Morocco - Day 1, Arrival in Marrakech

February in England is cold and dark with short days. But the schools give a week off for what they call half-term. Time to head somewhere reasonably warm for the break. We looked at Sicily, Turkey, Greek islands, and Morocco and were told that Morocco in northeast Africa would be the warmest of those destinations in February. We didn't want to fly further than a few hours after just traveling eleven hours over Christmas to South Africa. The flight to Marrakech, Morocco was only 4 hours long.

Chris has a Moroccan friend he used to work with, Mustapha, who was eager to have us visit his country. Mustapha recommended an English-speaking guide to make things easier for us. We joined up with two other families from Lexi's school who also have 11th-grade daughters. The kids were happy to have buddies and the grown-ups were happy too. Our party of nine did not fit into a normal-size vehicle, however, and we did not want to split up into two cars. A 15-passenger bus with driver, Ahmed, was provided for us. He was on duty for us the entire time, from the pick-up at the airport, throughout the week, and then back to the airport. It was comforting to have a local contact to watch out for us and who spoke Arabic. With the "Arab Spring" uprisings going on in African countries such as Egypt and Libya, we wanted to feel safe and not be on our own. Another benefit was that the guide got us really good discounts on the hotels.

Upon arrival at our hotel, the Palmeraie Golf Palace, we were seated and given the traditional welcome of Moroccan mint tea. The tea was sweet and refreshing with fresh mint in the little glasses.

Our group arriving at hotel

 There was a photo-op area set up in the lobby which of course I couldn't resist:

Enjoying my Moroccan mint tea welcome

After getting settled in our luxurious rooms, we lunched poolside in the warm sun and marveled at how we had left 16 F degree weather at the airport that morning.

We made the obligatory trip to the square and market place in the old city portion of Marrakech. It is popular with both the locals and the tourists. There were snake charmers and men with monkeys available for photos. Even if you don't ask for a monkey on your head, the men will just plop one on you and of course photos must be taken and then the men expect money. We were told to pay 20 Dirhams, (about $2) no more. The monkey men weren't having any of that and started demanding 200 Dirhams! Unfortunately, Chris had pulled all his cash from his pocket and the men could see what he had. Here is Chris enjoying the up-close encounter with the monkeys while I am not so thrilled to have the creature thrust upon my head!

At Chez Ali, warming up at a fire pit. Got cold when sun went down.

Dinner and a show that night was at Chez Ali, a touristy place, but well worth the visit to experience the traditional vibes of Morocco. Chez Ali is a huge compound with tents and buildings set around an open air arena. Our bus dropped us off in the parking lot which was dominated by other tour buses. That set the tourist tone right away. Oh well. As you walk in, you are taken past various groups in traditional garb representing the different tribes of the area. Many were playing music. We were seated in a large tent and typical Moroccan food was brought out, no need to try to figure out what to order from a menu! The soup was good, next was a huge platter of couscous with vegetables for the table to share. Then a roasted lamb on a platter with body parts still attached was presented. That raised some eyebrows from us Westerners. The table next to us was digging in with their hands, which we were told is common. We did the best we could to find the meat with our knives and forks. Dessert was a platter of fresh fruit. The tangerines were delicious!

What remained of our lamb on a platter

Dessert

During dinner, various musical groups rotated past our table to perform their chant or dance or whatever their tribe does best. In an effort to get us to participate (I suppose) one woman leaned right in Chris's ear and made a tongue-clicking noise. I guess we didn't look interested enough because after a while the groups just barely stopped at our table then quickly moved on along. Fine with us!

After dinner, we sat outside on stands around the arena for the show. Riders on Arabian horses performed tricks. A lone belly dancer performed on a stage in the center so far away we could hardly see her. We kept imagining how cold she must have been in her skimpy outfit. Once the sun went down, it got cold. It was February after all. In a sort of war ceremony, riders on horses charged out and shot off their rifles, several times. All the tribal performers processed out in a final parade. The finale was fireworks and a "floating" magic carpet pulled across a cable between two buildings. All in all, fun stuff.

At the end of the day we marveled at how much we did in just our first day in Morocco.