Me n Marrakech

Marrakech was certainly an experience and not one that I’m likely to repeat.  It’s a shame really because I have always wanted to go to Morocco and was looking forward to a break away.  But I’d only been there for less than an hour when I remembered how much I dislike Muslim countries.  The taxi that picked us up from the airport was promising but when we got dumped at the bum end of the Medina when the taxi couldn’t go any further, I began to have doubts.  These were confirmed when we walked with our cases, through allies and dark,dingy, dirty passageways until we reached our riad.

Our riad, www.lamaisonnomade.com had good reviews on Trip Advisor but I’m afraid I was really disappointed when I got here.  Our ground floor room was dark and drab; it was freezing cold because there were no heaters and stunk of cats pee.  On the first evening, we dumped our bags and walked the gauntlet and eventually got to the main square after a 40 minute walk.  The aim was to find a restaurant but we ended up in a Kentucky.  The evening was not a success, Phil fell over on a pavement and we got horribly lost on the way back to the riad.

On our second day we went to the main square where all the souks were, Jemma El Fina. We walked round the many souks and got severely pestered all the time.  We didn’t buy anything which was a shame, because there were some leather goods that I liked the looks of but neither me or Phil are very good at haggling.  We saw the snake charmers and the men with the monkeys but we stayed well away.  At lunchtime we found a shabby hotel where they served beer. It was a nice cold beer but we got ripped off, 25 quid for 2 small ones. We managed to get some lunch, a tagine for Phil and chicken and chips for me.  Afterwards we walked past the Koutoubia Mosque and found some nice gardens.

On Day 3 we went on the waterfall trip as we wanted to get out of the riad and also out of Marrakech.  We spent, what seemed like hours, on the minibus and it was half twelve by the time we got to the site of the waterfall.  We had a tagine for lunch first and then started the climb. It was steep and wet in places and very dangerous.  Now, I think I am fit but I struggled and several of our group gave up and went back down.  The waterfall itself, as waterfalls go, was disappointing, I have seen more spectacular in my time.  The climb down was treacherous, I came down mostly on my bum and when I got down to the bottom, both my feet were soaked, my shoes were ripped and my leggings were covered in mud.  We had to wait 45 minutes for our guide and a German bloke to come back down before we could start on the journey back to Marrakech.  It was boring and took over 2 hours.  We had to walk back to our riad because the king was in situ at the palace and the roads were closed.  We had another tagine for dinner at the riad and then retired to our gloomy, cold room.

We paid 30 quid for 2 tickets on the tourist bus on day 4.  It was interesting to see the new town but there was a cold wind and I was freezing.  Still it killed time and at least we could say that we saw the sights.  Lunch in the new town was nice just a shame we couldn’t get a beer.  After lunch we did another route on the bus to the old town which was really boring.  

An English couple, John and Lindsey arrived on our last day and somehow they ended up coming out with us on our last night.  I have just caught up with Phil’s blogs and I am surprised he didn’t make any mention of how we got ripped off.  We were heading for a night club, not really a night club just a bar with music and an alcohol licence but on the way into town we decided to stop off a street café for something to eat.  There wasn’t really a choice but we ended up with a few undercooked chicken kebabs and a tomato salad.  The bill when it came was 78 quid and that was without drinks not even water. Me and Phil nearly fell off our chair.  Talk about being ripped off; I was fairly verbal and threatened to call the police, but we were fairly out numbered by local Moroccan locals so we threw 50 quid on the table and left.  I hate being ripped off.

The bar stroke nightclub was a bit seedy but at least they had western music and beer and wine.  We drank and danced and ended up having to carry Lindsey home.  It was gone half past midnight by the time we got back to the riad.  Phil and I did make it to breakfast but the others didn’t. 

We found a new street on our last day and had a freshly squeezed orange juice in a Henna café which by chance also had Wi-Fi.  Lunch was a pizza at another street café on our way back to the riad but this time we asked the price.  The taxi picked us up from outside the park at half two and boy was I relieved to be going home.

Marrakech just wasn’t for me but my sister went and had a fantastic time.  I think our experience would have been better if we had stayed in a nicer riad or hotel.  Also we stayed in a very undesirable part of the Medina.  It would have also been better to have gone in the summer as opposed to the winter, although my sister Julia who went in June said that there were lots of wasps which would have been a nightmare for me.  The temperature was around 20 which was pleasant and it did feel quite hot between 1pm and 3pm but then it’s a Muslim country and you have to cover up. 

I was a bit hormonal during our stay and behaved like a bit of a princess, this is not normally like me and I did feel a little sorry for Phil because I did nothing but moan all day and all night long. Marrakech certainly wasn’t my cup of tea and I will not be going back.  I think you get what you pay for in Morocco and I would recommend going 5 stars.  Also as ever, research is everything.  I am very glad to be home.