Riad Alegria Marrakech

Confirming my ever-strong belief in fate and allworking out eventually, we ended up in Morocco right on time for the 2009 Marrakech Film Festival! As film fanatics, we hot-well, actually cold-footed it-from freezing cold Casa to Marrakech making it just in time for films galore...

Getting back to the Western world is weird after adventures in African countries like Mali and Senegal as it seems so different yet only a drive-or even briefer flight ...

... sta äventyr blev en tur till en moppe-marknad. Vi höjde andelen turister där med 100% och Karin höjde andelen kvinnor med ca 50%. Det blev ingen deal idag men efter lite funderande (som innefattade uppgifter från vår hotellvärd om att det tar 28 tim. med buss till gränsen mellan Marocko och Mauritanien) har vi kommit fram till moppe nog är det perfekta färdmedlet för oss. Imorgon fortsätter toffeljakten!

Massa kramar!

We have been in Marrakech for three days now and I just finally made it into town because first I was sick then it was pouring down rain. What a drag. Anywho just thought I'd give a quick update since we aren't sure if we will have internet for the next couple weeks.

Thought I'd put in some general stuff

Comments on Overlanding:

Why I chose African Trails and other comments about the trip:

I went with African Trails because it ...

... 1085; 72;ми за чашко 81; мятно 75;о чая. Осла или (в лучше 84; случа 77;) вербл 02;да, не тольк 86; как единс ...

... 1086; если окуну 90;ься прямо в самую сердц 77;вину хаоса, не думая, погло 90;ит он тебя или нет ...

... went to ring Danielle and then went to look at a restaurant that we had got a flyer for in the day it did not open until 7 so we went to the square in the evening it comes alive with street food sellers and snake charmers Ian made the mistake of taking a picture then that was it the snake man came over and started putting the snake around Ians neck and they were demanding that I take a picture I said no as I know then that they want money and I only had 2d and I did not even ...

... stepping daintily around a dead chèvre (goat), we found the little sucker (a micro hidden in a cubby hole in a clay/straw wall) and... I do believe Wales now has a new geoaddict! ;D

That night (alas, my last in dear Morocco!), we headed for the legendary "Djemaa el Fna" Square for a sunset ...

... sent up to a sitting room where there was some civil tea drinking and some good quality man talk while they waited their turn.  Meanwhile the ladies began their hammam experience. After being ushered into a waiting room and promptly told to strip down to just bikini bottoms by a large Moroccan woman clad only in her underwear, the girls headed into the adjoining shower room for a rinse off, then into another tiled room where they were told to stand still ...

... vendors tried to get you to stop and look at their menu. We of course ate at the food vendors as it was chaep and very good food. The most amazing part is the snail vendors. There is nothing more crazy then seeing a huge bowl filled with fresh snails to eat. The idea makes me sick so I walked right by those vendors. The middle of the square is full of musicians, storytellers and henna artists. It is such a lively place to hang out and I am glad that we are staying so close so we ...

... all rooms look out onto. We spent the next 2 days loving the spectacle which is Marrakesh. As the sun sets the real fun begins in the main square, the Djemaa el-Fna. Food stalls are set up everywhere and pretend chefs woo you with promises of good food. Some of the things on offer are sheep/goats heads and snails but most of the fare is delicious stews cooked in a special pot called a Targine. On the fringes of the food stalls there is so much to see ...