Europe and Cruising 2016: Morocco - Agadir, Taroudant, Marrakesh, Casablanca

16 and 17/11/16

On Wednesday morning we drove through the desert from Agadir port to Taroudant. On route we saw many herds of goats, including the famous climbing goats up in the Argan trees eating the seeds. There were some small patches of agriculture (oranges, tomatoes, sugar cane) but mainly flat, dry, stony ground with a few scrubby bushes and lots of plastic rubbish and broken glass.

After lunch in Taroudant, we had a guided walk through the souks of the Medina, which felt uncomfortably like a trip to the zoo. It was like a Moroccan Paddies Markets, selling clothing, shoes, fruit and veg, spices, silver, leather and wooden furniture make on site.

On the way to Marrakesh, we initially drove through the amazing Atlas Mountains, formed when Gondwanaland collided with Laurasia. They were huge and majestic, and some topped with snow. Once through the mountains the land was flat and featureless and the trip as boring as a drive up the Stuart Highway.

We had a traditional dinner that night. Started with a variety of dips, then two tangines, one with couscous and vegetables and the other with lamb, prunes and apricots. All delicious. The quartet who entertained us were excellent musicians. The drum and tambourine percussionists had some amazing rhythms and the oud player was very skilled. The violin is held vertically when played and I had to let Nanny know that she has had it wrong all these years! The evening ended with belly dancers.

Our time in Marrakesh next day involved a tour to the Bahia Palace (beautiful ceilings and courtyards), a walk through the souks (busy and crowded, with the ever present danger of being run down by motor scooters), and time at Majorelles Gardens (tranquil and beautiful with the most amazing cactuses I have ever seen!) During some free time in Jemaa El Fna, the main square, we came across a protest by teachers. They had erected tents, rather like the Aboriginal embassy outside Old Parliament House, and had signs in Arabic, French and English, saying “No contracts, No privatisation, No segregation” and “No police violence toward teachers”. We had managed to miss this when in the square several times before with our guide!

Mid-afternoon we began the drive to Casablanca to re-join the ship. When we reached Casablanca Airport on the outskirts of the city by 6 pm we thought we would arrive early. However the last 40 km took two hours through the worst traffic conditions I have ever seen. We were very relieved to finally arrive safely at the ship.

We are not exactly sure how to describe what we feel about Morocco. It has been underwhelming and we are not charmed by it as we were by Turkey. The people are less warm and relaxed. There are few children around, women are always busy or on their way somewhere, and we have often seen men just sitting alone in the middle of vacant blocks. Any socialising seems to be done well out of the public eye.

There is rubbish everywhere, plastic bags decorate the trees on the outskirts of towns and cities, plastic bottles and broken glass line roadsides, and uncultivated land has rubbish mixed in with the topsoil. According to our guide, everyone is very happy that the king has built highways and high rise apartments that people can purchase cheaply, so there are no more slums.

The climate change conference was on when we were in Marrakesh which might explain the numerous and visible presence of police and defence personnel, including two policemen on every highway overpass on the 200 km or so stretch between Marrakesh and the Casablanca airport. Incidentally that stretch of road was remarkably free of rubbish and vacant land was covered with newly ploughed soil that was a different colour to the soil beneath. Coincidence?