Agadir & Marrakesh, Morocco
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This is my first trip to Africa, although Morocco doesn't feel like the Africa
that you normally see on the TV. I went here in early April 1998 with
Pia & Lisebeth (2 Danish girls) on a mission to catch some sun and get pissed
(we needed a break from being sophisticated people)!
The girls were flying from Copenhagen and I from Amsterdam so we agreed
to meet in a restaurant. I caught a taxi from the airport and here
is where the first wave of Moroccans try and get their paws on your hard
earned pennies. As I found out to my cost, they will try ANY means
(fair or foul) to separate you from your cash. I had to haggle (using
a mix of German & English) the taxi fare (don't ever pay what they
suggest for anything unless you're in a restaurant/hotel!). When
we get to the hotel he tries the "I haven't got enough change routine",
followed by the "but the official rates are much higher". I was too
tired to make too much of a fuss. So we agreed on Dhs 170 (13 quid).
The rates are double at night and the day fare should be 80 Dhs.
I then found that he'd dropped me off at the wrong hotel! Another
taxi ride later (but only 10 Dhs in the city) and I was on safe ground,
my hotel! I stayed at the 4 * Les Almohades which is the hotel closest
to the beach and was in my guidebook. Very impressive grounds and
pool :-)
The restaurant where we met the first evening was one of the best (La
Scala also rates very highly).......
Food We tried a few places and our favourite was Jardin
D'Eau also on Blvd. du 20 Aout (where most of the action is). The
food was excellent and the music was provided by 2 excellent singers (common
in tourist restaurants in Agadir). They both did excellent solos
but they really excelled when doing duets. The guy loved teasing
people by dropping money on the floor, and then pointing to guests just
arriving to pick it up. He'd then pull it away using an invisible
piece of string :-)
A bit of background
first. Morocco is a Muslim country but is somewhat more open regarding
alcohol but the bars are only really there for the tourists. There
are very few bars but a few night-clubs. Actually there was only
1 bar that we could find in crawling distance of our hotels :- La Central
Karaoke bar (on Blvd. du 20 Aout, beer is 40 Dhs for 1/2 ltr of the
local Flag beer). There were some great (and not so great) Karaoke
singers during the week. Aqua (of Barbie fame) from Denmark seems
to have affected the Danes. 
The
best singers during the week were solo efforts by 2 Danish girls (one is
a tour rep.). The worst singer was some middle aged French guy, followed
by (and I hesitate to say this) a group of rowdy British guys. They
sang with passion but unfortunately without tune! (Sorry Lads!).
I was of course incredibly embarrassed cos my 2 Danish friends were with
me loving every minute of this 'spectacle'. England 'Null Point'!
I have to say that the weather was great the whole week. The temperature was hot & sunny during the day and cool enough to sleep at night. We had no problems with mosquitos either.
The people are friendly, too friendly if you ask me. This is the
downside of Morocco. We would walk past shops and it would go like
this, almost every time...
Shopkeeper lying in wait outside his shop "Ca
va?"
Me : Blank Look
"Oh, you are English. I love English peepel.
Great peepel etc.."
"Thanks"
Hand shake follows
"I have nice ship (shop). Come and visit
me ship. Special deal etc.."
"Ah, I've taken a vow of no shopping/my religion
won't let me/etc"
"No understand? It only take 10 seconds"
or
"Free <something>" or
"I really like your Nike trainers/Calvin Klein
T-shirt and I want to copy it"
"Ok just 10 seconds, a quick look, I've got a
date with Pamela Anderson in 5 minutes. I don't want to keep her
waiting"
40 minutes of haggling/cagoling/threats/pleas/wife
& 10 million children to support...... you finally escape with your
life! Lighter in pocket, heavier in souvenirs (leather jackets, wooden
ornaments, chess sets, pouffes, wallets etc. are the most common things
on offer) wiser to the ways of haggling. We learned (I must thank
Lisebeth at this point, she's been there before and helped me understand
the haggling process, this almost made up for her trying to beat me to
death with a French baguette! Don't ask!) to start at around 1/3
rd of what they start with and end up at a
half of they started with. I even had to haggle for a newspaper!
He wanted Dhs 35 and the cover price was 25.
Like I said earlier, the will use foul means as well as fair......
Read on...
One day (while the girls were doing impressions of pieces of bread
under a grill) I went off exploring looking for adventure. This turned
out to be a big mistake! I walked toward the beach and endured the
usual attentions of the natives. I did meet a friendly fisherman
who (in a cross between German & English) offered to show me the fish
market and a small restaurant owned by a friend of his.
The mint tea (above, right!) is a speciality of the area and tastes
very nice. It's non-alcoholic but contains loads of sugar (watch
out for those cavities!). Anyway, I had some tea with this fisherman
and also was given some samples of locally caught fish :- flying fish,
shrimps etc. I didn't order any of this so when I came to pay for
the tea I was surprised to be charged 345 Dhs or just under 30 quid!
I was on my own surrounded by a load of Moroccans and didn't particularly
feel like causing a scene and then being carved up with a local ceremonial
knife! Fortunately I had only 200 Dhs on me (under 20 quid) and managed
to get away with that! The moral of this story? Don't accept
a local 'guide' and don't wander off the beaten track on your own!
After that experience I was much happier just to sit by the pool! Also it begins to get really tiresome, getting hassled every time you wander past a shop. The girls got a bit worried because the Moroccans were rather 'touchy' and that made them nervous.
These are the last few photos of us in Agadir (sorry about the crap
lighting, I've only just bought my digital camera), making the most of
our last couple of days by doing really worthwhile things like sunbathing
and drinking :-)
Comments & critique welcome at
the usual address 
We made a day trip to Marrakesh to see a different part of the country.
It takes around 3 - 4 hours by coach (with a tea stop) and is well worth
a visit. Agadir was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt 30 years
ago. Marrakesh is very old and is steeped in history and has a lot
more things to do.
The Koutoubia Mosque (left) towers over the city, mainly because you are wisely forbidden by law to build higher than it! |
Also a well known tourist attraction but slightly younger! |
A Spice shop where you can buy herbs, spices and remedies for just about anything. |
Market square. This is the focal point of activity in Marrakesh. |
Koran School. This is where the Koran was painstakingly written by hand by students. |
Fine artwork in the palace ceiling in Marrakesh. |
The
marketplace is extensive and like a maze (if you get lost then find a local
kid and offer him money to get you out!). It's covered so you're
out of the sun and there are loads of different stalls trying to sell you
something. They even offered 5000 camels for one of the girls!
I wasn't tempted of course........ well, at least not for very long........
I mean, how would I fit 5000 camels in the coach?
This
is simply something you must do! After wandering round the maze/market
and the stress involved in constant haggling, you really need a refreshing
drink, the chance to put up your feet and of course the chance to view
the wonder of the place from a safe view point! It was here that
I felt at ease. I had a chance to 'take things in' and appreciate
the view. This square is where everything happens. It's full
of people moving, selling, buying, shouting, haggling, selling water (there
were water sellers in really colourful costumes, selling water, but I didn't
take a picture) and ........
.......of course snake charming. This isn't what I expected.
I'd call it snake torturing :-( There was the fakir with his errm
snake flute (?) and he'd play as you'd expect but there would be another
guy and he'd prod the snakes and they'd get annoyed and go for him (they
were sluggish) and then he'd throw one up in the air and sometimes he'd
even catch the snake before it hit the ground :-(
Money Advice First off you're not allowed to take any money (current exchange rate 13 DH (Dirhams) to the pound) into Morocco and you're not allowed to take any back out (you need your receipt to change it back).
