Morocco Part 2

That Garden is a bit weedy
We reached our first milestone after a short time walking. I thought it was a nicely graded walk, just enough challenge for it to be pleasant. Upon reaching the first mosque we were given its history. Built by the Andalusian refugees it looked more like a church than a mosque. Apparently, it wasn't used as a mosque because it wasn't built facing east. One of the cool things about the mosque was it had a great vantage point. It gave us not only a good view of our hotel but also of the whole town. The percentage of blue houses really stood out when we got a panoramic view, when we were in the town it looked all blue. After the group photo we continued on our way winding our way up the mountain, about three quarters of the way up we came across a piece of land that was rampant with weeds. Loads and loads of weeds stretching out through the fields, looking at it I didn't think it would be long until somebody weeded them out.
After hitting our second milestone we descended back to our hotel. To be honest I was engaged in such a deep conversation that I didn't notice my surroundings very much. There were chickens, mud, uneven ground and bushes. I was grateful that I had brought plenty of water, hat, sunnies and sunscreen because we were really exposed for most of the way.
Returning we did the classic we are on holiday routine and chilled out by the pool, ate at the restaurant and just generally enjoyed the facilities. As this was a two night stop we were well rested by the time we left in the early morning.

Tangier: The Bus Trip
We were on a local bus for our trip to Tangier and it is fair to say that it was not the most luxurious coach I have ever been on. The air con consisted of having the windows open and hoping for a cool breeze. One thing I did notice when I got on was that people seemed to be paying to put their luggage in the hold of the coach. This was confirmed when an Asian looking girl came onto the coach and asked us (in English) how much we paid for the luggage. It's at this point, and not for the first time that I was grateful we had our guide sorting all that kind of stuff out. Bargaining for luggage storage is not what I want to be doing on my holiday. The trip wasn't as breezy as most people would have liked but we arrived safe and sound.

Tangier: kick up the bum
We arrived in Tangier and was deposited in front of a local cafe called Ali Baba which was to be the home of our luggage while we went exploring. First order of the day was food, so we all settled down to have lunch. While we were waiting for our food a small dishevelled child of about 6 came up to shell and asked for money. Shell immediately went into teacher mode and engaged the child who had taken a keen interest in her bangles. The cafe owner quickly appeared, led the child away from the table and had a word in his ear. Looking disgruntled but not deterred the kid made his way back to the table. Just then another backpacker came past with their big backpack on. There was something protruding from the outside pockets and quick as a flash the kid made a grab for it. He got his fingers to it and established a grip. The cafe owner slapped the kid's hand away, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, turned him round and gave him a well deserved kick up the bum to see him on his way. The kid ran off never to be seen again. If Shell had seen this she would not have approved but then again she did get to keep her bangles.

Tangier: Mind your Step, that's $30 please
We had a free afternoon and after our orientation walk we had a look round around Tangier. We had limited time to have a look around so we decided to take a walk up the hill to the medina and Casbah. For some reason I had a hankering to see Spain and that was the place to do it. Tangier is close enough to Spain to be able to see it on a good day and today was a good day. We took a gentle stroll up the hill, went past a cafe called "Cafe Colon" and, with a little map consultation we discovered where we needed to be.
After tracing through the city wall for a a little bit we came to an archway which led out of the medina. Under this archway were two small steps, not big, not dangerous and obvious to the eye. Two children aged around the 7 year old mark, who were hanging around the archway called out 'mind your step' which we politely thanked them for. From that moment on they were like limpet minds attached to us. Which ever way we faced, whatever direction we headed in they took on the role of uninvited guides, this way to the market, this way to the casbah, this way, this way. Stepping through the archway we did indeed see Spain on the other side of open ocean, it was a bit surreal to be that 'close' to another country. I could understand the strategic of Gibraltar, everything hat went into and out of the Mediterranean could be monitored from there.
Having filled our boots we wandered along the the outside of the walls with our little shadows following us. Returning to the archway we explored the local area a bit more, we seemed to be on a general course to head down to the market place. About half way down we stopped off at a pharmacy, whilst everybody went into the pharmacy shell remained outside. The two little kids then tried their luck and asked Shell for money for 'guiding'. Shell laughed them off and they disappeared after that.

