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Hey everyone, so sorry for taking so long to update!
Morocco's been amazing! I flew into Marrakech from Milan (via Madrid - used the 5hour stopover to try and learn some Arabic!) and was lucky enough to sit next to a Morrocan woman who answered a lot of my questions and soothed some fears, and even gave me her phone number to call if I was ever in her area (Agadir). I'm thinking of following that up in a couple of days. Even the airport experience tells you you are somewhere different. Marrakech's airport was deserted, it's kind of hard to explain how it differed from other airports, so I'll just leave it at that and let you try and imagine for yourself. Trying to catch a cab to my hostel was my 1st introduction to haggling...in French. French appears just as widely spoken in the cities and on the coast as Arabic, a throwback to Morocco's history of French occupation/colonisation. I ended up catching a bus into the city because the taxi driver was charging an exorbitant amount and refused to haggle. Once off the bus and in the medina (old city, with the souks and surrounded by high walls) I was instantly thrown into the hustle of the city. Bewildering, colourful, noisy, frenetic... the list of adjectives I could put in here for my 1st impressions are endless. Morocco is peculiar in that the streets don't get really busy with locals until around 6pm, when suddenly locals are all you can see and there's not another foreigner in sight. And then around 11pm, the streets empty and everything is suddenly closed. So when I arrived at 8.30pm on the corner of the busiest square in Morocco and the bus pulled away, I was very much and immediately engulfed by the sights and sounds and people. Luckily I hooked up with a couple of Mexicans going to the same place which we managed to find 30mins and 100 guides later. Dropping our stuff we headed out into the fray in search of dinner as by that point we were starving. Well! Never mind what came before, the touts and restaurantaurs of Djemaa el-Fna (the square) take the cake! Shoving menus in our faces, standing in front of us so we can't pass, and even grabbing our arms, nothing is above these guys. We chose a place where only locals were eating and had a sumptuous feast for only a few euros each, amazing food! By this time I'm flagging. Morocco is 2 hours behind Spain so midnight is really 2am for me, and I'm ready for bed.
The next morning we head to the neighbouring riad (also known as very cool but expensive moroccan hotel) for our included breakfast, which consists of the (standard) mint tea, fresh orange juice, and fresh Moroccan-style bread with various spreads. Great-tasting and filling. I head out to sample the souks by myself. The souks are the part of the medina filled with markets. They are permanent shops, and the souks are usually grouped together (e.g. spice souk, meat souk, woodwork souk etc). You can wander these narrow, colourful, shop-lined streets for hours, which is exactly what I did. I used the same philosophy I did in Italy, basically give myself 4 or 5 hours and just walk in whichever direction looks most interesting. I always end up throughly lost, which is of course the whole point, but somehow near the end of my time I magically find myself somewhere I know, and can find my way back.
Marrakech's souks are home to some of the country's worst shopkeepers - constant hassle is a given, as are the sly, sleasy and downright rude remarks which seem to float in the air around me. But there is no atmosphere of danger or fear, the touts and leering guys aren't aggressive or threatening, and in the end I've learnt to view them as immature boys who never grew up (just a shake of the head and muttered "you wish" is my stock response). That's not to say they don't irritate the hell out of me on days when I've just had enough, or I'm just not in the mood to be tolerant. I can now say that I have slapped a guy. The idiot tried to cop a feel in a crowd and instead copped a whack on the shoulder (it was automatic, I'd noticed him following me and was all geared up to ward something off). I couldn't quite bring myself to hit him in the face but the next guy who tries something beyond dirty words I don't think will be so lucky.
Anyway, back to Marrakech. I met a great Aussie girl called Laura in the hostel and after spending my 2nd day in Marrakech with her I decided to change my plans and join her in Essaouira for a few days. I've found that the best thing about travelling alone is the flexibility to change my plans, and that if I find someone I really hit it off with it's often worth changing my plans to accommodate travelling with them instead. It's much more fun, and I get more out of place when I have someone to share it with than when I'm alone anyway.
Photos will follow in about a week. I'll try to get up-to-date over the next few days.
Cheers and love to everyone!
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