I left Algeciras on the ferry , coming to Tanger . From the boat I could see the harbour and the Gibraltar Rock a moment later , in the midlle of Gibraltar Bay. I reminded myself that once , years ago in the Grammar School , I had had a plan to go to Africa , via Gibraltar Strait . I had told my colleaque that I would have gone to Gibraltar hitch-hiking and then just swim across the strait . My colleaque had been sceptic ; in the waters could have been sharks .Of course this was a silly plan - however I would find out later in Morocco ,that some Moroccan people try to get to Spain using simple rafts , for instance . Anyway , possibly my idea of getting to Morocco on the ferry was associated in some way with this plan from distant times .
I disembarked after an hour in the new Tangier port . The only way to get to the city was a taxi - over 50 kilometers . Tangier looked splendid - modern city and the beautiful bay . But I decided to leave it without stopping for long , I didn't see old Medina . I noticed people enjoying sunny day along the sandy beach and through " Ville Nouvelle " I walked to the train station . I took late afternoon train to Fez .
Wagons were really comfortable . Next to me sat a young Moroccan guy who explained me where would be a change of the train . I could not understand his French at all , but he understood a bit English . He showed me a papers received from Moroccan Vehicle Association in Tangier . I couldn't understand what the kind of matter he dealt , but he was on the way back home .
The landscape outside a train window was quite lush , green meadows and fields .Sometimes hilly , sometimes flat but really green scenery . Many white egrets looking for their meal-you wouldn't think this is North Africa . This guy next to told me he had never been to the desert - seems that he could only imagine how desert looks like . No wonder - you must travel beyond Atlas range to find sands of Sahara -mountains stop the damp air from the Ocean and rains are often .
Tangier , in the city center .
I arrived in Fez after twilight , took taxi from the station and driver rode me to the small hotel by Medina , old part of this town . I checked in and went out to stroll a bit - I walked to the Medina's entry . The guy who was an owner of the lodge just next to my hotel , warned me not to go inside Medina when dark . Too danger . I knew it too , and walked only to the gate and back . When coming back , this guy ( later I found out he was originally Berber from Merzouga ) invited me for a mint tea . He had three guests , two young guys from Izrael and one from Belgium . They tried to talk me into staying with them , but I told them I have paid yet for my room . The owner , by the way , said that would be not fair to steal a guest .
The guys from Izrael told me that they had had big problems when coming to Morocco , at the Casablanka airport . As they hadn't had visas , they had been told to go back . But they had been stubborn and denied going back . After four days of staying in the airport , they had been at last allowed to visit Morocco .
View on Medina in Fez , which is the most complete Medina in the Arab world and declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site .
Next morning I went to Medina which is huge . Narrow and steep streets bustle with people who constantly move fro and back , talking aloud . All the time somebody is making a way , carrying diffrent items on carts or bikes , sometimes using donkeys . There are many small craft shops , work rooms which are busy . All the time somebody wants to sell me something or show me the way in Medina . I bought one brass plate with nice pattern and spent quite long time in a textile shop of Berber man who I met earlier on my hotel's veranda . Two Izraeli guys suddenly turn out too and the shop owner demonstrated us how he uses a traditional weaving loom . I got out at last from Medina , after having lost in the maze of extremally narrow streets . I resigned of visiting most historic places in Medina , I was afraid of being lost completely . Dazed by the constat rush , noise of vehicles , I left Fez that first day in the town . I went to Bhalil , a very small town 30 km from Fez .
In Bhalil I spent one night in the house of Hassan , couchsurfer ( http://www.couchsurfing.org/about.html ) . This little town at the foothills of Moyen Atlas is very sympathetic - clean and colourful with the oldest part on the hill . In the second half of April there was still chilly , I think the temperature dropped at night to around zero centigrades . But because the place was close to the mountains , the air was nicely fresh . The next day I left Bhalil however , as my plan was to get to Marrakech . In order to do that , I firstly went to Sefrou , a town nearby , where I could take the bus to Marrakech . The center of Sefrou was very busy and loud that time - it was a market day . I found the office to buy ticket and at 3 pm I was on the bus going down , to the south .
