9- As Promised

 

I did not know there were mountains in Morocco, is what I said to David as we were landing in Marrakech. So, that's my big news from last blog. In December, Karen said, "you and your mother should go somewhere before your season starts". David suggested a couple of places and Marrakech prices fit our budget, so we began planning, and Jan. 9-12 was the time.

The mountains are called Atlas and extend some 2500 km. across northwestern Africa spanning Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. 

We headed out early Friday for Lyon airport. The flight was delayed, but by 2:45 we were in Marrakech looking for our arranged driver. Once we had booked our Airb&b, our host, Ludo, kept sending emails with good info for the planning and we had arranged to be picked up and delivered to our neighbourhood where Ludo was waiting to guide us. The ride felt frantic as he dodged in and out of traffic lanes, horns beeping constantly, and the noises of the city. Also, although the tourist population was down, soccer fans were in town for quarterfinals of Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and Morocco was playing Cameroon that night. 

 Ludo was there, thankfully so, as we would never have found our way on our own. It was in the Medina, which is a maze of walking streets going in all directions lined with souks and at every corner you wonder which way to go.

 This is a quiet one at the moment.

I said pedestrian streets, but that just means no cars. It doesn't stop the flow of bikes and motos everywhere. And, when you add shops on both sides it doesn't leave much room. I'm glad we were there off season. (these are just stock photos as it is almost impossible to get a picture, and then people want to be tipped)

We were shown our room, called Karen, looked around, and we dropped off our bags. We're on the top floor,  with the sky for a roof over the patio. He's got lots of authentic decorations, and rugs everywhere.

We headed out to explore, with the help of Google maps.

One of the things we looked at that day on our way to Jemaa el-Fnaa square, were Berber rugs and we got a whole explanation of how each is unique design and there are different textures to the wool and they are all dyed with natural dyes, and such vibrant colours. 

Again, stock photos

Then, of course, came the sales pitch. He asked me to choose the one I liked best, so I did. Then, he showed me the price and it was 5500 MAD called dirham ( we had learned to convert you divide by 10 for Euros) Because you're supposed to barter, I said 3000; he said 4500; I said 3000; he said 3500. I know you're supposed to counter higher until you meet but I said 3000 again because I had no intention of buying. He showed me it all rolled up and that it wasn't heavy, but I said I'm not buying now because I'm walking around. He had an answer for everything, but my stubbornness pays off because I would not be moved. Finally, he got his assistants to move the pile that was blocking our way and we were free, with no hard feelings. In fact another day we had to walk by him and he greeted us like old friends.

We found the Square and it was as hectic as the rest. Men from the various food courts would come up to you and show you a menu and try and persuade you to their tables. After several refusals and much looking around, we decided that we had come to eat so let's sit. Most vendors, etc. that we encountered had some English or French, so it was easy to manage. They seated us, then led us to the display of meats and we chose what we wanted. There were also vegetable dishes with couscous. And fresh orange juice. We'd seen loaded trees on our drive from the airport. 

They brought first dishes with chili sauce, olives, and, of course, bread. And it finished with mint tea. The pictures don't show the meat skewers.

Sights of Jemaa square- last 2 are stock in order to get the aerial view.

We made our way back to our beds after all that. I was grateful to be with David and have Google maps because I had no idea where we were going, sometimes we were lost and I think I would have been a bit panicked.

I think I will stop for today and relive the memories of Friday before I tackle Saturday, which was full to the brim. Hope you're enjoying the journey.