A little slow with the blogging at the moment, but with so much going on I haven't had the inclination to sit down and type it out... until now! :)
Having Jo and Curtis with us in Marrakesh meant that we did some of the more 'holiday' touristy things that you would do with only limited time. This meant eating out a lot more (lovely) and splurging on a day at the very nice waterpark Oasiria.
Whilst children were there and were welcome, the vibe was very chilled and the layout and facilities really good. We were surprised at how quiet it was on 1st Sept and were told that the kids had gone back to school so the season was over. I couldn't have been happier. We had this massive place with it's multiple pools and slides and cabanas almost all to ourselves.
It was so relaxing. Jo and I attempted the 600m lazy river. Now, I say attempted for a reason. When I was about 25, I went on a summer holiday to Rhodes with my cousin Sally and a friend Nic. The 3 of us went to a waterpark and when I tried to get balanced on the rubber ring to go on the lazy river, it flipped and dunked me. Again, and again. I tried numerous times to no avail, largely hindered by our laughing fits. Balance has never been a natural thing for me. On that occasion in the end we just shoved several rings over my head and I drifted around the lazy river like a floating sausage lump until they showed pity on me and helped me wriggle out of the ring tower. This time started like the last. I was flipped and dunked several times. Finally I tried again and managed to balance like jam on scone- precariously, but I did it and I got round twice before getting overly sure of myself and kicking my feet a bit, and very quickly upended myself again. I have photos. I am NOT sharing them lol.
Jo and Curtis were also keen to see the Atlas mountains, visit the ancient medina of Ait Ben Hadou (a site used in the filming of Game of Thrones) and see the Atlas film studios, famous particularly for films such as Gladiator, Prince of Persia, The Jewel of the Nile, The Mummy, The Hills Have Eyes, Game of Thrones, Ben Hur, and Hercules. It was more flexible and more cost effective to drive ourselves, but given that Lady Landy had been troublesome in the mountains, we hired a car and Gaz was our designated driver.
The studios weren't expensve to visit, and whilst our tour guide was about as useful as a chocolate teapot, and not at all interested in whether we were understanding him or having a good time. We decided to ditch him and wander around ourselves - perhaps we didn't get the detail we might have, but we had a good time exploring and taking photos. Worth a visit if you're passing. It's a nice place to visit for an hour but don't make a special trip to this area just for the studios.
The highlight of the day, apart from the time spent driving around the beautiful mountains, was our visit to Ait Ben Haddou. Despite suffering from extreme drought like the rest of the country it was amazing to see such an ancient old fortified town and recognise it so easily from Game of Thrones. Whilst it would have been lovely to see the river flowing, we were able to walk across the dried up river bed to the turreted entrance and explore from the front. We couldn't stay long, but it was cool to be there.
On this trip I got chatting to a shop owner whose name I forget, but who taught me a little more Arabic. Apparently the sound of my name 'Anna' means I or self. So to introduce my self, I would say in Arabic 'Ana Anna' and Garry would say 'Ana Garry'. Also, 'Mhabba' can be used in place of 'you are welcome'. I was pleased to learn a little more Arabic as the Moroccans do love it when you try to speak to them in their language.
Soon our week long holiday with Jo and Curt was done and it was time to say goodbye to them and to Marrakesh. I think we will all remember the crazy souks, the restaurant that marketed itself with the phrase "no diarrhoea here"!! erm.... and the sounds, sights and smells of Jem El Fnaa square at night.
It was a week of adventure and new experiences for all of us and we didn't want it to end. After one last crazy adventure driving across the city on a Saturday evening to drop the guys off at the airport, it was over.
The next morning came quickly and we headed across the mountains again in our hire car, leaving the landy at the fab little hotel we'd stayed in before Jo and Curt arrived in Marrakesh. They were happy to keep the car in their carpark, so we could head off with peace of mind on our mission to find the Sahara desert.
The first day consisted of 3 hrs retracing the drive from 2 days before, over the mountains to a city known as the Hollywood of Morocco, Ouzarazate, (home to the Atlas Studios) and then on for another 2 hours to stay overnight making the journey more manageable. We had been driving for about 2 hrs, when we rounded a corner in the high Atlas and came upon a man waving us down for help. His name was Ibrahim and his car was broken down. We gave him a lift for 60KM to Ouzarazate so that he could get home and sort out collecting his car. THis is typical of how this country works - there is no national breakdown service, so you get home and get a local garage to help. Ibrahim was a merchant arranging wholesale deals between the communities in the Sahara (Morocco, Algeria, Mali, Niger) and Marrakesh. He spoke pretty good English and said that he'd learned it from the radio.
When we arrived in Ouzerazate, Ibrahim insisted on us joining him for tea, so after much nagging, we followed him inside a door and up a few flights of stairs into what appeared to be a showroom of artisan goods. Uh oh! Have we been had? Moments later his business partner Abdul arrived with Moroccan tea and sat us down to rest and chat. It was 10 minutes later before I realised that Ibrahim was probably not coming back, and instead he had passed off two very nice and in his eyes 'wealthy' english people to a Toureg trader who was very charming and a pleasure to talk to. Yes I bought something. Yes it was expensive and probably not worth it. But, despite the eye rolls and amused smirks from Gaz, I still feel pleased that I bought my souvenir there and not from a generic shop in a busy medina.
We walked away feeling a bit like we'd been had. Was our good deed a good deed, or was the breakdown even real? I have no idea. 60Km is a long way to go if it wasn't real. Who knows. Ibrahim got home and I spent too much money on something I don't need but I'm smiling either way.
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