Richard, Aoife and Emer went out (very quietly) at 7 am thismornng, they had booked a 4 by 4 trip to Ait Benhaddou over the Tizi-n-tichka pass and to Ouzerzate from where we had driven last Wednesday.
Nigel and I had a lazy morning at the Riad, the sun came out eventually and so we sunbathed on the terrace after breakfast and later I strolled along the alley for some fresh bread for lunch.
In the afternoon I persuaded Nigel to accompany me to the souks, well you can’t come to Marrakech and not “do” the souks, can you?
| We have grown quite accustomed to mint tea! |
After about an hour he’d had enough so we went up to a rooftop terrace for mint tea and pastries and did some more people watching.
We wandered slowly back to the Riad, stopping to buy some dates and nougat on the way.
A very good smell greeted us, Atika, the housekeeper was cooking a meal for us. And a wood fire had been lit in the lounge.
The others got back at half past six having had an excellent and enjoyable day.
Our meal arrived on the table at 7.30, chicken tagine with loads of interestingly cooked vegetables as side dishes and spiced oranges for dessert. The ladies shouted up goodbye and we were left to spend another enjoyable evening looking at photos of the day and relaxing around the fire.
Sadly, tonight is our last night, we all leave tomorrow, Nigel first to return to the motorhome with the dogs and make his way to the coast at Essouira and us about 4 pm for the airport. I can just imagine Belle and Dash’s delight at being able to run on the beach. Life in a Riad in the medina does not really suit dogs!
| Pills, potions and lotions! |
That’s all for the blog for now as I shall be in the UK for a week and my laptop is staying in Morocco.
The following shots were taken by Nigel surreptitiously with his camera over his shoulder and not looking through the viewfinder to avoid annoying people which is very easy to do as soon as you hold a camera near your face!
| Carpet souk |
| Bellows anyone? |
| Looking down from where we had our mint tea, Yesterday’s cafe is the square terracotta building opposite and to the left, the one with two windows on the front. |
| Interesting collection of old cameras |
| Putting the world to rights |
Chris & Mandy Lefevre
Hi Margaret and Nigel,
Glad you had a good Christmas and sorry to hear about your night time escapade. We are now at Camping Ocean Bleu, Mohammedia on our way back to the boat. Had a great few days at Essaouira chilling out in the sun and some of the group have now moved south.
It was great meeting you both and will keep in touch. Mandy and Chris
Libertetoo.com
Thanks, Mandy and Chris,
Was great to meet you too, I expect you are home by now, we're still heading south but not very fast, especially today! Ah well, Tafraoute tomorrow, we hope!