Morocco Part 3

Hollywood in Morocco
On our way to zargora we travelled through Morocco's film location region. Some big Hollywood films have been produced here. The most recognisable are gladiator, the living daylights (James Bond), jewel in the nile with Michael Douglas, the new ben Hur and asterisk and obelisk with Gerard depadeu. We signed up for a little tour to have a look at some of the sets that had been left behind. While we were touring around we encountered a film crew. They had set a car tyre on fire to create a smoky atmosphere. It was a bit weird to see a roman solider wandering around but fun to see. A lot of sets were starting to decay but it did emphasise how good the set creators are at creating a facade. From a distance everything seemed so life like, up close you realize they are fakes. You knock on a stone wall and you get a wooden sound. Massive boulders can be tossed around like footballs.
Some of the sets are reused like rhe medina settings, others are left just for the tourists. Our favourite one was off in the distance. A big circular set that was made to look like a town. It was where they filmed the unsullied city of game of thrones in season 3.
Making our way round the sets we were able to take pictures from the front and back of the set. One side all presented and proper looking. The other side all exposed scaffolding.

Dangerous Dates
Arriving in zaragoza we checked into our hotel. There is no denying it, everyone is finding it really hot. The temperature is well into the 40s and is feeling quite oppressive. In our previous group one girl declared that she had drunk three litres of water throughout the day and only been to the toilet once. It was, therefore a relief when we discovered that our hotel had a swimming pool. The only time taken in the room was the time taken to get into swimming costumes. The pool was about 10 to 15 meters in length and was surrounded by date trees. They were about 10 meters in high and at the top were huge bunches of dates. Clustered at the top of each tree were between 3 and 5 bunches of dates. They looked really heavy and ready for harvesting. Shell and I were immediately reminded of the danger posed by falling coconuts in Asia. Every year people are killed when a coconut falls from the tree onto someone's head and kills them. It sounds comical but it is actually deadly. We were communicating this story to a girl in our group when a big gust of wind blow through the trees. The date trees swayed to and fro and suddenly there was a loud crack. A branch holding a large bunch of dates broke away from the tree and came crashing down into the pool. It was actually a horror situation because another of our group, the boyfriend of the girl we were talking to was swimming right underneath the falling dates. He was unaware of the situation but just happened to swim away completely by chance. 10 seconds later the dates crashed into the water with an almighty thud. It missed his feet by about 10 centimeters. If he hadn't have moved it would have caused him serious injury, maybe even have killed him. Collecting ourselves from the shock we removed the branch holding the dates from the pool. It's difficult to tell but I think it weighed somewhere between 10 and 20 kgs.
I was relieved that we had avoided a disaster and thankful. Thankful because I had been taking pictures of shell in exactly the same spot about 15 minutes before.

Ships of the Desert
Tonight is the night of our Sahara camp. Unfortunately, it was not possible to spend the night in the actual desert so we are spending it in a sort of camping site just outside of the desert.
Accommodation is pretty basic, shared showers and toilets. The rooms are domed buildings made from adobe, which is a clay hay mud mixture. It's a little bit academic really because it is too hot to sleep inside. For one night only we are sleeping under the stars. Mattresses have been placed on elevated slats, a bit like a futon bed.
We spend a good portion of the day either in the pool or close to the pool. Just keeping my legs in the water is enough to cool me down. We are waiting for the temperature to drop so we can go on our camel ride. I'm quite excited by this because it will be a first time event and definitely something that I can't do at home.
The time comes and our trusty steeds turn up. They look friendly enough, calm and content. This is good, I don't want a rouge camel breaking from the herd and rampaging through the desert. I had asked earlier what the correct attire and riding procedure was earlier in the day. I was told there was no special requirements.
We approached our camels, shell climbing on first with me desperately running around trying to get photos. It's proving difficult to get good shots at the moment because the sun is so bright I can't see the screen. The camel is kneeling which makes it a lot easier to mount. The moment shell is on the camel stands up. One minute shell is zero degrees horizontal then 45 degrees looking straight up then horizontal again. It is a swift movement by the camel but it looks smooth.
Then it was my turn to embark on the ship of the desert. Getting on was easy and wiggling back on the saddle established a stable position. Then lurching, the camel standing procedure I witnessed earlier was more akin to a roller coaster ride. Before I knew it the camel was standing and I was in the air. The first thing I noticed was that I was high up in the air. These are not small animals.
They were all chained up in a caravan and we headed out into the desert. Riding a camel is a very pleasant experience. It feels safe , secure and plods along at an agreeable speed. We headed out into the desert, found some sand dunes and took some photos. It was really cool, being on a camel in the desert wad real Tony of Arabia type stuff. We stopped off at a village museum on the way back to learn more about the village way of life.