Tangier: A cure for everything
Winding our way down the steps we found our way into the market. We were starting to get used to the narrow streets, the crowded alleyways and the shops whose goods spilled out of their doorways to greet you. One shop grabbed the members of the female members of our group that of a herb shop. What actually happened was Shell was lured in by a exfoliating mitt that is used in a hammam scrub. Shell has been wanting a hammam scrub since Turkey so anything related is interesting. The shop owner, who was very friendly, took us on a tour of his shop. The things that really caught my eye were the various products that claimed to boost sexual desire in males /females and a big sign for Moroccean Viagra. The Viagra one looked like a curious root / verb thingy but there was no obvious leaflet confirming vigorous clinical trials or possible side effects. Probably no surprise that this was not a purchased item; what did get bought was the mitt. Leaving this Aladdin's cave of herbal delights we made our way back to the main square.

Tangier: I can see Spain from here
Next stop was cafe Hafa which was reputed to be the haunt of many famous people. This is its Wikipedia entry.
"Café Hafa is a cafe in Tangier, Morocco, located along the cliff top overlooking the Bay of Tangier. Opened in 1921, the cafe has retained its 1920s style of decor and through the years has been visited by numerous writers and singers, from Paul Bowles and William S. Burroughs, to The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.[1] The cafe is known for its mint tea, a Tangier special brew."
We can confirm that they do serve very nice mint tea and we spent a very pleasant afternoon drinking tea, looking at Spain and talking about life with our fellow travel companions.

Tangier: Differing Experiences
After our tough afternoon of drinking tea we were returned to the Ali baba cafe by a very friendly taxi driver where we rejoined the rest of the group. It was interesting to compare stories because we'd had a nice time whereas some of the others had had a very ordinary experience. They had discovered some grotty areas of tangier.
While we were sitting having dinner three street musicians appeared from nowhere, placed a hat on Shell's head , a hand on her shoulder and started doing musical jig. After a couple of minutes of this crazy intrusion they passed around a hat for money. When it became clear that they weren't going to get anything, their smiles disappeared and they became nasty. Scowling and shouting trying to intimidate us into parting with our cash. They still didn't get anything, eventually moving on with some persuasion from everyone around us.

Marrakech: Overnight sleeper train
The trip to Marrakech from tangier was on board an overnight sleeper train. Hurray!! I really like overnight sleeper trains because it is not something I do very often or have had the opportunity to do very often. It seems to me to be a great way of travelling a long distance because you are unconscious and don't notice the time go by. When you wake up are in your destination. Easy, job done.
There were four bunks in one compartment and we were sharing we the honeymooners. It sounds a bit odd when written down but we were assured that there would be no cries of "I'm feeling lonely" in the middle of the night. I am of course making a joke, the couple we were sharing with were delightful company. We chatted away until about 2 in the morning. One crazy thing that happened was that at one o clock the train stopped, all the lights went off, there was a lot of banging of metal on metal. Sitting there in the dark there were a variety of thoughts going through my head but most were pacified by the fact that there was no great excitement from our fellow passengers. We later learned, when we disembarked that the train had stopped to change direction and there was a change of engine.
We arrived early in the morning feeling tired, sweaty, stinky and a little bit disheveled. We all had our fingers crossed that we would have access to our hotel rooms (not guaranteed because we were so early) so we could shower. We had a smooth flow from the station to a private minibus taxi to the hotel that, not for the first time, I was glad that we were on a trip with a guide who had sorted all this out.
Thankfully our rooms were ready and the facilities were very much appreciated. For some reason, despite coping with the heat quite well up until now, I was struggling with its power and the air con, suddenly became my saviour. Again, we had really nice accommodation with a swimming pool option. Settling in and sprucing up was the precursor to our Marrakech orientation walk.
Marrakech: Jemaa el-Fnaa, greatest spectacle on earth
Our orientation walk ended at Jemaa el-Fnaa, the main square in Marrakech, dubbed the greatest spectacle on earth. It is daytime, early in the morning and it is just starting to fill up, let's say it's about 25% full. It really has the wonder radar activated and twitching off the scale. There are heaps of orange stalls selling fresh oranges, squeezed in front of your eyes (if you ask them), snake charmers, water sellers with traditional leather bags and brass cups and men with Barbary monkeys. Unsurprisingly, it was the snake charmers that I couldn't take my eyes off, especially as they were dropping snakes over the shoulders of passing tourists. The situation played out something like this, snake goes on shoulder, friend takes photo, snake handler demands cash, tourist pays up. Although, I thought the snake guys were chancing it a bit, given that most people have a healthy respect to keep their distance from snakes placing one on somebody's shoulder would more than likely result in a freak out show. Turning your head to discover a snake looking back at you was more likely to create panic than desire to take a photo. However, this is what was happening. It is unusual to see a man's face waved a couple of inches from a rearing cobra. I, myself, have been through many town squares in Australasia and Europe and never seen a reptile antagonist.
Unfortunately, this was the day I was feeling a bit run down and struggling with a unsettled stomach so I retired to the hotel room for a bit of recuperation time.

