Back in Marrakesh

Posted Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 7:04 PM by Lonely Planet

Lisa risks her life on the streets of Marrakesh...

Here the road rules are limited to this - just drive. Drive your car, your horse, your mule, donkey, camel, motorbike or bicycle anyway you can to get you where you need to be.

The narrow alleys seem to turn Marrakesh drivers into Grand Prix drivers rather than act as deterrence. Blind corner: who cares, floor it and test your luck. There are pedestrian crossings, but if you stop you'll never get started again. If being a girl on a bicycle didn't make people look, being a girly girl on a bicycle guaranteed a few stares. All was fine until my first corner turn in a good five years. I know riding a bike is a skill that once learnt is never forgotten but... this corner threw me... literally. After trying to stop my bike (which was of course rocketing with speed) I stumbled graciously into the path of an oncoming taxi, which luckily had brakes in good working order. A near miss and slightly tarred ego, but an authentic Moroccan experience all the same. After a quick dust off and a brief 'lean into the corner' pep talk from Baxter, I was good to go again.

Marrakesh has more shades of pink than a Mardi Gras so it was rather odd to travel to the coastal town of Essaouria and be confronted with white walls. It felt as though our two-hour drive had transported us to Greece. Greece flavoured with Moroccan spice, where the alleyways and people remained the same, but there was one distinct difference. Seagulls. Never before have I seen more seagulls congregate in a single airspace. And with good reason. Everything from bream to bass, shark to seahorse (okay I didn't see the latter on a plate though I'm sure it's possible) is on the menu, making life extremely sweet for the seagulls of Essaouria. Braving the almost definite probability of being hit by a bird bomb, I wondered just how long these gulls hover above the harbour. After watching (both the birds and their bombs hit unsuspecting passers-by) I came to the conclusion that they simply hover all day. Why go anywhere else than a place that serves up a constant supply of fresh fish and lets you get a bit of target practice in!



From the seaside smell of seagull to the musty stench of pigeon mixed with cows, camels and lime there was only one thing I was extremely grateful for when I entered a tannery on my final day. The bundle of mint I was given on entering. Having followed a young boy after he insisted we saw his family's tannery, Syliva and I could smell what can only be described as dead animal. I really had no idea what I was in for and while I'm very glad I ended up with a camel-leather pouf and an empty pocket, I was even happier to be breathing fresh air outside in Djemaa el-Fna.



Morocco has been a surprise package of culture shock, culinary creatures, exotic wonders and experiences I simply could have never predicted. If there is one thing I want to end with it's to encourage people to travel. See the world through your own eyes. You can read a book about pretty much anywhere or watch a program on television, but to truly experience a place in your own unique way you need to get yourself a guidebook and get out there.

Labels: Africa, Bluelist Winners 2007

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