Sand Blasted
We had dinner and retired for the evening. The next day promised to be an epic travel day. 3am start to leave at 4am for a 4x4 adventure into the desert to see the sun rise amongst the sand dunes. The 4x4 would take us around the desert on a bit of a sightseeing tour (4 hours) before rejoining our minibus. Our minibus ride would take about 6 hours making a grand total of 12 hours when you factor in lunch and transfers.
Sleeping outside is not something I do very often and never in Morocco. What I discovered from this experience was it was still hot at night and early morning and the moon can give off an awful lot of light. It was nice to be outside. The temperature was just warm enough and the moon gave a reassuring glow. I managed to get 2 hours worth of solid sleep before I started with my on off light sleep routine. What was interesting was tracking the moon as it crossed the sky.
This continued until until 3 when something dramatic happened. There was a cool breeze thst came through and then the temperature really started to rise. It felt like a lot of heat was rising from the ground. Then the wind started to pick up and a heard a faint roaring sound. As time passed this noise got louder and louder. It sounded like a jet plane accelerating for take off. The closer it got the louder it was until it sounded almost on top of us. The wind had picked up drastically and the branches were now bending in the wind. I just enough time to see a wall of sand blast its way through the trees as I threw my covers over my head to protect myself. Luckily I had seen that shell was awake and doing the same. I could feel the sand pelting the other side of the sheet as the sand storm blew over the top of me. I am not sure how long it lasted, maybe 10 minutes. It was a very peculiar event. When I heard the noise I concluded that something big was coming. Our most accessible option hiding under the sheets given the speed it hit.
Naturally, it woke everyone up. It also just happened to be to be 3 our scheduled time of rising. I congratulated our tour guide for an effective and authentic alarm call.

4x4 Adventure
After our sand blasting we were wide awake which is an unusual state to be in at 3 o clock in the morning. Climbing aboard our chariot and strapping ourselves in I knew that this was going to be a proper off roading experience and not a mummy needs a tank to drop precious off at school thing.
We weren't driving on bitumen for long before we hit the sand. The advice was watch your head as we go over the dunes. Here we go!
I feel it's important to mention at this point that it is pitch black, the only thing that the driver can see is what the headlamps light up. From where I am sitting it looks pretty scary, dunes loom up out of nowhere as we fly up and over them. I can feel the jeep skid and serve as the four wheel drive contends with the shifting sands. It feels like seat of your pants driving but I have no doubt that our driver has done this many times before. The protect your head is good advice because we are bouncing up and down. There is a track of sorts but it is mainly defined by previous vehicles rather than construction. It changes from rock to sand and back again very quickly. At one point our driver does a donut which turns out to be the slowest donut in the world because it is on sand. We, as passengers have no idea where we going. When we stop to stretch our legs we are quite literally in the middle of no where. I joke with shell, "if this was the Northern Territory we would be buried here". Our nighttime venture continues and is interrupted by the occasional animal sighting. First a herd of camels who look very bemused when we light them up I our headlights, then a desert fox and then multiple mouse like creatures. We continue until we reach a camp in the desert.
After over an hour's worth of driving we hit a camp made up of about six tents. It's where we would have stayed if it had been cooler and safer. We are told that the sun will rise in about 23 minutes and a good vantage point is up on one of the dunes. As the sun comes up we see a kaleidoscope of colours light up the surroundings. We see sand dunes as far as the eye can see, two other camps, camels and shrubs. There is no doubting we are in the desert. It is beautiful and special to see the sun rise in the desert. We were lucky enough to be served tea on the dune which was a nice way to start the morning.
Returning back to civilisation we crossed a dried up lake bed and tackled some rough terrain. Endless sands gave way to rocky tracks and mountains. The mountain areas surrounded by sand reminded me of monument valley, very different of course but there were similarities. We had leg stretching stops a couple of times, one under a series of Palm trees but always getting back to our bouncy rock tracks. When we finally hit surfaced rock it was a dramatic change. I commend the driver for a job well done, I couldn't have stayed on top of challenges but he did so brilliantly.
After a brief stop at a cafe we transferred to our old friend the air conditioned minibus. A six hour drive awaited us to reach our next destination.