Marrakech: End of North Morocco Trip. Final meal
This was the end of our North Morocco trip and I was sad. I had enjoyed everything about it, the trip, the group, the fun energetic people, the destinations, activities , tours , sights, sounds and adventures. I wished that the group was coming with us on our South Morocco trip but alas they were not. Many had a couple of extra days before they were off on new adventures and were participating in arranged activities so we were likely to see them over the next couple of days.

Marrakech: Bike tour, cooler and calmer
We had decided to do a bike tour in our free day before the departure of the southern tour. We had decided to do it first thing in the morning rather than in the afternoon. This was the best decision ever, because it was cooler and calmer than any other time in Marrakech.
Cooler because it has really been up there in terms of temperature, the afternoon can get up into the 40s and Marrakech is like an oven. The weather pattern had been, cool in the morning until about 10 or 11, warming up rapidly between 11 and 1pm, then full on furnace blast until about 7, cooling down just a little between 7 and 10, then I don't know after that because I am in bed with air con. We were on the bikes at 8 and cycling around loving the cool breeze.
Calmer, because most people are still in bed in the early morning meaning that there was less traffic on the road and less people in the street. The place never really filled up until about 10 in the morning. I guessed it was because people stay out late and don't really do much in the mid day heat. It's just a guess.
So, we were biked and helmeted up first thing with our water bottles ready to go, trying to remember the last time we had been on a bike. Our bike guide was Mohammed, a really nice friendly, jokey type of a guide. He was full of don't worry, there will be no problem, follow me, don't work about the traffic they are used to dodging people etc. Etc. He showed us a few hand signals which meant left, right, slow down , stop and then we were off.
Now, my strategy was clear, I was going to talk to Mohammed as much and as often as I could. Why? The reason being if I was focused on him I was blissfully unaware of the dangerous and chaotic traffic buzzing around me. I would, therefore be gliding past a potential calamitous situation without a care in the world. It worked too.

Marrakech: bike tour, real men fast in Marrakech
One of the major topics was Ramadan which had just finished. I was asking what it was like for our guide to go through Ramadan. Firstly, he said that he was on bike tours for the whole time he was fasting. The mountain trails which were a lot more challenging were a real test because they were physically draining. As expected the lack of water was a problem. Secondly, he pointed out that there was a saying in Marrakech, "only real men fast in Marrakech". The excessive heat in this region makes the no water rule tough to get through. Personally, I am pretty sure I could do the no food but the no water thing is where I draw the line. I think it's too dangerous.

Marrakech: Bike tour, seeing the sites of Marrakech
Our tour took us round all the major tourist spots. It was actually a nice way to see the city, we were able to cover a good distance quickly and easily. Far more than we could have done if we were walking and certainly less tiring. We visited the Koutoubia mosque, the major mosque of the city, the Saadian tombs, the yellow palace, the streets of the medina and a very lovely spice shop.
Our mid way stop was Jemaa el-Fnaa square which was now almost empty except for the merchants setting up for the day. We had a delicious orange juice from one of the stalls and discussed the sights of square. Shell had a real problem seeing the Barbary apes which were being released from their cages. The sight of these creatures in chains upset her. After a discussion about animal welfare we were on our way again.

Marrakech: bike tour, what I learnt
Apart from learning more about the architecture of the city and seeing a lot of the streets, our conversations were very informative. I learnt that.
1. The wifi towers are disguised as Palm trees; very well I might add.
2. The king has a lot of palaces, when I asked about this I was told "of course he does, he is the king".
3. The Moroccans love their king.
4. There are a huge amount of spices and herbs used in Moroccan culture in everything from food to medicine to perfumes to lavender.
5. If you directly inhale the main ingredient that goes onto Vicks vapour rub it blows your head off and brings tears to your eyes.
6. Ramadan is a tough gig in Marrakech.
7. A bike tour is a good way to see the city and a good way to see things that you wouldn't get to see by walking.

