AfricaEurope2007

This is the last evening of our bus tour. We have travelled from Casablanca through Rabat, Meknes, Fez, Erfoud, Ouarzazate, Marrakesh & back to Casablanca. We also crossed the Rif mtns (after which the term reefer was named, as this area is the 2nd largest producer of hashish in the world) Ouarzazate is a major film production centre with several film studios surrounding the city. Films like Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra & 10 Commandments were filmed from here, which gives you an idea of how dry that area is.

The drive to Marrakesh was a beautiful trip over the high Atlas mtns (2260 metres above sea level) and we had a fascinating day in the markets of Marrakech watching snake charmers, bargaining & buying. Tomorrow we fly to Lisbon for 6 days exploring.

It has been interesting to experience Moroccan life & culture as the further east you go away from the coast the more conservative & traditional life is & quickly slips below being 3rd world. The big cities are like big cities anywhere but you also have villages around oases near the Atlas mtns & Algerian border where people still live a subsistence existence.

Women are much less covered in the city than in the mtn areas, ranging from having all but one eye covered in the Berber areas of the east to young women riding motor scooters in singlet tops in Marrakesh.

Bus tour people have been a happy friendly bunch & we look forward to our nightly predinner drink sessions. However, Ramadan has just started which means even worse service in the hotels & we again have to walk to another hotel to get a beer as this one does not serve alcohol.

Off to Lisbon now.

Rob & Ailsa

The downside of Morocco is that there is little alcohol, being Moslem; Our previous hotel in Fes was the only source of alcohol within walking distance, so they had a happy hour at which stubbies of beer cost 9 dollars aust (this is a french keyboard)
A clear stress factor when travelling is waiting for the cases to come thru the carousel in a strange airport ; ours arrived eventually, being spred across 2 separate carousels.
We have crossed the Atlas mtns, ridden a camel out on the Sahara desert, visited an oasis, walked through a primitive village and walked through a medina (old city) in Fes which fits 250000 people into an area a little larger than the MCG. I think we were the tourist attractions in the village. but it was great to see their simple village life.
We also visited a factory that sold fossils, a bit hard to believe given their importance, but thats part of tourism here; fairly pushy, but the people are nice
The tour group is fine ; of 40 on the bus, 20 are Aussies. The local food is superb, but we have to drink bottled water and not eat salads.
Next edition when we get back to wester Morocco, at Casablanca.
Rob and Ailsa