Barcelona - tick, Madrid - tick, catch a plane and have backpack come in under 20 kg - tick, arrive in Morocco - tick, be greeted by intense heat - tick, get through passport control quickly and easily - tick, start chowing down on fruit so you don't get in trouble at customs - tick, find that customs has disappeared due to the fact the customs officer saw one of his mates - tick, bring fruit into Morocco?!?!? - tick, have a transfer from the airport to the hotel making life incredibly easy - tick, stay in a hotel and not a hostel?!? - what? - did you say hotel? - tick!
Arriving in Morocco was a delightful experience! After spending months on the road, arriving in new places and then beginning the search for our accommodation, it was pretty special to have a transfer from the airport and even more extra, extra special to be staying in a hotel. That was amazing. I did feel a little out of place at first - especially considering I had smelly clothes on and my big, dirty hiking boots :) Saying that though, it was absolute bliss to have our own bathroom and fresh, comfortable beds.
We had THE BEST TIME in Morocco. It was such a contrast to all of the other countries we'd visited - especially considering that the country is so strictly Muslim. This meant that, despite the heat, we did have to cover up. For me this meant t-shirts, long pants and hiking boots. Boy, was that hot! Especially considering that the temperature was above 40 degrees every day. On the second day we were there it even hit 48 degrees. Yes, you did read that right - 48 degrees! Nuts! I felt every thread in my clothes warming me up :)
During our stay we explored the souks (markets), saw snake charmers, monkey tamers and turtles everywhere, went on a 4WD trip to the Atlas mountains, saw a Berber village (the indigenous people are the Berbers) and generally experienced as much of the Moroccan life as we could. A real eye-opener!
Enjoy the photos - it's quite a story!
Love Sarah xxx
Walking off the plane - the heat engulfed us
Our 'Welcome to Morocco' drink at the hotel. This was our first experience of real Moroccan mint tea, it was so delicious!
The alley ways of Marrakech - they form quite the maze! (We didn't get lost though!!) 
The terracotta buildings everywhere - all of the buildings are this colour - it was really cool to see the blocks of terracotta from the air as we were flying in 
The souks - full of jewellery, scarves, bags, clothes, spices, nuts, oils, food & drink and lots of trinkets
"Come into my store and I will show you some magic clothes!" This gentleman was very eager to show two Aussie tourists his magic clothes. "They are magic!" he said. Intrigued, I went in. These clothes magically made me look hilarious! 
"You look so Moroccan! Beautiful! You can have them for 600 dirham!" Yea right! That's $120 1. I would never wear them 2. They don't fit in my backpack 3. 600 dirham? What a joke!
Well worth it for a few photos and a good giggle though :)
A gorgeous little turtle - we saw these all through the souks - a whole bunch of turtles in a box. Moroccans must keep them as pets. I can see why! They are so, so cute
Soccer - you can even play it in an alley! Just goes to show what you can do when you're willing to try
Snake charmers - pretty insane to watch!
Cactus fruit, or prickly pear as it is known here. Quite an interesting taste. It had lots of pips inside
Enjoying Moroccan mint tea.... we loved it!
Overlooking a part of the souks at night. This was before it got busy - when it's busy you can barely see the bitumen between all of the people
Fishing for soft drinks. If you catch one - by putting a little ring over the top of the bottle - it's yours to keep. I really loved this, especially considering there were so many people, mostly men, playing for soft drinks - in Australia it would have to be beer for people to get involved....
A gentleman selling spice cakes and tea. The tea was really strong - cinnamon and ginger. It surprised me how much I enjoyed it! (Sharene, are you amazed?!)
On our trip towards the Atlas mountains. Mel's clothes were perfectly matched to the Moroccan landscape :)
A Berber village
Learning how to make mint tea in a Berber village. We were horrified to realise that the tea is made with HUGE amounts of sugar beet - I reckon the equivalent of 8 tablespoons is put into one tea pot.... unbelievable! 
DONKEYS!!!! We saw heaps of people travelling on donkeys and using donkeys to transport their goods. Our guide called them Berber 4x4 :) We also saw a donkey park close to one of the local markets - instead of a car park! A huge hill choc-a-block full of donkeys. Pretty unreal to see
A Berber house
Tagine - our delicious lunch of vegetables and meat (underneath), flavoured with plenty of Moroccan spices
A view over a village - it almost blends into the hillside
A pretty spectacular view
Camels :) Mel and I had a camel ride; was lots of fun! They are pretty bumpy and it's quite tough at times to maintain your balance, especially when taking photos :)
Up close to a friendly camel
Nicely in a row
View from the top! 
Taken by our camel guide - he had a few tries before he managed to take one with our whole head in the photo :)
The Moroccan flag - red background with a green star (it's a bit tricky to see....) 
A view over the roof tops
Arabic - I would never be able to read it
A little glimpse into the crazy drivers of Morocco
Our dinner from stall 117 at the markets...
Muslims heeding the call to prayer
Mel and I with Rachid and Hicham, two friendly Moroccan guys who took us around the souks for a bit and then shouted us a drink at a terrace overlooking all of the souk action! So nice of them. A drink = a soft drink, very few alcoholic beverages are consumed here 
Our hotel - aptly named :)
Hi Sarah
ReplyDeleteGreat blogging, thanks for keeping me up to date with Mel & your travels. It's lovely to have her back home. She loved Morrocco, seems you did as well..must of been the two handsome Morrocans you got caught up with :)
Enjoy the rest of your travels, keep safe and God bless.