Morocco for Beginners

Hola, We have gone, in just a couple hours of travel, from a Country in Europe where you can drink the tap water, but not flush toilet paper, to a Country in Africa where you can not drink the water, but can flush the toilet paper, to a Country in Europe where it is open season on plumbing. Now we can drink and flush with abandon! From Greece, we took a quick jaunt to Morocco, and now we are at our old haunt in Jimena, Andalucía, Espana; with our friends Indy and Inka. So let me fill in the gaps.  

Morocco, expect the unexpected

I was very ambivalent about going to Morocco. Some people told us they love it and return often. Others did not like the vibe, nor the people, nor the filth. We were warned to expect edginess taken up a notch, and a higher potential for theft. I was prepped to expect pushy sales people and kids hawking everything from souvenirs, restaurants, to being a tour guide, and who knows what else. Every tourist in touristy areas is treated to some of that. I particularly dislike it. So 20 times worse was not appealing. Turned out, we experienced no theft, and only a bit of pushy hawkers.

Dressing for Ladies

It is advised to cover from wrist to ankle, keep my hair up and covered, and wear sunglasses to cut down on the leering. I complied, and while I may have been less offensive to the Muslim sensibility than the tourists in Daisy Dukes and tube tops (especially the 50+ year olds in said get up – that offended even me), it was probably overkill. On the other hand, as soon as I broke out of those clothes, we did experience some aggressive “selling,” This included a henna artist that grabbed my wrist and would not let go; people that “lead” you to where you are already going, whether you need the help or not (it is super easy to get lost in the Medina), then aggressively demand a tip for their trouble. It was a lesson in traveler etiquette: if you want respect, respect the culture you are visiting. Dress like a whore, be treated like one; in this culture, that is how women not “appropriately” dressed are seen. Wear baggy clothes, cover arms and legs, it is just considerate, and you will have a more pleasant stay.

It’s not Europe

An American died a few days ago in Fez from Food poisoning; it only took 3 days. Alarmed by this news, we took the opportunity to buy a fresh course of Cipro. After a year of travel the prescription we initially packed is now expired. We got it over-the-counter in Greece, for 6 Euros. I’m sure the original prescription from the US cost 10 times that much, plus another 100+ for the doctor appointment. It was never needed luckily, because we had no issues. We used bottled water even to brush our teeth; we were not stupid about what we ate, but we still managed to taste authentic Moroccan food.

The one thing we did not see in Morocco is alcohol. None, zero, nada.  No restaurant we visited sold wine or beer or cocktails. Somebody said it was because there was a mosque near. But there is always a mosque near? It was prohibited to bring it into the Riad, a pity since a glass of wine on the roof terrace would have been nice.

Casablanca

When we first arrived in Casablanca, I thought it was going to be a very long 4 days in Morocco. Casablanca, at least the part we saw, is a filthy pit. Other than the grand Grand Mosque, there was nothing pretty about it. And unless you are a Humphrey Bogart – Ingrid Bergman fan and want to trod the Casablanca landmarks, there is not much to do. 

Marrakech

We hightailed it to Marrakech for the remaining 3 nights. Now Marrakech was a nice surprise. Cleaner, cuter, cool vibe. We  stayed in a Riad in the Medina. Medina is the ancient, walled part of town. Roads are paths about 3 feet wide in spots, but nowhere wide enough for a car. The roads meander and most lead to dead ends. Tourists get lost. Not maybe. Riads are former homes or palaces; always arranged similar to colonial style. Or maybe, and more likely, colonial style is like Moroccan or Spanish styles. Anyway, it is a center courtyard with rooms, some narrow, off this central courtyard. Most are 3 stories high, and a roof terrace. They never have external windows, or much external identification. And we had to duck about a foot to get through the door. Inside is another world: quiet, peaceful, sometimes opulent. It was a nice base. 5 times a day we could hear the call to prayer. These loudspeaker announcements are all live. If you listen closely you can decipher the different voices, because you are likely hearing the call from 3 or more mosques at the same time.

Our three days were filled visiting a garden (actually standing in line for as much time as we spent in the garden), a palace, and the main square. The most crazy, crowded, lively main square we have ever been. Where snake charmers try to get you to pay a fee to take a picture of the snakes. Same with monkeys in diapers. Other street performers and musicians plying their business, all a bit more aggressive about getting tips than usual.

Visit to a Hammam

One activity we had to do was visit a hammam. It’s a bathhouse; the ritual is you get bathed (while lying on a mat, you’re never in the water) and scrubbed, a body mask, shampoo and light rubdown. The room is dark, the mat already wet from the last client, so immediately I was a little squeamish. The scrubbing was intense, nothing light about it. The massage was excellent. We had tea before, between the hammam and massage and after the massage. That is another thing about this culture: everyone gives you tea, all the time. Our 1 hr, 45 min treatment lasted over 3 hours. It was a highlight of our time in Morocco.

Berber Life

Next we took a day trip out to the mountains and valleys. There is a mountain range: Atlas Mountains, that are almost as high as Mt Whitney. Really rough craggy steep peaks. Berber people live in this area. They have their own language and clothing, but still Muslim. Whole Families live in one room, with the extended families in neighboring rooms, sharing toilet and kitchen facilities. We were invited in to one. They travel mostly on mules. Little mules. The donkeys are about the size of shetland ponies and the mules are little bigger. Sheep and goat herds dotted the mountain. We spotted them by spotting the sheppard, usually sitting on a rock; the goats and sheep blended into the landscape otherwise. It was a nice day trip, and where we acted like tourists and rode the camels, dressed like Berbers.

Trek to Andalucía

Next day we hiked our stuff out of the medina, to a taxi, to the train station, 2 trains, another taxi to the port, a ferry across the narrow strait in the Medeterranean to Spain. Another bus shuttle to where one of Corky’s boys picked us up and shuttled us to the Cortijo. 

Indy and Inka (the lurchers) met us familiarly and excitedly. We were happy to see them too. Add to that, we are happy to see again the stellar view from this property, especially with the full moon. We’ve got the 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 horses and 6 chickens to take care of for the next month. Last night I stepped on one of the hens, boy was she mad and a big baby. She hid under a fig tree and would not go in the coup for awhile. I will pay attention to where my feet are tonight. 

Onward Travel

After a month here in Andalucía, we will be heading back to England for a few weeks to take care of Peggy (The bull mastiff) and her sidekick Tommy (choc Lab). Then we are trekking 23 hours back to Summer, down to Australia. Our plan is a week in Brisbane before we go north to Hervey Bay. There will be a big dog to take care of, so a nice place to be for Christmas.  We plan to spend 6 months or so in the Southern hemisphere: Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong (if things settle down) etc.  

Adios for now