Morocco Transportation

Essaouira is marvelous town completely reserved for pedestrians; cars have to park outside the city walls; the narrow winding streets seem sometimes to be a maze of confusion, but one makes sense of them fairly quickly. Most of the tourists here are European: Spanish, French, English and German, in that order. The town is blessed with many small inns and gueshouses and several exellent resturants. One of the most fun things I did there was get custom-made pants and shirts. The town is a shopper's paradise. We found a place that carried linen pull-on pants and shirts, but although I liked the style of some, I prefered the fabric in trouser styles I did not care for. The shop owner pulled out a couple of bolts of the fabric I liked, took my measurements and five hours later I had two custom-made pants and a shirt...all for a very reasonable price. We went there from Marrakech by public bus which cost us about $20 for two people. On the way back, we took a taxi; that cost $50. I wanted to return by taxi because there were places I wanted to stop and take pictures. However, traveling in an airconditioned Mercedes taxi was FAR better than being in a hot, stuffy bus.

What do you say about Morocco? its the land of Ali Baba.. and Marrakech is his hometown.. You expect to see that dude come out of every stall you pass. There is almost something mythical about that place. I was there many many years ago. The berber culture is a proud culture, strange people. You keep your stuff CLOSE to you! forget a wallet in your back pocket.. thats FOOLISH! you put you money in your shoe.. anywhere thats not easy to get to. Especially the kids, they start crowding around you..thats how they do it first.. the others are the one that bump you hard.. You just got to keep away from people and hold your SHIT! Other than the thieves you can find all kinds of stuff here. but you have to know how to haggle..and haggle you will. All the stalls within the town walls of Marrakech are a bazzar of everything you can think of.. clothing, pots, pans, jewlry...anything. And Hot.. did I mention its HOT... I mean beat satan out of Hell HOT. take your breath away hot. But, thats the desert for you ... careful with the water.. only drink bottled water or soda.. There was no bottled water when I was there so I drank beer and soda. Also careful with the spices on the food.. itll eat you up too. But if you want to feel like you are in a Mythical Land - you are in Marrakech. Women - be careful.. men are very dominant.

Never look interested in at something in the Souks (unless you do want to buy ) as they will pounce on you and talk you to death if you don't buy it and beware of the henna tattooists as they grab you and paint on you if you go near them, then charge you - this happened to me! Take a man with you (if you are female) as they tend to give you lots of unwanted attention if you're female(s) and on your own Always check what price a taxi fare should be before getting in as they WILL rip you off (though it's still dirt cheap so I didn't mind) If you don't mind chancing it, don't book a hotel before you go as you will get a lovely and clean hotel easliy and very cheaply near the main square if you just turn up NEVER take chances with the food, never eat salad or drink tapwater! I was ill for 5 days after eating a salad!! Definately go to Essaouira, it's beautiful Definately go through the Atlas mountains, it is beautiful (but beware the road is very bumpy and twisty-turny and no air con on the bus so made me feel sick!) and do a camel ride in the Sahara - you can book these tours in Marrakesh, ask the hotel reception and they show you where to go You need to change money when you get there as you cannot buy currency before you go (at the airport in they change it) You won't be able to escape the attention from would-be sellers everwhere so just try to ignore it (or be firm) and enjoy the beautiful surroundings Take the bus sightseeing tour when you arrive, it's good for getting your bearings

Took a bus here from Marrakech. We had met a girl who lived here while waiting for the train in Tangier. We ended up staying with her family and her mom cooked us an excellent chicken and potato tangine. Her mom also took us to a hammam, not a tourist one, where we used big buckets of hot water to scrub each other down. Not a spa experience but we felt nice and clean afterwards which was great. Apparently there is good surfing south of here, another girl we had met in Tangier was going south to meet some of her friends from Switzerland. I would love to return and visit my friend Kaoutar Souah. Ask for her, everyone seems to know her :)

On y a atteri pour nos vacances. Le trajet pour nous emmener à Tetouan était en taxi, ce qui nous a permis d'admirer le paysage, les gens, leur mode de vie en campagne,... Ne pas oublié son passeport