The travels of Tim and Megan: Marrakech, Morocco

Wednesday

We had a big sleep in on Wednesday morning - much needed after a few days in the heat! After breakfast we caught a taxi to the Menara Gardens, out near the Marrakech Airport. The Menara Gardens had been built up rather grandly by the guide book we had, so we were expecting a good morning outing. Sadly it was a let-down.

The Menara Gardens date back to the 12th century. The name "menara" derives from the pavilion with its small green pyramid roof (menzah) that is the showpiece of the gardens. The photos in our guide book and the photos that you will see if you google "Menara Gardens" show the pretty pavilion sitting in front of the tranquil lake/pond, with pretty green trees and the snow-covered Atlas mountains in the background. What we saw was the murkiest, filthiest pond in the world, with about a thousand fish desperately trying to jump on each other to get a boost out of there, a dilapidated shack, and nothing in the background due to the haze in the sky. Oh well. We wandered around the edge of the pond, being very careful not to fall in, and took a few photos, chuckling at our misfortune as we went, and thanking our lucky stars that we had not brought Brendan out here, as he would never have gone anywhere with us again!

The highlight of our visit was finding a pretty cool Moroccan decorated door on the side of the pavilion, where we played silly buggers posing for photos using the doorway as a frame. Then we wandered through the orchards and olive groves back to the entrance way where we caught a taxi back to the medina. If you're visiting Marrakech, give this one a miss.

Back in the main square, we found an internet cafe and an ATM, both of which were most useful, and then we went for walk through the parts of the souks we had not yet seen. The souks are massive and are separated out into different categories (leather goods, footwear, clothing, metal crafts, pottery, etc.). We got lost and could not find a way out, so we had to double back - all part of the fun.

We then split up, with Megan going off for a traditional Moroccan "hamman" at Hamman de la Rose, while Tim went back to the riad and cooled off in the pool. The water in the riad pool was cold, but given the intense heat outside, it was just what the doctor ordered. Meanwhile at the hamman, Megan relaxed in the steam/sauna room, then experienced a scrub and rather odd wash down, before a half hour massage. Excellent times.

Once Megan returned to the riad, we grabbed a late lunch at a cool place called Le Bougainvillier Cafe. It was a nice shady courtyard with a lovely garden around the edges and some bright artwork on the walls. Tim had a spicy sausage pizza and Megan had a beef, aubergine and mozzarella panini - both were awesome.

For the rest of the afternoon we kept cool indoors at the riad and packed up most of our things, (as we were going on a day trip the following day before heading home). In the evening we had a drink and some snacks on the rooftop of the riad, where we were reminded by the waiter of the French word for peanuts, which is cacahouetes - great word, that! We had booked in for dinner at a restaurant on the edge of the main square, called Le Marrakchi, where they have live entertainment including belly dancing! Before dinner we checked out a few more streets around the square.

Le Marrakchi was really good - a little expensive, but you pay for the entertainment. We sat on the third floor of the restaurant, which allowed us a lovely view over the main square. When we arrived, were we were treated to some music and singing from a trio of Moroccan men decked out in traditional dress. We tried some local food - first a collection of mixed briouettes (small triangle or roll shaped pastries, filled with either cheese, vegetables, chicken or minced beef) to share and then Megan had a lamb and prune tajine and Tim had spicy beef skewers with vegetables. We also shared a bottle of red wine, which was not bad, but was served chilled, which was a bit odd.

After dinner, two belly dancers came out to entertain the diners - they managed to get a few of the guests to get up and join them, but Megan was a bit too shy! The belly dancing was pretty fun - something fairly Moroccan - and they were pretty talented "hip wigglers". It was another fun night out.

Thursday

We had to get going a bit earlier on Thursday, as we had booked in to a day tour organised by the riad. After breakfast, the riad's driver took the two of us and a French couple who were also staying in the riad to his car and we drove south out of Marrakech and towards to the Atlas Mountains.

Our first photo stop was at a sort of viewing platform above a road-side shop, which looked on to a huge olive tree orchard. We also had a great view of the Atlas Mountains. Our next photo stop was just a little further along the road, where could see down to a valley with a river flowing through it and a small Berber village in the hills across the other side of the valley. The road started to climb pretty steeply after that as we ascended into the mountains. Our third stop was at a bend in the road where we got a great view of a traditional kasbah (dwelling) on a cliff-face above a valley. Each time we stopped we were hounded by men trying to sell us necklaces or other little nik-naks.

Next we visited a herbal treatment centre, where they grow a variety of herbs and make Argan oil (the particular region we were passing through produces huge amounts of Argan oil, which is used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes and is great for skin and hair). We had a tour of the herb gardens, saw women grinding nuts to make Argan oil the traditional way and we were then shown all of the many oils and skin care products that they make at the herbal centre, while we sipped some mint tea. It was very interesting but we did not buy anything, which possibly annoyed the man who had given us such a thorough tour.

The tour continued uphill into the mountains until we reached a village called Setti Fatma (which allegedly translates to Seven Waterfalls). The village was buzzing with activity. It has a river running through the middle of it, which was full of children splashing around in the water and a few camels chilling out on the river banks. There were also dozens of cafes/restaurants with tajine pots cooking away on smokey charcoal cookers. Many of the cafes had tables and chairs set up actually in the river, with beach umbrellas keeping them shady!

We met a new guide who walked us up the steep mountain path, crossing the river several times and scampering over slippery rocks to the a beautiful waterfall - photos below. The waterfall showered down into a large pool at the bottom, where there were lots of people swimming, although it was pretty cold water. We dipped our feet in to the pool and sat by the pool for around half an hour and then descended back down to the village for some lunch.

It was not really what we had pictured - it was very green and very pretty in the mountains, with the river running through villages and it was comparatively quite cool. We still sought out some shade at the cafe where we had lunch. While we waited for our lunch, we were hounded by more salesmen and we were treated to a solo by a Moroccan man with a little guitar who sang to us. Tim gave him some coins and got his photo with the guy (below).

Lunch was really nice - fresh bread, lamb tajine, meat and vege skewers with fanta/Schweppes lemon drink. The French couple on the tour were very nice and it gave us an opportunity to practise our French (which is not very good) and it also allowed them to practise their English. After lunch we drove back down the mountain and stopped at a saffron farm. The owner of the farm showed us through his garden and then explained the painstaking process of making saffron (no wonder it is so expensive). It was interesting but by this stage we were very hot and tired and just wanted to get back to Marrakech. More mint tea and then we hopped back in the car and drove back to Marrakech.

We had time to have a shower and get changed before we got our transfer out to the airport and headed back to London. We had a fabulous time on Morocco; it is such an interesting place. We were, however, slightly relieved to leave behind the mid-40s temperatures!

Country tally:
Megan 46
Tim 43
Bear 43