Last night was filled with random coughing fits – still, nothing took away from the pleasure of the very comfy bed in our awesome room. We headed downstairs to grab some breakfast… this consisted of olives, goat’s cheese and different types of breads and spreads. Very different to Europe! At 930am we met up with our local guide, Mohammad, with his white clothes, yellow pointy shoes and red pointy hat! He took us on a hike up to a nearby mosque, giving us a view over all the beautiful white and blue houses. We also walked past fig trees, almond trees and lots of goats, sheep and donkeys. I think this place really is your clichéd Moroccan experience, it’s fantastic!
We were back down in the town just as the weather began to really heat up (it must have easily got to 40 degrees today). This town is so quaint, lots of little walkways with stone houses painted blue. There are also lots of green vines everywhere, the mix of colours is mesmerizing. We wandered around here for quite a while before heading into our very first Moroccan rug shop! The owners sat us down, gave us mint tea and biscuits and then proceeded to show us lots and lots and lots of rugs (some made from cashmere, some from cactus silk, some from camel hair, some hand-woven, some in the loom etc. etc.). They were lucky – two of the couple bought a rug each, one for $800ish and the other for $1800ish (differences in bargaining skills perhaps?). The rugs themselves were beautiful and I was particularly taken by a big multi-coloured patterned one… pity I have nowhere to put it!
The trip to the rug shop ended up taking quite a while, due to the amount of negotiating going on and this made some people grumpy… I was really happy just to sit and watch the whole process. Eventually we all headed off to a Moroccan restaurant – lunch for me was a Moroccan salad, Meat Cous Cous (with slow cooked meat, raisins, almonds, vegetables) and a lemon tart. Yummy. After lunch it really was getting scorching so, after buying myself some more ‘modest’ pants to wear, we trudged our way back to our wonderful hotel and relaxed in our room for a bit. This eventually moved to relaxing by the pool, reading for a bit and then a quick dip. Back to the room for a shower and then downstairs to dinner – I made a point of wearing my nice dress that I’ve been hauling around for 6 weeks but have not yet worn. Originally dinner was just Andy and I but soon people came and joined us in bits and bobs. A chicken tagine was consumed, yummy as usual. Andy brought out the bottle of vodka which we accidentally drank half of. Dinner at around midnight. Another day of relaxing tomorrow, this place is amazing :)
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