It has only been just over a week since we started our travels and it already feels like we have done, seen and experienced so much. The first short stop on our world tour was Morocco, however despite having prepared ourselves for the start of 3 months on the African continent, we soon realised that Morocco doesn't really feel like 'Africa', nor does it want to. A slightly less wealthy version of the Middle East and perhaps a little more chaotic would probably be a much more fitting description. Morocco has a lot to offer and yet we only had 9 days to cram it into.
We spent the first day and a half exploring the streets of Marrakesh which really is as exotic as we imagined it would be, although how much of the 'fairytale' would remain without the tourists is questionable. Our beautiful little riad (thank you Costi) was tucked away in a quiet back alley right in the middle of the souks, selling everything from carpets to tortoises to spices, even one which apparently doubles-up as viagra which must make for some interesting local recipes. Despite Susie's best efforts to make some space in her bag for the customary souvenirs, her jam-packed rucksack was having none of it. The thought of carrying around a metal lantern for the next year was also not one that excited Dan. We took on the obligatory evening meal in the chaos of the djemaa el-fna market on our first night, and perhaps through avoiding the traditional snail stew and sheep's head broth, we are pleased to say we both survived. As we sipped on our 7 pence equivalent hunja (spicy cinnamon tea) with some locals, it was fascinating to see the Arabic speaking storytellers in the square surrounded by tens of locals all diligently listening to the tales unfold, whilst the snake charmers wooed the tourists. The drum and dustbin lid playing musicians in the square, who surprisingly had a hint of West African influence in their music, was a clear favourite of Dan's though.
For those that know Dan well, you won't be surprised to hear that by the second day, he was already itching to get out of the city and into the Atlas mountains. After an 8 hour bus journey over an incredible and winding high mountain pass, we arrived in the small town of Boumalne du Dades which was to be the starting place for our 5-day trek into the Jebel Sarhro range of mountains. Whilst not as high or as famed as the High Atlas mountains, Jebel Sarhro promised to be a much more scenically varied range and most importantly off the well-trodden tourist trail. Having left the organisation of our trek until the last minute, we were passed around from guide
to guide, before we ended up with a 'friend of a friend' who we were told had promised to look after us, ensha'llah. After having been picked up from our guesthouse the next morning in a clapped out old van (also the driver's mobile home) which had a huge oil drum rolling around the back as the petrol tank, we had a sense of what was to come. On arriving in the remote village of Tagdilt, the starting point of our trek, and having been into our driver's home for the usual mint tea and khoobz (local bread), we were greeted by a one-man-and-his-mule Berber called Hussein who was to guide us through the 100km of remote terrain 
ahead. Having been somewhat spoiled on our previous Himalayan trek in Bhutan in 2006 for which we had 2 guides, 2 cooks, 2 horsemen and 12 ponies accompany us, we were slightly apprehensive with just Hussein and his four legged friend, particularly as it quickly became apparent that he spoke no english and only basic french (although still better than ours)... clearly our expectations are going to have to change for the year ahead.
All our fears were instantly quashed as we began walking, and it turned out to be a most incredible trek through the middle of nowhere, passing no-one but
nomads with their hundreds of goats, sheep and the odd camel in tow. (For those tracking our route, the trek was something like Tagdilt-Assif Ouarg Valley-Igli-Tajalajt-Achmrah-El Kelaa M'Gouna.) Accommodation was pretty basic to say the least - if we were lucky we shared a nomad dwelling, if not, it meant braving the freezing cold night outside with only our sleeping bags between us and the stars. The mountain and desert scenery was spectacular.