A Palace fit for Tourist
We passed through some superb scenery as we continued to Taroudannt. This area is famous for argan trees and we were lucky enough to see one of the famous images from the region that of a goat climbing the tree to get at the oil. It's really odd to see a goat in a tree.
I was told that our accommodation for the evening was an old palace once used by the king. It was converted to a hotel and hosts tourists who are coming through the region. It definitely had this feel to it; there were gardens, a family of peacocks(mum,dad and baby) ,swimming pools and huge rooms. It is one of the biggest rooms I have ever been in. Our joke was we were going to complain because we could only play five a side soccer in there and not a full eleven aside game. The buildings and rooms were decorative and well cared for, a really nice place to stay.

Essaouira: Picnic by the beach, the burqa and the caravan
Just before we arrived in Essaouira we stopped for a picnic lunch by the sea. Whilst we were eating our goodies in the heat of the day watching the sea crash against the sand our intrepid guide had a issue with the guys parking next to us. This was his story.
The temperature is into the 40s, parked next door is a caravan, outside is a lady dressed head to foot in a burqa only her eyes are revealed in the slit in the face mask. Her husband, however, is dressed in t-shirt and shorts. The inequality has caused the issue, if modest clothing is to be demanded it should be done on both sides.

Essaouira
Essaouira is the last stop before our tour finishes up in Marrakech. The name Essaouira means image and it is a picturesque port town. We have two nights here and I think we are all ready to be in one place for a bit. We had another cracking hotel, probably the least impressive in terms of facilities and space but made up for it in character. The first thing we notice on arrival is that it is cold. Essaouira is known as the Windy City and the constant wind off the ocean has made the place really cool. Cloud cover has hidden the sun's heat and reduced the temperature to a point where we actually, for the first time in three weeks,feel cold.

Essaouira: all problems can be fixed
Starting our time in this port town with a group dinner we settled down to our chosen cuisine. Those who ordered alcohol found it was delivered in a mug. Curious and confused about the method of delivered, Shell asked the crucial question "does this restaurant owner have a licence to sell alcohol?". A sheepish look from the guide gave our answer and the reason why we are at the back of the restaurant is obvious. My question was this "who gets in trouble if we're caught? Us or the restaurant owner?", "all problems can be fixed" was the response. "With enough cash?" I suppose. No more alcohol was requested.

Essaouira: the tour
We were having a tour of the city by a local guide. We all agree this is a great way to get to know the city

Essaouira: the tour, bread
The Essaouira guide was really nice and really keen to show us her city. She started the tour with a trip to the 'granary square', for our tour guide his was her favorite area. The area was square in shape, with cobble stones on the floor and cafe type rooms/stalls on one side. This was her favorite area because of the bread. Historically it was the area for buying and making bread. The cobblestones were designed to catch grains of wheat and stop people standing on them. The story went like this. People in Essaouira really dislike wasting food particularly bread. Therefore they try and save bread whenever they see it. Id they find it on the floor they'll pick it up and place it on a shelf or windowsill. Then someone will collect it to give to the animals. Later on during the tour she did indeed point out an example of this. Bread was sitting on the electricity meter. Nice story.

