Ourika Valley and our last day in Marrakech

Marrakech, Morocco (Day 3) and the Ourika Valley (Click on the photo to view the album!)

On our third day we set out for an excursion in Ourika Valley in which we got to ride out of the busy city into the peaceful Atlas Mountains.  We drove past many little Berber villages (the local people of the area, of non-Arab descent) and hiked up into the mountains to see several waterfalls.  It was a nice hike – it was nice to get exercise and breath the crisp, clear mountain air.  As Morocco is heading into winter, the water levels were very low so we were hiking a lot through the river beds, but we could definitely see where the water levels would reach by late spring and it was impressive – it would be an entirely different river then.

We enjoyed a tasty lunch, probably our best simple meal, along the water and then headed on a peaceful drive through the neighboring valley, stopping along the way to take pictures and seeing a number of pastures and beautiful plains with snow-capped mountains, flocks of sheep, …just beautifully simple and serene.  We stopped to see Lake Lalla Takerkoust which also had incredibly low water levels and then headed back to Marrakech.  Once back in the city, we were dropped off at our “taxi stop” – basically where automobile traffic could go no further and we doubled back towards the square on foot on a Beth scarf mission.  The previous day I had seen a fantastically beautiful (and upon feeling it I determined high quality) scarf that I was not ready to negotiate for at the time – but I returned with negotiation skills at the ready.  Chris and I both did a little more shopping and as Chris bargained and became more comfortable with how to do so realized how addictive it was.  Chris has now leveled up in his bargaining skills!  The funny moment of the night however was when Chris and I both bargained in the same shop with separate shopkeepers.  We both walked out feeling triumphant and then compared notes.  Chris announced how the price had started at 120 dirhams and he had bargained down to 80.  At which point Daniel caught my eye and I grinned.  I had bargained from 150 to 70.   I don’t think Chris was as happy after that…

We enjoyed our last dinner in the new city at a fairly “swanky” restaurant that had a pretty impressive belly dancing show and absolutely delicious food. 

Final thoughts about Morocco?  I loved the historical sites, the bustle of the street, the challenge of immersing myself in such a different culture, and we all really loved being on “Moroccan Time” – which means everything just slows down, you stop checking your watch, and you go with the flow.  Ahh, so nice.

The mixture of cultures here is fascinating.  Students in Morocco do all of their coursework in the French language, can elect to take English (which can be useful for tourism), may speak a local dialect like Berber, and use Arabic for things pertaining to their faith.  Walking the streets around tourist sites we honestly heard a mix of Arabic, English, Spanish, French, German, and Berber at every turn – it was amazing! 

The Medina has a special place in my heart – so unique and bustling!  To me it was a mix of the extensiveness of the shopping streets in Seoul, Korea, the types of goods found in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and in Cairo, and the bargaining expectations of Cairo and Luxor.  Compared to Egypt – Egyptians still win for aggressive sales and bargaining.    The main square in the medina of Marrakech was remarkable – it made me think of what Cairo used to be like twenty years ago or perhaps Istanbul thirty or forty years ago.  Food – we had similar challenges here as we did in Egypt, although we did get to try a lot more of the local cuisines.  We had a few good meals, but Marrakech was not a city to “eat your way through” like some of the cities in Europe, we tended to eat out of functionality and if it tasted good it was a bonus.  Eating clean, safe food was a concern and even the really expensive food was not as healthful or delicious as anticipated.  Ultimately we found ourselves looking forward to the food back in Spain.  Overall though, we really did love Marrakech – I would definitely consider returning to Morocco to explore other cities although I can certainly understand how this destination might not be for everyone, our adventurous nature loved it!

Exploring Marrakech – Monday 19 November 2012

Marrakech, Morocco (Day 2) - Around the Medina (Click on the image to view the photos!)

We slept in, ate a yummy breakfast, finalized our “game plan”and set out to explore the city. Our first big historical stop was the Medersa Ben Youssef, which was once a dormitory and school for Muslim scholars – we walked in and immediately all thought, wow. Even the hallway heading to the main courtyard was lined with beautiful tiles and ornate arabesque woodwork and plaster work. We stepped into the courtyard and our jaws all dropped – it was a beautifully decorative courtyard in which nearly every inch was ornate word or plaster work – really it was absolutely stunning. The pictures will do a better job that I ever will. We spent our time exploring the different dorm rooms, some of the side roods from the main courtyard – which were also stunning, and just trying to soak in the intricate details and magic of this place. The detail and beauty of Muslim architecture that abounded in this place instantly made up for not visiting the Alhambra –that was my first thought as my jaw dropped as I entered the courtyard for the first time.

