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Morocco - January 2007

Hi everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.  We get an extra bite of the festive cherry here in Spain as the Spanish make more of the Festival of the Three Kings, which is when the children receive their gifts.

Having finished the latest novel, Candy Kisses, (coming Autumn 2007) we took a few days break in Morocco.  What an amazing change of culture!  The Lonely Planet says you should arrive in daylight with a sense of humour and I would second that.  You will not, of course, take either your handbag or your wallet, but it is a fascinating experience.

We enjoyed Moroccan dining, complete with belly dancer who was very popular with the men in our party.  I must say I was more interested in the band.  They looked so laid back they seemed almost asleep, sawing away at their violins propped on their knees, although they too livened up when the belly dancer appeared.  

OK, chaps, here she is.

On our whistle-stop tour we visited Tangier and Fes.  Abdul took us around the souk, (a guide is essential with 9,000 alleys to choose from). 

We bought a rug, of course, bartering over a glass of mint tea, and were quite pleased to get it for less than half the first price mentioned.  We also bought more spices than we’ll ever need in one lifetime.  It’s not so much the bartering which is hard to learn but convincing the shop keeper that you really don’t want whatever it is he’s trying to sell you.  I actually left one shop but he pursued me all down the street and nearly got run over by a passing donkey in my efforts to escape.  But I didn’t buy his pesky bedspread.  

Crafts such as pottery, weaving and tanning are still carried out in the traditional manner.

We took the train to Fes, one of those old fashioned compartment trains with a corridor, but it was clean, cheap and on time.  An ancient porter carried and deposited our bags on board for the cost of 2 euros.  Tipping is endemic.  The countryside looked very green, very agricultural, with water in the rivers, rolling hills, umbrella pine and eucalyptus.  The villages were small, some little more than hamlets, the houses simple blocks and the only transport available seemed to be donkey carts.

Our guides also gave us a tour to view historic houses, museums, the royal palaces and the beaches.  There's such a difference between rich and poor it's troubling, but it was a fascinating experience.  Winter is the ideal time to visit as temperatures reach 44 degrees in summer.  You can get flights from the UK but we took the Tarifa ferry, only a 40 minute journey, so make it a part of your next Spanish holiday and taste a little of mysterious Morocco.

If you were thinking of coming out to Spain right now, I’d bring your woollies and an umbrella, we’re catching up on all the rain we’ve missed over the last months.  The reservoirs and gardens are thirsty for it so we don’t complain, and the blue skies and sunshine will be back soon.  

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