Essaouira: the tour, unexpected remedy
Proceeding on to the next square we were given a description of the various spices and herbs on sale. One of them was the 'moroccan viagra root' we had seen before. Our Essaouira tour guide took a handful of the viagra root, gave background and an explanation. Then she returned them to the basket they came from. Except it was the basket they came from, it was another one. I had these visions of someone wanting a cure for a headache and getting a very unexpected result. Luckily the guide recognized her mistake and fixed it avoiding an unfortunate but funny mix up.

Essaouira: the tour, battlements, cannons and echos

Essaouira was fortified by the french because of its strategic importance. The fortifications consists of a long wall woth cannon ports and a round turret at the end. On one side of the town there are ramparts lined with cannons facing out to sea. When i stood at the turret end the cannon stretched for as far as the eye can see. The cannons had a range of 1500 metres. What was truly fascinating was the accoustic turret. The turret had been constructed to amplify the sound of a cannon blast. The idea was that creating an enormous blast noise would convince invaders that the defenders had powerful weapons. To prove this point we were asked to stand in the middle of a circle and shout. I was the first one to try it and to my surprise I found I heard an echo. Everyone else tried and agreed. Strange thing was there was only an echo in that spot. Great deterrent.

Essaouira: the tour, the cats
Shell loves cats and every where we go she'll point them out or interact with them. All through Morocco the cats have been skinny, thin in appearance and not tremendously well cared for. The cats in Essaouira were different, they were much fatter and looked better cared for. They were in fact a different breed, brought over from Europe to kill the black plague rats they were European cats rather than Moroccan.

Essaouira: the tour, the port
Leaving the battlements we headed down to the port. We stopped, just briefly, at a souvenir shop to look at puzzle boxes. These finely crafted jewelry boxes had a special mechanism for opening them. Really interesting to watch all the twisting and turning involved to break into their secrets.
The port was classic picture post card stuff. Small blue boats bobbing up and down on the water. All local boats were blue, anything not painted blue
wasn't local. Gulls flocking around fisherman gutting fish. Weathered fishermen moving boats, the crys of gulls and boats going about their daily business. At one end of the port was a busy fishing hub at the other views of the beach. The title of the image became clear.

Essaouira: cats versus seagull
On the open public square before the port there was a stand off. Three cats and a seagull encircling a dead fish. No animal or bird would make a move, totally unsure of what the reaction would be from the others. The deadlock was broken by man. A crazy man came running in and frightened all apart from his favored cat. The fattest incidentally.

Essaouira: the tour, the tolerance gate
At the entrance/exit to the port was the tolerance gate. A specially constructed gate decorated with Christian, Jewish and Islamic symbols. The gate was to identify that all three religions existed in the city and to promote tolerance. The date on the gate was 1132. It did occur to me that we are still having to ask people to tolerate each other almost 900 years later.

The tour finished up at a silver crafting centre.

Marrakech Part 2
Tombs and Ali baba
End of trip
Hanging out for a pizza after a tarjine
When the language barrier works for you and not against you.
Museums, photographs and Koranic library.
Final dinner last look at the square.

Food
Hide the chicken
Lightly flavoured
Meat and two veg.
Nice variety.
Tarjine, kebabs and couscous

Cultural observations
French and Arabic spoken.
No taking pictures of the military.
Not hearing the call to pray as often. Not as conservative as some areas of Turkey.
Types of camels.
Accommodation on our trip was above expectations.
Lots of cats very few dogs.
Houses and buildings in general here have plain walls on the outside.All the decorations including windows and balconies face inward to a central courtyard. You never get a true indication of how a place looks until you gate past the front door. It's like the outside is inside before you get inside if that makes sense. The reason it is done his way is to hide wealth.
One of the crucial things of a group tour is the people. They can make or break the trip. My hope is always that the group is stable and people will make the effort not to cause problems. In that context it is worth talking about our Morocco groups.
The market area is called a soux, I renamed it a sulk because that is my emotional state when I am in one.
One of our American travel companions told us about one of her family members who came up with an incredible statement. Religious in background, she asserted the "she didn't believe in dinosaurs". Incredible!