Nearby we were also able to see one of the last remaining examples of Almoravid architecture (which my AP World students will hopefully know was the group of Moroccans that tried on several occasions to take over the West African trading kingdoms – they would successfully take over but were never able to maintain control across the Sahara).

After that we were off to a different section of the Medina to walk past the beautiful Koutubia mosque just past the main square (we really weren’t able to go inside the mosques) and wandered the gardens for a while, appreciating how these too provided a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. From here we headed down to see the Saadian Tombs, which were another prominent ruling group in Moroccan history – and these too were stunning. There were two main buildings (which were actually quite small) in which the floor was full of the different tombs and the interior of the building was breathtakingly beautiful – my favorite was the room of the 12 columns (yes, very creative). After that we tried to make it to the Bahia palace before close and hurriedly walked through a chaotic section of the city only to arrive at exactly closing time. More frustrated with having rushed so hurriedly than disappointed, we switched gears and decided to go ahead and head to the Djeema al Fna for sunset and people watching. Morocco currently is only 5 hours different from the East Coast US time because they did or didn’t (not sure) do daylight savings – believe it or not, it gets dark quite early. So, we headed up to the terrace I had scoped out the day before and enjoyed an obligatory beverage (you have to buy something to enjoy the terrace) and enjoyed a wonderful hour or two of people watching, sunset watching, and camera play time – we got some great photos too! It was wonderful to be able to take in all of the different things going on in the square from above and to really observe things without being harassed or assaulted by street vendors. Often times at street level when you take a picture of a performer, even from a distance someone will appear out of nowhere to demand payment.

We headed to another terrace restaurant for a quick dinner and then set out to finally do some scarf shopping. Let’s just say that Beth had a wonderful time, Chris struck up conversations with different merchants, and Daniel abandoned us for the solace of the hotel. We wrapped up our night relaxing at our hotel – planned an excursion to the Ourika Valley for the following day, and crashed pretty hard – wiped out from a day on the streets of Marrakech which takes more mental energy that I think I can really convey. We had a wonderful day gaping in awe at the intricate panel work and tile work at the different sites, bargaining with vendors for treasures, and soaking in the atmosphere from the terrace above the square.

Marrakech, Morocco – 18 November 2012 continued

Marrakech, Morocco – Marvelous!  18, 19, & 20 November 2012 – Part 1

I don’t even know where to start!  The past two days have been awesome!

First, I really don’t know how to truly describe the experience of walking through the Medina.  The perimeter is 18 kilometers, so the interior is pretty extensive.  To walk to the “taxi stop” from our Riad is an experience of winding alleyways, lots of residences and small shops, and various motorbikes, bicycles, and people.  Once we pass that point we are inundated with the challenged of weaving between cars, people, donkey carts, motorbikes, bicycles, and vendors….and “two lanes” of traffic.  Some streets are moderate size, some are downright tiny and we have all had our fair share of “close calls” – I have decided that young boys are the worst bicycle drivers are those are the only ones that have either clipped me (yes, I have the bruise to prove it) or have come close to taking me out.  If you look at a shop for too long you make a “friend,” merchants often try to call out to get our attention, I tend to look upwards and while glancing down to keep an eye on what I may step in and avoid looking side to side.  Wearing sunglasses also helps.  If we pause for even a few seconds to discuss where we are going or hesitate about where to turn, people flock to us to try to offer us their opinion or where we should go or provide us with directions.  We actually found it to be not uncommon for someone to step in and tell us we were going the wrong way fairly convincingly and aggressively while trying to point us down a different alley (while in fact, we did have the right way).  Walking around is chaotic, takes skill, and is an assault of all of your senses (from smells, to sounds, to what we see, you name it!), but it is also incredibly fascinating and exciting! 

On our first evening in Marrakech we set out to explore and walked through many of the Souks (shopping areas) – really nearly everywhere has shops, but there are certainly streets that are full of goods and are often themed – like touristy items, garments, metalwares, jewelry, etc.  Several streets often lead to a square like spokes on a wagon week, and ultimately if you wander far enough you can reach the main square – Djeema al Fna which is a large square full of various shops – some of the garden and plant variety, rows of juice vendors (who sell delicious citrus juices made on the spot with bottled water), dried fruit stands, and then more meal oriented stands that cook things like sausages, meats, snails, etc.  Towards one end of the square there are various performers – including snake charmers with cobras and rattlesnakes, men walking with leashed monkeys, and other ethnically dressed performers hoping to pose for photographs.  It is an amazingly busy square, lined with more shops and cafes – many with terraces that serve as an escape from the hustle and bustle. I made a mental note the first night that I would love to be a people watcher at sunset and put my camera to good use (which we did!)