One of the most amazing experiences we had was spending the first night chez Hussein and his family. Despite the primitiveness of the surroundings in which they live (6 people living and sleeping in a room half the size of our living room), what astounded us the most was the delicate and intricate process by which the ritual mint tea was made. The gunpowder tea, fresh mint leaves and monumental amounts of white sugar broken from a huge block are dissolved in hot water. This is then poured into a glass before it is smoothly poured back in the pot, repeated several times to help it all steep. The tea, poured from a height, is then smelt and tasted on the palette, exactly as if one were tasting wine. The tea is then refined accordingly, most commonly by adding even more sugar. When the person making the tea is happy, it is poured out for everyone to enjoy. What neither of us could believe was just how sweet it was, almost like drinking mint flavoured syrup which we had to grin and bare over and over again so as not to offend.
A similarly surprising process was the Gordon Ramsay-esque cooking of the evening tagine for 3 hours which was again put together so delicately, constantly tasted, spices added and slowly cooked. The experience we had of sharing the family meal (with the men at least) all eating from the same plate was amazing... it really did feel like no tourists had been through there before. Seeing the contrast of incredibly primitive accommodation with immaculately presented food and tea was a real eye opener, showing that one clearly does not have to follow the other. Observing the Berber way of life was a genuinely memorable experience which we feel incredibly privileged to have had.
We managed to finish our trek relatively unscathed, however likely owe a large part of that to our high-tech water purifying steripen and probiotics (courtesy of our mums). We are not sure how our stomachs would otherwise have coped with drinking the stagnant pond water on offer and eating the 5 day old chicken pieces which would have virtually cooked in the heat of each day.
After a quick trip to the Dades Gorge, it was back to Marrakesh which gave Susie the chance to find us a hammam for a well deserved scrub and massage - although in Susie's words, not quite the Urban Retreat.
Tonight we fly to Mali for our first taste of West Africa and most likely the biggest culture shock of the trip. The next 3 weeks should certainly be interesting...
Click on the album cover below to see some more of our pictures from Morocco.
We spent the first day and a half exploring the streets of Marrakesh which really is as exotic as we imagined it would be, although how much of the 'fairytale' would remain without the tourists is questionable. Our beautiful little riad (thank you Costi) was tucked away in a quiet back alley right in the middle of the souks, selling everything from carpets to tortoises to spices, even one which apparently doubles-up as viagra which must make for some interesting local recipes. Despite Susie's best efforts to make some space in her bag for the customary souvenirs, her jam-packed rucksack was having none of it. The thought of carrying around a metal lantern for the next year was also not one that excited Dan. We took on the obligatory evening meal in the chaos of the djemaa el-fna market on our first night, and perhaps through avoiding the traditional snail stew and sheep's head broth, we are pleased to say we both survived. As we sipped on our 7 pence equivalent hunja (spicy cinnamon tea) with some locals, it was fascinating to see the Arabic speaking storytellers in the square surrounded by tens of locals all diligently listening to the tales unfold, whilst the snake charmers wooed the tourists. The drum and dustbin lid playing musicians in the square, who surprisingly had a hint of West African influence in their music, was a clear favourite of Dan's though.For those that know Dan well, you won't be surprised to hear that by the second day, he was already itching to get out of the city and into the Atlas mountains. After an 8 hour bus journey over an incredible and winding high mountain pass, we arrived in the small town of Boumalne du Dades which was to be the starting place for our 5-day trek into the Jebel Sarhro range of mountains. Whilst not as high or as famed as the High Atlas mountains, Jebel Sarhro promised to be a much more scenically varied range and most importantly off the well-trodden tourist trail. Having left the organisation of our trek until the last minute, we were passed around from guide
to guide, before we ended up with a 'friend of a friend' who we were told had promised to look after us, ensha'llah. After having been picked up from our guesthouse the next morning in a clapped out old van (also the driver's mobile home) which had a huge oil drum rolling around the back as the petrol tank, we had a sense of what was to come. On arriving in the remote village of Tagdilt, the starting point of our trek, and having been into our driver's home for the usual mint tea and khoobz (local bread), we were greeted by a one-man-and-his-mule Berber called Hussein who was to guide us through the 100km of remote terrain 
