The Morocco Trip: Part 5

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Once we' showered and changed after the uber cool camel trek, it was 4x4 time back to the coach. Once all on we travelled for hours and hours, pretty much following the route back to Marrakech. On the way we saw plenty of sights, including this symbolic photo I took about religion (2 burqas, a mosque and Arabic text).

And there were lamp-shade men.

Not to mention the amount of ninjas that roamed the streets.

Then we had kebab and chips for lunch. Hooray!

We returned later in the day to the Les Jardins hotel, the second one, which was deemed a mutual favourite among us all. Here we're at dinner inside an outdoor tent, which worked out pretty cosy. The food however, was fairly vomit worthy. Some weird tagine pie and pasta; all covered in sickly cinnamon...

And we were treated to some traditional Moroccan entertainment: a band and some dancers.

Then a solo guy came on, which was nice.

He also played harmonica during his performance!

Big Mac joined in.

And then everyone got out of their seats and had a little jig. So much so that we all danced out of the dinner tent, leaving drink bills unpaid and some very angry Arabs in our wake...

I took a pic of the local currency - Dirhams - in case I had none left for a souvenir. 

The next morning we drove to a local sports hall and had a game of football with some Marrakech-ian boys. Which was cool - if you enjoyed playing that is... I sat bored the entire time as our team got absolutely slaughtered by the young Arabs...

And here was the rest of the bored crew, or non-doers as some might say.

There was however a black Rob Brydon on pitch!

Bored spectating  - POV style.

Then a very long coach journey to Lunch.

Lunch was no cake walk, as we were marauded by flies the entire time. 

Once that was over with we came to this fortress place on a hill to climb and look at, seen below.

Fortress climb: POV style.

That's a lot of stairs...

But we made it, and were rewarded with some very pleasant views.

Except this view, of where some one had recently urinated. Must've been on a full bladder by the looks of this mess...

Our main guide, Hassan, told us a little history and then a goodbye speech (even though he wasn't leaving until tomorrow).

Me and Hassan, who I'm still convinced is the unofficial 5th member of JLS.

On the way back down this guy showed us his unique burning art style. 

Then the coach ride was a blast and we all sat, mesmerised by this odd Arabic music video that played on the bus. It really was strange, not only the video (in which there was a lot of singing beside a pool) but in the way that we all were literally glued to this TV that had appeared out of nowhere. I don't think we really cared what was on it, as long as it lightened the heavy 6 hour bus ride ahead.

But we got there in the end - back in Marrakech.

A fond farewell to our bus driver who was leaving now.

This was the first hotel again, and when we got in I was ecstatic to find the movie Serenity on TV, which is the film of the show, Firefly, which you may have heard me rave about.

Next we walked into the city at night, a very atmospheric activity with the bustling and often hectic streets.

Then we had dinner in the town, in a swanky fast food restaurant. Huge burger, here I come!

A view of the crazy streets.

Once we'd walked back it was straight up into rooms for a very uncomfortably hot night (air con broke) after watching Airheads on TV. Then the next morning was spent visiting the famed "Sueks" or markets of Marrakech.

A certain Inception scene springs to mind here.

Yes, those are caged and chained monkeys, people. Click to enlarge for a better look of them.

I put my rucksack on my front around here to avoid any pick-pocketers that may have been lurking.

And there's a snake charmer there.

Just cruisin'.

I managed to get a number of souvenirs here, including the pictured Fez, a small ceremonial knife and a wooden mask. By this point I hink I was getting the hang of haggling for items, especially since tour guide Unis helped me out here.

No rest for the wicked as we raced back to the airport. But we did stop for lunch, in which four of us chipped in to buy the KFC "Party Meal", consisiting of 21 pieces of chicken. There was so much we ended up handing it out the coach!

Goodbye Unis.

Our plane was ready and so were we. It had been an awesome experience, but going home felt like the right thing.

Goodbye Morocco. 

And finally, the flight home. My ears popped like a balloon up there. Youchie. But we landed fine and all said our goodbyes as family waited at Gatwick for us.

So there you have it. We have come to the end of our 5 day Morocco round-up extravaganza. If you've got an emotional orchestral piece handy, now would be the time. With a little hope and a pinch of luck, you've enjoyed reading about my African adventure. But it's back to normal next week with all the usual shizzle plus perhaps a bit more. Until then, stay safe and keep reading.

ATR