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Morocco - Day 13

Morocco - Day 13

Our next visit was to the traditional chemist which was very entertaining with the head chemist giving a funny but informative talk about the natural medicines available. Each one was passed under our noses by his assistant whilst he told us what it was used for, especially the ginseng which he referred to as the Moroccan Viagra. Following his presentation he then had his assist hand out some baskets so we could purchase his medicines. I worked out that with a mixture of all the spices for sale all I really needed was a good curry and I would be sorted! Time was racing by which didn’t give us long to explore the final attraction, the Majorelle Gardens.

Designed in 1924 by French artist Jacques Majorelle the garden is considered to be one of his creative masterpieces with extensive use of yellow and blue paint to contrast against the green of the trees and plants. The shade of blue is now known as Majorelle Bleu and dominates much of the architecture. We strolled around the tranquil place listening to the running water of the fountains with birds singing amongst the trees, many of which are only found in North Africa. I was approached by an artist who asked me to take his photo holding the painting of the gardens he had been working on. Within the garden is a very quite area containing a memorial to Yves Saint Laurent who had co-owned the gardens with Pierre Bergé since 1980 and died in 2008 with his ashes being scattered amongst the foliage. Time had beaten us and we had to return to the coach to take us back to our hotel where we would be having lunch.

08/10/09 - Marrakech

Ancient Mosques and No Flying Carpets

Today would be the day we would become proper tourists.  The day we would be subjected to all kinds of hassles from the locals attempting to part you with our hard earned cash.  John had arranged a coach trip to take us to see some of the best sights stating that our guide was one of the best in the city.  We boarded the coach and made our way to our first attraction, the Koutoubia Mosque with its tall tower adorned with four golden globes.  Legend tells of the wife of Yacoub el-Mansour failing to keep her fast during Ramadan and so as punishment her gold jewellery was melted down to make the fourth globe.  We walked through the long narrow rose garden and I approached the three men dressed in traditional red clothing.  I wanted a photo so asked them how much, offering a price of fifteen Dirhams.  Yes, yes, Ok was the leaders reply.  First I got them to pose together and then had one taken with two of them.  One Hundred Dirham, demanded the leader, holding out his hand, so then we started to argue over price, in the end I gave them fifty, walking away saying ‘You robbed me.’  I caught up with the group explaining to Mo what had happened as we walked along the tree lined avenue that runs parallel to the mosque posing for more photos and studying the impressive architecture.

We boarded the coach after crossing the busy street dodging the cars, trucks and horse drawn carts for the short journey to the Bahia Palace nestled in the narrow streets of Marrakech.  The layout of the buildings consisted of a central square courtyard with four rooms on each side for the four wives of Si Moussa, grand vizier of the sultan and beyond another twelve rooms, the harem, around a larger courtyard for his twenty four concubines.  So no rest in February!  Every room is decorated with ornate wooden carvings high in the ceilings, tiled floors and stained glass windows.  Built in the late 19th Century the palace was intended to convey the essence of Islamic and Moroccan style of that time.

Again we boarded the coach for another short hop to our next destination the Souk.  The narrow enclosed streets contain every variety of shop selling everything you can imagine.  The sights, sounds and smells emanating from the stalls bombard the senses with extra care being taken to avoid the mopeds and bicycles quickly passing by.  Our guide was leading us to the local bakery in which we could see and smell the bread being freshly baked in a large open oven.  The baker was only to pleased to pose for photographs in exchange for some loose change being placed on the plate strategically place in front of the oven.  The tour continued down the street into a large building with carpets draped all over the walls.  We were invited in to sit down and before our very eyes countless ornate carpets started to appear and be placed on the floor in front of us, each given a brief description of where they were made and in what style.  Then we were hit with the hard sell which made some fell very uncomfortable, but I just took no notice of what the sales men were saying.  Mo then decided she had now had enough and started to walk out with the salesmen in hot pursuit still hoping to make a sale.  I got up also and followed her out back onto the main street stating that you just have to be hard faced and ignore them.  The walk continued through the streets, passing silver smiths making trinkets, then the fabric makers dying the cloth which was hanging high above drying out in the sun.

Morocco - Day 14

09/10/09 - North through Morocco to Southern Spain - 360 miles

Straight Roads and Tolls Booths

It was dark when we departed the ferry in Southern Spain and made our way to the hotel. In an instant we had travelled two hours into the future with the change in time zones. It was also dark when the alarm woke me in Marrakech with the sun still below the horizon when we were shuffling the bikes out of the confined parking area. Today was to be a long ride north heading towards the coast and then onto Tangier to catch the evening ferry to Spain. The journey began with the convoy of bikes battling its way through the early morning traffic of the city to the toll road that would allow us an express trip across the rest of the country. At the first toll booth we had to collect a ticket that would be used later to calculate the cost depending on how far we had travelled on the road.

I still wasn’t feeling 100% so decided I would take it easy for the rest of the day choosing to relax on my bed for a couple of hours, knowing we had a long days ride to come. Following my siesta I went to check over the bike to make sure the oil level, tyres and chain where all fine, didn’t want a breakdown now that we now longer had the support vehicle as back up. The twilight of the evening had returned marked with the echoing sound of the call to prayer as we walked down the busy street looking for the restaurant that John had suggested for our evening meal. Eventually we spotted our destination and had to negotiate the busy traffic as it was on the other side of the road. We were the first to arrive but didn’t have long to wait for John and Brigette to appear, quickly followed by almost everybody on the trip. Tables places where rearranged to accommodate everyone into one area of the restaurant with everybody ordering a pizza from the varied menu. I think everyone had now had their fill of Moroccan Tagines!

Morocco - Day 14

From now on it would be long straight roads inter mixed with fuel stops, coffee breaks and paying at the toll booths all the way to Tangier. At each toll the convoy would disperse amongst the booths, hand in the ticket, pay, pass through the barrier and then regroup on the other side before continuing onwards. This modern highway is ideal for covering great distances quickly with modern service areas but unfortunately they all look the same and therefore the sensation of being in vibrant colourful country such as Morocco is lost. I just hope that the western influence does not take over and spoil this amazing country and turn it into an annex of Europe. The road into Tangier was just has manic as the day we arrived with the added nuisance of some children trying to jump on the back of the bikes whilst we were stopped in the traffic. Eventually we made it to the port entrance with plenty of time to pass through customs and get the last of the Dirham’s exchanged back into Euro’s before boarding the ferry.