ahead. Having been somewhat spoiled on our previous Himalayan trek in Bhutan in 2006 for which we had 2 guides, 2 cooks, 2 horsemen and 12 ponies accompany us, we were slightly apprehensive with just Hussein and his four legged friend, particularly as it quickly became apparent that he spoke no english and only basic french (although still better than ours)... clearly our expectations are going to have to change for the year ahead.All our fears were instantly quashed as we began walking, and it turned out to be a most incredible trek through the middle of nowhere, passing no-one but
nomads with their hundreds of goats, sheep and the odd camel in tow. (For those tracking our route, the trek was something like Tagdilt-Assif Ouarg Valley-Igli-Tajalajt-Achmrah-El Kelaa M'Gouna.) Accommodation was pretty basic to say the least - if we were lucky we shared a nomad dwelling, if not, it meant braving the freezing cold night outside with only our sleeping bags between us and the stars. The mountain and desert scenery was spectacular.One of the most amazing experiences we had was spending the first night chez Hussein and his family. Despite the primitiveness of the surroundings in which they live (6 people living and sleeping in a room half the size of our living room), what astounded us the most was the delicate and intricate process by which the ritual mint tea was made. The gunpowder tea, fresh mint leaves and monumental amounts of white sugar broken from a huge block are dissolved in hot water. This is then poured into a glass before it is smoothly poured back in the pot, repeated several times to help it all steep. The tea, poured from a height, is then smelt and tasted on the palette, exactly as if one were tasting wine. The tea is then refined accordingly, most commonly by adding even more sugar. When the person making the tea is happy, it is poured out for everyone to enjoy. What neither of us could believe was just how sweet it was, almost like drinking mint flavoured syrup which we had to grin and bare over and over again so as not to offend.
A similarly surprising process was the Gordon Ramsay-esque cooking of the evening tagine for 3 hours which was again put together so delicately, constantly tasted, spices added and slowly cooked. The experience we had of sharing the family meal (with the men at least) all eating from the same plate was amazing... it really did feel like no tourists had been through there before. Seeing the contrast of incredibly primitive accommodation with immaculately presented food and tea was a real eye opener, showing that one clearly does not have to follow the other. Observing the Berber way of life was a genuinely memorable experience which we feel incredibly privileged to have had.
We managed to finish our trek relatively unscathed, however likely owe a large part of that to our high-tech water purifying steripen and probiotics (courtesy of our mums). We are not sure how our stomachs would otherwise have coped with drinking the stagnant pond water on offer and eating the 5 day old chicken pieces which would have virtually cooked in the heat of each day.After a quick trip to the Dades Gorge, it was back to Marrakesh which gave Susie the chance to find us a hammam for a well deserved scrub and massage - although in Susie's words, not quite the Urban Retreat.
Tonight we fly to Mali for our first taste of West Africa and most likely the biggest culture shock of the trip. The next 3 weeks should certainly be interesting...
Click on the album cover below to see some more of our pictures from Morocco.
We hope you are all well at home and we look forward to hearing your news.
Until next time,
Susie and Dan x
3 comments:
Sounds like you have got off to an incredible start. I'd love to say you missed out on awesome 'Follie Douce' action - but it was snowing the entire time we were in Tignes. They have however, done some awesome extension work - that you will be most impressed with on your next visit.
Enjoy Mali....love to you both
Phil and Clare
Sounds awesome guys - one trek down in the build up to the moderate cycle! Impressive lack of stomach bugs as well!
Nothing much to report from here - the bump gets bigger!
Have a great time in Mali, look forward to the next installment...
Love,
Jon and Penny
What an incredible start! And glad to hear you're finding yourselves off the beaten track.
Not a huge amount to report this end. Sheffield does not seem to compare - or indeed warrant much prose!
We've had snow this last week and oxford beat cambridge in the boat race. I think that's about the extent of the news guys...
Looking forward to hearing how you're currently getting on. Well done water purification products!
Keep up the blog - it's great to hear your running commentary - plus you can always try and flog it when you return penniless, well travelled job seekers!
Take care and much love
Tom & Caroline - jealous of Sheffield! xxx
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