 |
| 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!
No comments:
Post a Comment