GOODBYE TO MY FELLOW INTREPID MOROCCAN TRAVELLERS

WEATHER: Bloody hot – Horse said 57C, which is wrong but was really 45C

HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch

BUMMER OF THE DAY: IT IS TOO HOT TO DO ANYTHING

BUYS OF THE DAY: Kentucky Fried Chicken

WORD OF THE DAY: Can you get burnt through a glass roof?

SONG OF THE TRIP: Barbara Streisand - Duck Sauce

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 1990 KM

I had nothing planned today.  Susan, Jeff and Annette booked on the half day tour that left at 9am this morning.  I am glad I didn’t end up going on that, as the temperature outside was hot hot hot.  I didn’t leave the comfort of my air conditioned room till 11am, when I went downstairs to see Aimes and discuss what our lunch options were going to be.  The day before, when we walked to Place Djemma el Fna, we saw a Macca’s and a Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Now don’t get us wrong, we have loved the Moroccan food that we have had to date, but our little western taste buds are just craving a little something from home, so we decided today to have Kentucky for lunch today.  I didn’t matter to us that we had to walk for 15 minutes in 45C heat; we were determined to have something familiar to eat.  This is when we walked past the horse bank and their temperature reading was 57C, which I took a photo of, but realistically it couldn’t be that hot…right?  There are a lot of the temperature signs around and most of them were in agree-ance that it was around 45C.  It is still flippin hot walking in the sun, but nothing was going to stop us on our mission.

There are 2 Kentucky’s in Marrakech; apparently not many Moroccans eat here, as it is too expensive for them.  The prices for us were pretty standard, a meal and drink for 5.60AUD.  But when you can get meals from local restaurants for 2-3AUD, I guess I can see the cost comparison.  I have to say that the chicken was just about the same back home and was quite tasty, the chips were like Maccas chips though, the shoestring variety and they looked a little sad, but overall it hit the spot.  I ate Kentucky Fried Chicken in Marrakech!

After getting back to the hotel it was time to hit the pool.  The pool is on the ground level and is more like a lap pool than a full sized pool and is enclosed in a glass roof.  So when you open the door it is like walking into a hot house.  It really is quite hot and humid in the ‘pool room’ but our care factor was zero compared to the heat outside.  Our question of ‘can you get burnt’ under glass was proven to be a resounding yes, but not as bad had there not been glass there.  We spent the next 4 hours in and out of the pool, while I loaded my photos to Facebook.  What a great way to spend an afternoon when it is literally hot as hell outside.

The troops started to straggle back in the afternoon.  Susan’s face was so red, just from being outside and she fought the heat to buy her last minute gifts from the Medina.  We have found the Marrakeshians to be a lot pushier here than anywhere else we have been while in Morocco and it feels a little sketchy no matter where you go.  Our point was proven when Jeff and Annette returned and Jeff had had his wallet stolen out of his side pocket while in the Medina.  He lost 125AUD, Issam’s tip and 2 credit cards.  Jeff and I were only talking the other day how lucky we had been in no-one getting pickpocketed and I even touched his head as ‘touchwood’.  Sorry Jeff, I hope I didn’t jinx you.  This is just the final straw for the Foys, as they had a good ceramic bowl smash in Essaouira, Jeff had fallen ill there as well, they got robbed in Marrakech and now Jeff has lost his voice and still isn’t feeling well.  Talk about some bad luck, and then I found out this afternoon that their rooms air conditioning is now on the blink!!!  Needless to say Marrakech is not leaving a good impression on them.

We caught petite taxis at 7.15pm back to Djemma el Fna for our farewell dinner tonight.  Our tour officially ends tomorrow morning, with half the crew flying out in the morning and the rest of us staying for another night.  We had roof top drinks overlooking the whole square and also some of the Medina and it was a magic view.  The owners of the place are quite smart and it is compulsory to buy a drink, soft drink or tea, before you can even step foot out on the terrace.  Fair enough, as it is a prime view of the whole square and also a great place to watch the sunset as well.  What a find Issam and all for the grand total of 1AUD for the drink!  To see the square from this view point was awesome.  It really is quite chaotic down there, between motorbikes (they can ride anywhere – even through throngs of people), the horse carriages on the perimeter, the snake charmers, the monkey people (not good with a monkey chained to their wrists), the henna tattoo people, a great view of the food stalls and the people coming and going from there and the story tellers with groups of people surrounding them to listen to what they have to say.  It is really hard to express just how busy it is down there, and it was good to be away from it all up where we were.  As the sun set and the lights came on, it made for a really good photo.  It was unfortunately at this time that Georgie wasn’t feeling too well, so we had to bundle her into a taxi and get her back to the hotel.  She has also been feeling a little off colour the last few days, so it was sad that she wasn’t able to join us for the last dinner.  We have all had some demons with Morocco, I am lucky I got mine over and done with on day 2 and was really the only time I had an issue.  So I am happy to report on my final score as Morocco 1 – Bernie 2 – I get an extra point for putting up with the heat!!!

We left the roof top for our dinner destination and when we got there the power was out.  At this point it is now dark outside and we had to tackle 2 flights of stairs in the dark, to get us to the roof top for dinner.  It really was pitch black and we are lucky that some-one didn’t fall over.  Lucky they cook with gas, so they could still get the food out to us.  We tried several times to get our candles lit, as there was a slight breeze that kept blowing them out, till we used our heads, and chopped the length of the candle to fit in a glass. Let there be light!!!  Not much but it was better than nothing.  So it was a little bit of a bummer to be sitting in near darkness, but the food was delicious.  We had handmade a card for Issam to go with his well-deserved tip and this was presented at dinner.

After dinner a few of us decided to go out for a few drinks, so some people went back to the hotel and 6 of us went to a local bar for a few drinks before heading home.  Once again I hate saying good-byes, but I know it has to be done.  I have made some marvelous friends on this tour and now have Atlanta and Austin, Texas to add to my States itinerary next year.  The way I’m going, I’ll have a friend in every state of the US!!  The great thing is they are states that I haven’t been to before (except Chris and Eric in LA) so it is a win win for me!!

So this is my opportunity to say BIG MASSIVE thanks to my Moroccan Intrepid crew that have made this trip super awesome for me.  I have had a trip of a lifetime through Morocco and credit has to go to the company I was with.  Also a heartfelt thank-you to Issam, your love for your country showed in your guiding and we couldn’t have asked for a better person to have on our side through this ‘real life experience’.  I’m going to miss you guys and this is not a good-bye but farewell for now as I will be seeing you all again.  Some sooner than others, as I will be seeing Aimes and George in London in 2 weeks’ time, with plans to see Pricilla on Broadway together.

I LOVED Morocco, loved the people, loved the food and if it has ever been on your list to visit I URGE you to do it and book it through Intrepid as we just had an amazing time.  I do have to say that I am not going to miss the heat…………..  Thanks for an awesome 2 weeks…….

My Moroccan Family in no particular order:
Aimes and George - Victoria, Australia
Annette and Jeff - Brisvegas, Australia
Susan - Atlanta, USA
Lesley - Austin, Texas
Tom - Victoria, Australia
Michelle and Tony - Vancouver, Canada
Issam aka A-Some - Morocco