Later on that evening we also went to a restaurant called Dar Zellij which was a bit of a splurge, but already we were realizing that there was street food and very nice restaurant food and very little in between.  This restaurant was another situation in which the exterior facade looked like nothing, but once we crossed the threshold there was an amazing interior that revealed a beautiful several hundred year old Riad that had been turned into a restaurant.  This restaurant had a set multi-course menu, so there were only a few simple either or choices to be made when trying to order.  The first course was Moroccan salad – which was an array of cooked, seasoned vegetables – many of which were almost pureed.  For the three of us they brought about ten or twelve different plates full of differently seasoned cauliflower, spinach, red pepper, carrot, eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin, and a number of others – it was absolutely delicious!  We had fun passing around the plates and trying all of the many flavors.  A crowd favorite?  Cauliflower, spinach, and pumpkin were probably my top three -  all very uniquely seasoned.  The next course was pastilles – which are pastry cakes with various components.  Mine was a chicken pastille which was almost like a croquette – it had a crunchy exterior and a softer interior and was minced chicken, pastry, almond, honey – very unique, but tasty!  Daniel had a vegetable one that had an entirely different taste to it.

The next course was our main meal which came with a dish of couscous and veggies for all of us to share and then our entrées – mine was a beef shank tagine/tajine, which is beef cooked in a terracotta pot-like container that makes it very tender and Daniel and Chris each got pigeon pie.  Yes.  Not kidding, they ate pigeon – but had to pick the poor birdies bones out of the dish as they ate.  Daniel laughingly said he basically had an entire ribcage in his pie.  Yikes.

Next up was a round of dessert which was an orange flavored cream with more pastry like pieces – it was perfectly light and tasty.  We also enjoyed some other cookies and tea or coffee and practically rolled home we were so stuffed.  After so many days of weird eating schedules it was nice to finally feel full.

(I had trouble loading photos, so they are in multiple albums - the first is just parts of our Riad, the other is more of our adventure that day - the rest are in a much larger album to be featured under Day 2)

Please click here for Morocco Day 1 Part 1

Please click here for Morocco Day 1 Part 2

Making it in Marrakech!

Marrakech - inside the Medina

We have arrived in Marrakech and were immediately transported into a mesmerizing culture!  Marrakech itself is made up of two portions - the new and old city.  The old city is enclosed within the old city walls and is called the Medina.  I had arranged for us to stay at a Riad (kinda like a Moroccan bed and breakfast) in the Medina.  We were greeted at the airport and whisked away in a taxi into the city walls.  Our taxi drove until it could drive no further, then our bags were loaded into a modern day (made of metal with heavy duty tires) rick-saw and we followed our "bell hops" of sorts into a crazy labyrinth of alleyway after alleyway after alleyway - seriously we walked for ten or fifteen minutes turning left and then right and then left again!  

And then all of a sudden we had arrived!  Magically transported from alleyways full of mud and brick and hustle and bustle to a sanctuary of calm.  Our room is beautiful and comes with complimentary teas, coffees, water, and fruit from the trees in the courtyard whenever we like and the service is amazing.  They actually sent us out with a guide to teach us how to figure out how to get back - it's things like look this building, turn right here, okay now see this sign?  turn left here.  They escorted us to a scrumptious lunch - again in a restaurant that was an absolutely serene blissfully peaceful place away from the craziness in the streets below.  The hotel also arranged dinner and helped us score reservations in an amazing restaurant just down the street.  We have felt so welcome!  Oh!  And to help you when you get lost (which we did once - although we are proud to say we re-navigated back on track) each room's guests are provided a complimentary cell phone already loaded with all the numbers we need to call the Riad and its staff for help!  Amazing!  

We also made it out on a long walk through many of the souks and into the main square in the Medina - which was again an amazing mix of people, goods, foods, every kind of transport - from donkeys, horses, bikes, mopeds, motorcycles, and cars whizzing all around!  We heard the call to prayer lilting over the rooftops as well as the drum groups (that are off beat children that make Daniel start to twitch) which "performed" off and on throughout the alleyways until about 11 pm tonight!  It has been an amazing day so far - we are very excited to explore and bargain our way through Marrakech tomorrow!  But for now?  I am really excited to get a nice solid night's sleep in our sanctuary!  

The courtyard of the Riad (from above)

Our beautiful room!

Rooftop terrace overlooking the Medina - holy satellite dish(es)!

