Having a Time Out

It has been a brilliant week in Morocco. A very relaxing week and I am so grateful for that. Having company for a while was just what we needed and it gave us that push we needed to down tools for a bit and chill out.

We went to see Casablanca and sadly it was really dissapointing. Cranes, big holes in the ground (two massive ones giving the view from Pete and Suz's hotel room) and an exceptional amount of traffic everywhere (crossing the road is a once in a lifetime experience). The Medina (their 'old town' markets) was compact and very windy but I was personally over the experience when we saw a pet stall in the centre selling puppies - there were 5 of them and they were squashed into a hampster cage - horrible! All up I wouldn't reccommend it. The only highlight was the first taste of traditional Moroccan food - Chicken and Lamb Tajines all-round. Num num num!

The next day we spent in Rabat which had an awful lot more to offer. A fantastic mix of old and new, beautiful buildings and the most bizzare things for sale in their Medina.  We saw cardboard boxes of tortoises for sale everywhere, some of the best knock-off designer brands i've seen and an oddly dressed man in a sombrero selling water out of a sheepskin. The markets has heaped piles of all the spices you can think of; amazing colours and smells filling the air (and covering some less pleasent ones) - really beautiful and freshly squeezed orange juice stalls on most corners. We had a guide thrust upon us and were fully jipped by his final 'fee', but he was exceptionally informative and showed us all around the back quarters of Rabat. Their mosque all of the best views and decorative buildings and, my favourite part, told us why so many buildings are painted blue... mosquitoes don't like it. Random fact of the day!

I think Jarvis' highlights for Rabat were a bit different to mine:-

1. He found and bought a 'local music' CD - thankfully it has so far only been played once on the boat. The chanting gets a bit much after a while
2. There was protesting going on in the centre of the city. Big signs, lots of shouting and clapping.. Jarvis went and merged into one of the 'mob' for a bit.
3. We saw a local kid try to beat up a fisherman with a steel pipe, pretty scary but unmissable - from a safe distance that is.

 Now our company has left us *sniff* we are looking to go see Marakesh tomorrow and stay there overnight. Pete kindly left us his Lonely Planet book so we are all infomationed-up. Looks light we can rent a mattress on a roof for £2 and sleep out under the stars, too tempting an offer to miss I think!

Tia and Jarvis, Over and Out!