Marrakech: bike tour, what I missed
My distracting chats with Mohammed meant that I missed some things. I believe I missed many collisions. I know this because Shell reported to me that she had a near miss with people, a horse and a 10 cm miss with a taxi. Apparently, the passenger waved vigorously and apologetically after witnessing this near miss. Shell has no fear and can deal with disaster easily on the fly, me on the other hand have a masters in anxiety from the university of worry so it is probably a good thing I am clueless. Saying that I was constantly looking back to make sure shell was ok. I saw the horse miss and dropped back to ensure no injury had occurred.

Marrakech: back to the hotel
Our bike tour took 2.5 hours and we both felt as though we had seen a good amount of the city. The sun was starting to warm up to a point where the sweat would have started creating puddles on the floor so we were glad we were finished. Returning back to the hotel we got showered and changed and I enjoyed a lazy morning/afternoon in the room writing my travel diary. Later we bumped into our North tour group and exchanged stories. The girls had been to a hammam and enjoyed a good scrub and rub. There was nudity involved which took many girls past their comfort zone, Aussies and Americans aren't used to getting their bits out in public. I was very good, exercising a high degree of emotional maturity by staying silent, holding back a tidal wave of school boy jokes which no one would have appreciated.
As it turned out one of our group had been out in the morning and her taxi almost hit someone on a bike. Yep, that's right, it was us. The waving passenger was our North tour friend who recognised and was the enthusiastic waver. Small world. We all agreed to meet up again for our final, final meal together.

Marrakech: New group
We had our new group meeting for our South Morocco trip, the dynamics were very different but the people were nice so we were looking forward to our new adventure.

South Morocco group
We've had a complete change to our group. None of our north Morocco are continuing on with us. Instead of 12 people we have 5, two couples and a single male traveler. Everyone us nice, chilled out and easy to get on with.

Marrakech: Final, Final Meal, Gorillas in the Mist
We had decided to go back to the crazy square for dinner. It is night time and things have changed. The place is totally packed now, people are everywhere. There are singers, drummers, dancers, tooth pullers, medicine men and people does their wares left, right and centre. The oddest of these is the tooth puller, who is a little old man sitting in front of a table with a pair of pliers and an assortment of teeth in front of him. Not really the dentist I would employ. Weaving and ducking our way through the crowds we made our way to the restaurant on the opposite side of the square.
We made our way to the terrace where we had a good view of the square. We were next to a table full of local people who were celebrating their birthday, they were very lovely and shared their birthday cake and chatted a little bit.
One thing that you sometimes see in restaurants is an active sprinkler system in the outdoor dining area. The purpose of this is to spray the customers with a fine spray of water to cool them down. This works really well when it is infrequent and super hot outside. Unfortunately, neither of these two things were present at our current location. We were being blasted by sprinkler jets every 30 seconds and the temperature had cooled down. The net result was that the water wasn't evaporating and it was actually making us too cool. It got to a stage where it was a bit like gorillas in the mist, we had to part the curtain of mist to see each other and everything on the table was soaked. Thankfully, after a polite request they turned it off.

Marrakech: That's not my sister
After a dinner we took a trip round the crazy square which was now bursting at the seams. We walked past all the food stalls and immediately attracted the attention of the waiters/ owners. "Eat at my restaurant, eat at mine, mine is the best etc. Etc.". One guy decided to use the familiar and friendly tactic which backfired on him terribly. Referring to Shell and I he said "come to my restaurant, you and your sister will like it". In my coldest voice I informed him "that's not my sister that's my wife", thereby creating one of the most awkward moments in Marrakech. Despite looking really uncomfortable at his mistake, he still kept going. He didn't get our custom.
It is really worrying though, on other trips, people have said that Shell and I look similar that they thought we were brother and sister. Given that we grew up on different sides of the planet there is no chance we are even remotely related but it is still disturbing.
Saying our final, final goodbyes we left our group, sandwiched ourselves into the bus and took the night ride back to our hotel. The morning meant the start of our South Morocco trip.

Best of the South: New Group
Aroumd: Transportation
One great piece of news was that for the majority of our journey through the south we used a private minibus. It was hard to get local transport for our destinations so a private minibus was the only way to get to our destinations. Even better was the fact that there was only five of us, the minibus was designed to hold 12. Net result was that we had loads of room, plenty of room for our bags and loads of leg room. I grabbed the whole of the back seat and enjoyed the luxury.
We were leaving the heat of Marrakech and heading up to the Atlas Mountains. The plan was to stay at a local gite, or home stay and go for a hike in the afternoon.