One of the many, many, many alleyways preceeding the Riad.  Things look very very different on the inside - it is amazing how many buildings we have been in where we feel magically transported the moment we cross the threshhold!

Chris enjoying a refreshing fruit juice blend at the Jardin - a garden restaurant that was an absolute sanctuary!

Toasting with our pineapple, pear, apple, and strawberry juice blend - we have made it to Marrakech!

Evening at the Djemaa el Fna

Granada!

Helpful background info – Spain was taken over by the Muslims by 732 (remember the Battle of Tours?), in 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella launched the Reconquista (remember the famous picture about the keys to the city of Granada?), okay, background remembering accomplished. 

So our flights worked out quite nicely.  We flew from Orlando to Miami to Madrid to Granada.  For the transcontinental flight we were originally scattered across the plane, but we talked to the ticket counter in Miami and were moved to much better seats, together, which was awesome!  The flights were nice and smooth, Iberia Airlines was nice, the plane was nice, the Madrid airport was an architectural beauty, everything was great until we arrived in Granada to discover our luggage had not. 

Since then all kinds of things have gone wrong.  We are in great spirits and have laughed a lot, but here goes:

1.  This first thing happened over the course of the week before departure (which is already a plenty stressful week). Pre-trip departure I went online to pre-purchase our Alhambra tickets only to discover they were all sold out while we are here (I was crushed)...  Upon further investigation I found a company to sell us tickets (I was elated)...then they emailed me to say they were mistaken and the Alhambra was actually closed during those days for restoration (I was crushed even more).  When we flew into Granada we inquired at the info for tourist booth in the airport and they said the Alhambra was actually open (I was skeptical, but hopeful), then at our hotel the concierge said no it was actually closed for a government event (though far more prepared for it, I was still feeling crushed).  We walked up to the Alhambra just to be sure and it was official.  No Alhambra while in Granada.  The perk?  We did get to walk through the free sections of it.  It was something, right?  The one section we were able to see was the portion Charles V (HRE during the time of Martin Luther and Spanish king) had built right in the heart of the Alhambra…so in the middle of this major Moorish complex you have a Catholic Church.  Very interesting! 

Worth noting - we arrived in Granada Friday night, had all day Saturday here and are flying out Sunday morning.  The reason we chose to visit Granada first is because the Alhambra is lit up at night on Friday and Saturday nights only in the off season.  The times booked for the government event?  Friday afternoon/evening and all of Saturday.  We were really not meant to visit this place.  :(

2.  Missing luggage.  Without our luggage none of us had appropriate walking shoes - especially for hills, stairs, and cobblestone, and cold weather.  The boys didn't have their jackets.  None of us had rain gear.

3.  The luggage arrived...only Daniel's didn't.  We have "Frankensteined" his outfit together and he looks fantastically European chic.  It is hilarious.

4.  Saturday we woke up to find rain and lots of it in our forecast. 

5.  We ventured out but got completely soaked, sought refuge in the nearest restaurant but the food was terrible.  Really terrible.

6.  We ditched the lunch place to visit the Cathedral only to discover it had just closed and was not going to open for several more hours.

Cold, wet, okay try soaked, we retreated back to the hotel. 

Okay...now for the highlights, otherwise we just sound like whiners. 

Positive things -

1.  The city is beautiful, our hotel is amazing, the views are spectacular, Granada is charming!

2.  We love the concept of each a big lunch, graze on tapas over dinner....our jet-lagged bodies haven't quite meshed with this plan, but they are trying and realize its brilliance! 

3.  The foodies in us are in heaven!  We have had all kinds of delicious combos, but among the favorite are good ole ensalada caprese (tomatoes + buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes + queso de cabra, pork tenderloin with red wine sauce, pine nuts, and raisins, a "pio pio tower" - two foot skewer of tender chicken and veggies, and a number of other delicious discoveries - overall - mmmm! 

4.  Today after getting completely soaked and being cold, wet, and miserable, we retreated and returned to visit the Granada Catedral where we saw Spanish Catholicism at its finest and visited Isabelle & Ferdinand's mausoleums and saw their lead-lined caskets!  So awesome!  The layering of Renaissance style + counter-reformation gilded gold pieces were pretty awesome!  And then in other areas there is such distinctive Moorish influence - such fun layers of history!  It was really interesting to compare and contrast the paintings and artwork in the cathedrals to the styles we saw in the churches in Cuzco and Lima.  As we walked through Isabella’s treasury we also couldn’t help but to think how much of the silver was actually Mexican or Peruvian silver!

