We woke up early in order to catch the 9:30am train to Marrakech. Our European hotel provided a nice petit de journer, in the form of a buffet.
We took some pictures from the roof of our hotel, and then headed off for the train. We just barely made it, and the train was so packed. For about an hour, we sat in the hallway of the train waiting for a seat to become available. Finally, Jon & Barry located an empty 1st class cabin. BTW, when traveling the Marrakech Express, just purchase a 2nd class ticket and sit in the 1st class cabin. Nobody really cares, or bothers to check.
It was quite a warm day, so the inside of the train was very stuffy. We had a lot of difficulty opening the windows, so eventually Barry just opened the boarding door in the car. This method of garnering fresh air worked wonders, but every now and then a train employee would come around and close the door. IT was a constant struggle 8^)
Finally, a day late, we arrived in Marrakech. We were all excited to be there. There were hoards of people around the train station. Jon located a booth where he purchased a chip for his cell phone, and some time on it. We then called the B&B (Riad Ariha), and they sent us a taxi.
One note about Morocco, in general, there is an overabundance of help. There is a struggle between the locals about giving help, as it is the custom for the tourists to pay. I don’t mind carrying my own bag, and in fact I prefer to carry it…then to hand it over to some scrawny dude who I would then have to pay.
In any event, many many times I had porters take my bag even if I protested. I thought it was funny because Barry’s bag was 20 pounds more than mine, and very few people ever offered to help him out with it. I also got a kick out of watching them struggle with my bag, they would see me with it on my back and assume that since I was a girl it was not that heavy. They would reach to grab it, and nearly fall over trying to get the strap over their shoulder. Definitely, earning their tip!
Upon arrival, the hotel hostess, Amina, brought us mint tea and cookies. She spoke with us about the local sights, brought out a map and pointed the way to some nice walking tours. She also helped us to secure a driver for our journey to the Todra Gorge. Our driver, Ibrahim, spoke English and ended up really being a fantastic tourguide. Amina really hooked us up with the best. The long drive (9 hours) cost us 2500 dirhams, for a 4WD and English guide; but it was totally worth it.
After tea, we unpacked our things, and then headed out for a walking tour of Marrakech. First up, we visited the Koutoubia Mosque. We took a lot of pictures, and were surprised when no guides approached us to offer us a tour. The place was pretty dang empty, but it made for some fantastic photos.
After that, we walked right by the Jamal El Fna square, without knowing it, and proceeded to get lost in the maze of corridors & alleys. At one point, we paid a little boy some money, but he really just walked us around in circles. We parted ways, and were able to negotiate our way out of the neighborhood.
Eventually, we found our way back to the Square, and were entertained with the storytelling, henna painters, and food stalls. I stupidly suggested a fresh glass of OJ, as I thougt it would be safe, but little did I know they dilute the OJ with local water. We didn’t know it but in about 24 hours, we would all get horribly sick.
It was just about dinner time, so we found the restaurant Amina recommended and had a lovely meal on the third floor balcony. We watched a beautiful sunset and saw the trasition of Marrakech turn from frantic chaos to a night frenzy.
Walking back to our Riad was insane. There were mopeds everywhere, and the fumes were practically unbearable. I was happy I had my buff, so I could filter some of it out. It was pretty polluted. Luckily, from Jamal El Fna to the hotel only took 20 minutes, so the exposure to the noxious fumes was short.
It was a wonderful day, and I was only too ready to jump in bed. Our walk was about 6 miles, Jon had recorded it on his GPS device.
I was excited about our upcoming drive to the Todra Gorge.
Tags: Jamal El Fna, Marrakech, Riad Ariha