Little but beautiful town of Bhalil
The green scenery on route to Marrakech , the road runs across fertile mountain valleys
I reached the capital of the south after long journey , at 2 am . When I left the bus I could feel the climate diffrence ; dispite the night the air was much warmer then in the north . I didn't decide to find something to sleep , just wait in the station caffe till morning . Drinking caffee and a mint tea I could learn that big Holywood movie productions are being watched all over the world - people were sitting around me watching " The lord of the rings " . When morning arrived , I took at last a taxi to Medina where I hoped to find a bed to sleep in a hotel , just on the corner of the main square , Djemma el Fna . This huge square in the centre of Marrakech is very busy place , but in the morning I could see just a few people . In the hotel unfortunately I was told the place was full and I would have to wait till quests leave later on . I started to think what to do ( I had a heavy backpack so I felt quite uncomfortable to fetch it for long time ) . But one local guy noticed my consternation and came up , with proposal of helping me . He led me to a couple of small hotels but in every place they informed that there was no room . At last in one nice riad ( a traditional house with courtyard inside and without roof ) a guy in reception said I could check in . I got a room on the first floor - outside on the veranda above courtyard birds were chirping . That kind of accomodation is now very popular . Especially in old quarters of Moroccan's towns, many riads have been restored and remade
as small hotels .
Courtyard in one of riads
At first I was going to stay in Marrakech just one day , to see what is most interesting . Then go to Atlas Mountains and beyond , to Zagora on the edge of Sahara . But I stayed for three days . Firstly , because during cool night out in Medina I cought a fever and wasn't willing to move away till I have recovered . Secondly , because this city absorbs newcomers .The atmosphere of bustling muslim metropolis makes you want to discover all secrets of the city . The city which gave the name to the country ( Morroco is derived from the Berber name 'Murakesh' ) . The busy crossroad , where different influences where mixing and camel caravans where arriving . The place where Black people , Berbers and Arabs mixed . In some way even today the one can sense something specific in the air . In Medina and Souks you can taste abundance of life ; colours , smells , craft shops , food stales , voices and hypnotic song of prayer from Koutubia Mosque .
Local traffic around XII-century Koutubia Mosque , with the highest minaret in Marrakech .
Souks in Marrakech are busy long after night falls
The main square , Djemaa el Fna , is the central place and heart of Marrakech . From midday the area of square and surronds is bustling with people shopping , eating out or just chatting . The owners of animals presenting them to the crowd . I saw monkey , snakes, but having seen a bird of pray make me sad . The bird , possibly a hawk , was attached to a string and had practically no tail . Around him a small chicken were feeding on the grain . I wasn't sure if the owner ran a show in which the hawk attacs chickens . I just walked away , not to see this bird kept on a string .
What I liked in Marrakech was wandering in the Medina , sometimes in quite remote areas , where probably I shouldn't have gone . I could stroll along these small , narrow streets for long hours , where tourists are rarely seen . But my common sense was telling me to come back . Partly because I could easily be lost .
On the last day in Marrakech I went to the valley of the Ourika River ( Vallee de I'Ourika ) . That was quite refreshing as the weather in the Atlas is much cooler . I just took one day excursion on mini van to the valley . Firstly when we came there we were shown a traditional way of almond oil production in a Berber village . We could take a photo of people grinding seeds on the stones - actually they didn't look happy sitting there and posing for tourists. And we were shown at the shop products made by them . Next stop was at the end of the valley , where the trail to Setti Fatma cascades had the beginning . Our quide led us across the river and we climbed up the path winding steep above the village . The trail up the stream was very busy , a lot of Morrocans came that Sunday to enjoy the scenery . So we were moving very slowly . When we finally got there , I was a bit disappointed as I expected the waterfall to be bigger and more impressive . The guide told me there was more cascades , higher above that point . But we had to go back , down to the village . Anyway , that was nice hike . Dispite we had some two hours of free time when we got back to the van , I didn't move anywhere . I started shaking - a fever made me very weak . I bought a medicine in a farmacy nearby ( amazing to find a farmacy in the heart of the High Atlas ) . Back in Marrakech late afternoon , I decided to give up my plans of visiting Zagora and the desert , and the next morning I went to find peace and recovery on the Atlantic Coast .
More photos from Morocco here ; http://www.flickr.com/photos/50392306@N04/sets/72157629767986520/