5.  It is fall here!  I haven’t seen fall in seven years (since we moved to Florida) and my favorite of all the fall leaves is the gold leaves – which is what Granada is full of!  When we were taking the cab into the city we marveled at the juxtaposition of the white-capped Sierre Nevada mountains with the golden trees. 

We have had a lot of fun exploring, more misadventures than we were hoping for but quite a few laughs, and are very excited to head down to Morocco!

Click this link to view our Granada Pics!


 

So, this is not a full entry - I have lots of fun facts to type up and share - and will soon.  We did a two day excursion to the Uros floating islands, an overnight with a host family on Amantani, and a visit to the Island of Tequile.  Below are some pictures of our visit to the Uros Islands.

As we arrived at Amantani I became increasingly sick and steadily got worse and worse through my time on the island.  By the next day I had full fledged altitude sickness (headaches, nauseaus, throwing up) and on top of all of it I had picked up an intestinal infection from the food we ate on Amantani.  Yesterday was pretty awful, I had to stay behind on the boat instead of visiting Tequile and was incredibly grateful when we reached the hotel after spending seven or eight consecutive hours curled up in a ball on the boat. 

The good news is that I am feeling a lot better - and we fly to lower altitude this morning so I should feel great in a few more hours.  I had all the right medication to keep things under control too. 

Buying food at the port to give to our host family on Amantani

Approaching Uros Island

The Watchtower for Apu Inti Island (there are over 60)

The Apu Inti Community - we sat at the horseshoe shaped area and were told how the island is built and how the community works together

Artisans market of the Aymari people

Wow.  A woman offered to show us her home and then insisted on dressing us up - she even braided the bon bons into my hair!  And then!  She made me go to "market."

Chris and me in Aymara cultural clothing.  Daniel escaped unscathed.

Entering a home

A not to scale model of how they build the reed islands - they cut the root, then tie it all together, then layer the reeds - the islands themselves are about 2 meters thick.

We took a reed boat to another island - and got to climb up into this cool fish watch tower! 

The Andean Explorer from Cusco to Puno

23 November 2011

Rolling Mountains, Peruvian farmlands, small towns and villages made of everything from clay bricks with thatched roofs to concrete block with aluminum, cows, sheep, herds of llamas!, snowcapped mountains, endless plains of “very high” altitude tundra, lots of cute children waving from their homes or the streets, and well over 240 dogs (which only includes what I have seen from my side of the train and from the point that I actually started counting!). 

On the train itself we feel like we have been transported back to the 1920s….we have table cloths and waiters…definitely not the normal European train experience Daniel and I are accustomed to.  There was an alpaca scarf and hat fashion show, multiple performances from a traditional Peruvian band, as well as a three course meal, and a stop at the highest point on the route – a staggering (and literally breathtaking 4, 319 meters (14, 172 feet) at La Raya where we shopped at a little artisans market. 

As we pulled into Juliaca I was quite horrified – the outskirts of the town involved a stream that was horribly polluted and the fringes of the city were disintegrated mud brick shanties for miles…and graffiti on some of those walls that had been “covered up” but were skulls and crossbones in several places and the word “massacre” in another.  As we headed into the heart of the city, we were given a true glimpse at the poverty and dilapidated nature of the city.  There were markets full of every part needed to rebuild cars, abandoned vehicles, food heaped in large bags that comprised local markets, you name it.  It really was a sobering sight. 

We finally arrived in Puno – and as we neared it saw the sun set on the port of Puno and the banks of Lake Titicaca.  We had made it!  Of course it was raining – and we braved the weather again as we found taxis and were delivered to a very cute little hotel just around the corner of Puno’s Plaza de Armas.  Now to meet up with Edgar Adventures and finalize our plans for tomorrow!

Settling in on the train

Stephanie had the loner seat...but nearly each person used at one point or another for a "time out" of sorts...and for some peace and quiet

Ryan and Daniel in the dining car - the car behind it was the "Jurassic Park Car"...all glass so you could enjoy the views

"Blazing" (okay steadily crawling) towards Puno as we cut our way through the Andes!

Some of the views from the train



Llamas are flocking this way! :)

The market at La Raya

Really really really really high up....

some of the mud-brick homes with thatched or metal roofs near La Raya

the outskirts heading into Juliaca

Ouskirts of Juliaca

Outskirts of Juliaca

Grandmother and child within the city

This guy saw my camera - posed like this, and when I gave him a thumbs up, gave us an extra fist pump wave...

All of this sidles right up to the tracks

Within the main city of Juliaca

Continuing onto Puno as the sunsets

Sunset over the reedy banks of Lake Titicaca