A Week in Marrakech

Marrakech.  What to say.  This was a real eye-opening experience in so many ways.  

Cobras loose in the square?  Didn't bother me at all....

Of the few places we've been already, this was the first place we'd been where English was the third or fourth most common language used - School C French was a looong time ago, as I found out.

This was also the first place where the locals weren't always friendly.  Some of them knew some very colourful English phrases indeed...  and they weren't afraid to use them if you didn't buy from their stall or changed your mind about buying something. 

In the square/night market

But, Kyle and I are now much better at haggling in the Souks, or markets.  We've decided it's a real compliment to be accused of being a Berber (means you're not being taken for so much of a ride, price-wise).  Especially if, once you've agreed a price, the seller says "oh but Americans would pay THIS price".  Someone may have said that meant they had more money than sense, but it definitely wasn't me.  We got all our souvenirs from the Souks (two tagines - one for cooking, one decorative, a camel hide foot stool pouf thing, a leather bag, the obligatory fridge magnet, and some other stuff).


We had two Hammams while we were there.  A spa experience where you get mostly naked, get washed by a woman, scrubbed practically raw, then maybe have a back massage, before getting washed again, shampooed and rinsed off.  It was actually pretty good! 

In the desert.  Honest.

Especially after spending two whole days in a bus that would never pass a WOF going to and from the desert (it was as much a desert as Petone is a beach) where we rode a camel to get to our Berber tent that smelt of camel and man-musk.  Mmmmm.


The food was a mixed bag too.  The tagines were generally pretty good and you could get roti as well (filled with soft cheese... nom).  Everything came with flat, hard bread rolls, which I personally got sick of incredibly quickly.  Kyle happily disposed of any leftovers though.

Living like a Berber

Am I glad we went?  Absolutely.  Would I say you should visit?  Um, maybe. Ask me again in a couple of months.