Aroumd: Missed me
Driving along the motorway we notice the scenery start to change to mountainous, rocky and different. One piece of drama was a tumbling crate from the van in front of us. They hadn't secured the plastic grates to the roof and the speed of the wind from he van was enough to knock it off. Fortunately, we were far enough behind to be able to avoid the crate easily. Luckily there wasn't anything on the other side of the road so we were able to both slow down and go around. The van driver realised what had happened, pulled over and stopped on the side of the road. At which point our driver stopped alongside and he got an ear full.

Aroumd: In the Atlas Mountains
The first thing we noticed when we stopped at the base of the mountain was how much cooler it was. The Atlas Mountains are North Africa's highest peak and promised to hold some amazing views. The heat had really dropped to a pleasant temperature. The other thing at we found amazing was that there was snow on the peak, incredible given the heat we had experienced in Morocco so far.
We stored the bags, got ourselves some water and started on our ascent. Funnily enough, we had now become comfortable with the donkeys. Probably because there were so many of them around this region, them seemed to be the preferred mechanism for transportation. We noticed they were carrying everything from backpacks to food and water. We gave our day packs to our donkey (they weighed less than 4kg each so we felt ok) to take to our accommodation and followed our guide into the mountains.

Aroumd: The Gite
It took about an hour at a very gentle pace to reach our gite. The gite was situated in a small village part way into the mountains. As usual the streets were close together and a central feature at the entrance was the courtyard. We were greeted with a refreshing glass of Moroccan tea, a minty affair that was gratefully received.
The gite was really nice and surprisingly large. We each had a room and our single passenger got a room with a choice of three beds. We were given a guide and told that it should only take 1.5 hours round trip. Tooled up with plenty of water we made an assault on the mountain.

Aroumd: The hike]
All five of us started on the walk with our mountain guide making six. We wound our way through the village with a running commentary from our guide.we were told that one of the original buildings has no date because no one knows exactly when it was built. We were shown the local school and told a little bit of the village's history and dynamics. Apparently, there were 100 houses with 2000 people from 12 families. We all found it unbelievable that there were only 12 families so I asked our intrepid guide when we returned. He told us that there were about 100 families so either our mountain guide got his numbers wrong in translation or he was telling us porkies to see how gullible the tourists were.
We crossed about half a kilometre of rough uneven rocky terrain before we started to climb. The path up was unpaved but well defined. The rocks would move and shift as we moved up the mountain. It was safe, well trodden land but needed a bit of care to ensure you didn't roll an ankle. We must have completed a kilometre when we reached our first shop stop. An old man had set up a stone shelter with a wooden canopy and was sitting there watching the mountaineers. Out of a brick funnel we saw mountain water cascading along sluice way guided by brick channels. This wise old man had constructed an impromptu refrigerator by hanging soda bottles in the mini waterfall. Classic.
It is at this point that our eldest member of the group had decided to call it a day. The rough uneven ground had been a bit of a worry for him. I think a combination of the hot sun, uneven ground, knee injuries and an unknown distance ahead had caused him to have second thoughts. He had decided to remain with the old man in the shade and rejoin us when we returned from the hike. We also learned that one of the other girls in the group was carrying an ankle injury and was being very careful where she put her feet. She had decided to carry on but let us know it wouldn't be a run up the mountain. Wetting our hats in the water to help cool down our heads, we continued with one down.

Aroumd: The Hike, mules not donkeys you ass
One thing we did see a lot of was donkeys or rather mules. We got a lesson in our four legged friends from our mountain guide. He informed that mules were used because donkeys couldn't make it up the mountain because their legs are too short. That being the difference between donkeys and mules, mules have longer legs than donkeys.
What these mules did have was a lot of backpacks to carry. We saw lots of side packs full of travellers backpacks. I asked the guide about this and he said that there were a variety of walks available some as long as 6 days. As a result there were camps established at various points throughout the mountain. The mules were taking these backpacks to the base camp.
These mules always seemed to have right of way simply because of their speed and size. One interesting mule sighting was about three quarters of the way up. From a distance we saw this big ball of hay coming towards us. Trying to spot the carrier was like trying to find a mule in a haystack, he was there but very well camouflaged. The mountain guide said that the hay was the food source for the mules and it was the one load they didn't mind carrying because they knew they were going to get fed. The mountain guide made the joke that they are the original 4x4 off road vehicle.

