to Imlil, a little village where we store our luggage, hop on our mules with our day packs & head up the mountains to the teeny village called Aremd. Last time I was on a mule, I was 18 months old. Now my parents have a pic of me as a child and adult on a mule. Clearly this is one of those life achievements they've been waiting to brag about to their friends (sorry mum & dad :P). Mule ride up the mountain was a hoot! We were staying at a family run Gite perched onto of the mountains - it had the most amazing views. Whilst we ate lunch on the terrace surrounded by the mountain ranges, you couldn't help but have your breath taken away.

Speaking of breath being taken away, that also happened after lunch. But it was the more painful variety. There's a lesson to be learned here kids, pay attention when your guide speaks. Don't zone out & day dream or drift away in your thoughts. Listen carefully!! Especially when someone is telling you, you're about to undertake an uphill 4 hour hike. Intrepid considers this to be a moderate 8km trek... but when someone considers a day out shopping as her aerobic activity, an 8km trek up to mountains to see the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch... well let's face, its problematic.

I struggled and persevered. My Croatian stubborness kicked in. If I couldn't make it, we'd all have to turn around and I couldn't let down the Americans (Shit!! did John Howard instill this need to please Americans in me??) No, I really wanted to get to to the top though. I stopped to catch my breath many times, Jeff fed me chocolate chip cookies (oh boy did sugar help) and Mohamed carried my coat. I was red, sweaty and exhausted. Clearly, I was not prepared for this! hehehe

Regardless, I made it to the top baby!! The shrine of Sidi Chamarouch is a burial place for a medieval Saint; many come with offerings in order to get blessing. Despite this place not being open to non-Muslims, we were allowed entry to it. I felt very privileged to make to to the top and see this very sacred place. We enjoyed some mint tea on top of the mountains before making our way back down again. Oh boy! How cruisey was the walk down?? I seriously thought we went a different way because we just breezed our way down.

At the base of the mountain, we ran into some local village women who were carrying the most enormous piles of wood on their backs. One of them offered the guys to try lifting it. OK now its time to shame the boys. I'm naming names here people so be prepared to hang your head in shame. Step up Mohamed. He came, he saw and was conquered. All the women laughed (so did I). Next up Jeff! Yep, disappointing and more laughs ensued. I did not even think to attempt this (please note: tiara fixed firmly atop head) but I did provide moral support when Anne stepped up to the plate. She came, she saw, she conquered!! Three cheers for Anne! Three cheers for the sisterhood! Hip hip horray! Hip hip horray! Hip hip horray!

After the exhilarating walk, we all shared a lovely dinner together. I made the illy mistake of having a shower though. Although there was hot water a plenty, this is one of the coldest showers I've had in my life!! It was so cold up there in the mountains. To get from the shower to my awaiting towel may be one of the most painful life experiences notwithstanding deaths, break ups, illnesses, family traumas etc. OK it was bad but not that bad. The problem was that it was cold and damp up in the mountains. If you left anything away from your own body heat or fire, it would develop a cold damp *shivers* So next morning, no-one dared to use the shower. Baby wipes all round.

Day 4

We head back down the mountain by foot to our awaiting mini-bus and ever reliant driver Hassain. We have a long drive ahead of us across the spectacular mountain roads. We reach Morocco's highest pass at Tizi n 'Tichka til we arrive at the Kasbah Ait Benhaddou which is just on the edge of the Sahara (the anticipation is killing me... are we there yet? are we there yet?)

Once we check into the hotel, we head straight out to explore the Kasbah which has been featured in many films: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000). It used to be an important stop for caravans trading in salt, gold, ivory and even slaves. Now its home to only a handful of families. Its a stunning fortified village with beautiful clay architecture. We got there during dusk so we enjoyed the golden hue of the buildings caused by the sun.

The Kasbah is situated on the other side of a small river. Due to recent rains, there was no easy way to pass without getting feet wet. The locals were there to offer mule and donkey rides across the river too. I was feeling a little cheap and adventurous. Off came the shoes & socks. Pants were hiked up high enough. Into the water we stepped. Jeff & I braved the elements. It was cold and I did have 2nd thoughts when I saw the donkey turd float by me... but the decision was made. And it was fun... albeit cold enough to make my eyeballs ache hehehe.

The view from the top of the Kasbah were absolutely stunning and it was worth the little stroll through icy waters. Please do check out my flickr... you won't be disappointed.

That evening we got to meet a local legend "Action Man" and his sister Fatima. They showed us how to cook a tagine and cous cous *droolz*. Action Man has been an extra in a few of the films mentioned above. He's one super-cool dude. We had the pleasure of having Action Man join us for dinner (another highlight) and as a result we got to meet the cutest little munchkin of all, "Baby Action" ... oh if I could've done an Angelina and swooped that cute little dude for myself, I would have. He stole my heart with his cuteness & sweetness. You could really tell he was daddy's little boy :)

Many of the highlight of this trip come from being able to interact with the local people. Action Man and his family were warm, welcoming and delightful. I hope to meet them again one day.

More to come soon....

xoxox