Aroumd: The Hike, progress report
We ascended gradually and steadily stopping at various shelters/shops on the way. They were probably half a kilometre apart and every time we reached a new one I would have to wet my hat again. Despite soaking the material right through the sun's intensity would dry it out. I noticed that our progress was slow, it was going to take us well over an hour and a half to do this. In fact after an hour and a half we weren't even at the top.
The other thing I noticed was that our mountain guide hadn't taken a drink and wasn't even out of breath unlike most of our group who were chugging back the water and inhaling oxygen for all they were worth.

Aroumd: The Hike, the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch
At the top of our climb was the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch and a well earned rest. The shrine is the burial place of a medieval Saint and attracts the Moroccan faithful wishing to receive baraka (blessings) from this sacred place. The basic gist is this, by performing a set of rituals a person (usually a women) will find a husband/wife and this particular Saint was able to talk to God direct. Our mountain guide explained to us that the imams of Islam in the local village had explained to pilgrims that this wasn't true but they made the journey anyway. I guess it's amazing what people will believe.
We also discovered runners at the top of the hill and learnt that it was a spot for marathon runners to run 42 kilometres through the mountain. We saw a couple of skinny guys whizz past as they started their descent.

Aroumd: The Hike, the descent
The descent was a lot easier and we returned a lot quicker than we came up. It didn't seem any time at all before we had returned to the refrigerator shelter where we had left one of our crew. Both him and the old man were starting to get worried because we had been gone so long. We cut through a shady wooden area, past the fields and through the village back to the gite. Shell said she saw a snake on the way but couldn't identify it.
Returning to the gite we were welcomed by a feast of pancakes with honey and jam to refuel. We were grateful that there was only five of us because we had to use communal showers. The wait wasn't too long before we could get cleaned up. We were treated to a tarjine feast with lamb which was delicious and really welcomed. At the end of the evening we all agreed that we had had a really good day.

Ait benhaddou: Adobe, I like their flash plugin

We came down from the mountains and were now entering the desert. The next 3-4 days were big travel days with 5-6 hours in the minibus. There was some spectacular views as we travelled into a new area of the country.
Ait benhaddou is home to one of the grandest kasbah in the country. It is also used as a location in the movie Gladiator. One thing that struck me as we were exploring the village was that we were well and truly in the desert now. Gone were the mountains, done were the villages and cities.
As we explored the kasbah it was apparent that building materials and construction methods had changed. The homes were built from a material called adobe; w mixture of clay and hay. It was quite obviously different from anything we'd seen previously. All the buildings were a terracotta colour and looked in good condition despite their age. The gladiator movie crew had left an archway but not much else. Unless someone told you, it was not obvious that it had been used as a film set. I'll have to watch the movie again to see if I can pick it.
Strategically speaking it was well positioned. From the top you could see for kilometers and kilometers. No one could approach without being seen. There were two sets of walls protecting the town. An outer wall securing the perimeter and an another inner wall should the outer wall be breached. Villagers could steadily retreat to further defenses at higher points ultimately ending up on the hill where a secure building was the final stand.
The big take away memories from our quick walk around were:
1. The tombs were located outside the city. They didn't have any gravestones.
2. One of the local artists were painting with a sugar solution that was invisible until heat was applied. The dark shades appeared after a blow torch was applied.
3. We saw another tour group, the first since we started our trip.
4. The river bed had dried up allowing us to freely walk along it.

Ait benhaddou: market and mountain
Leaving the next day we broke the journey with a trip to the local market. Coles/Tesco it was not. There was row after row of vendors selling local produce. None of this pre packed nonsense, just big piles of veges everywhere. Pyramids of onions, heaps of carrots, mountains of potatoes etc. There were big pens of chickens and a butchers block near by; can't get fresher.
Situated off to one side was a man yelling loudly with the intensity of an evangelical preacher. Asking our guide for an explanation we were told that he was the local medicine man. His words were "less educated people go to him to buy ancient medicine to cure aliments. .. the medicine won't kill you". There was no real indication about whether it would make one better either. What he was selling looked to be mostly herb based. Like the comedian Tim Minchin said "alternative medicine that has been proven to work is called medicine".
The other thing we noticed about the market was it was super busy. We found that we were ok if we kept moving but the moment we stopped we were accosted by people trying to sell stuff.
We were also told that this was essentially a just for today pop up market. By the end of the day everything was cleared away and tidied up. It seemed hard to believe looking at chaotic scene around us.
Climbing aboard our minibus we left the market and started to climb back up into the mountains. Weaving our way up the mountain we stopped off for happy snaps. Even here there is something selling junk.