The Wombat & Pigeon Odyssey: Marrakech March 2014

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Ann had been throwing herself into her work and eventually the time came when we needed a little time together and for her to recharge. A bit over a week in Marrakech, Morocco was the perfect way for us to fulfil the urge to travel and unwind.

We ended up spending 4 nights just outside of the Medina walls in the calming Riad Khol managed by a lovely guy called Omar. From there we spent our days getting lost in the Medina quarter and lurking around the market stalls and sampling the Moroccan cuisine. Highlights of Marrakesh included the architecture, the smells, the amnesiac feeling of thinking we knew where we were - followed by a somewhat reassuring feeling of being yet again lost, the food, the people, the hammam (bath/scrub/massage), and mint tea. Also really enjoyed chatting with Omar - who took us to some special places to eat and to his favourite hammam.

For our last couple of days in Marrakesh we went out of the city to a resort style hotel that looked towards the Atlas mountains. Here we relax for the most part and took advantage of the beautiful pool and vista.

mint tea

Sampling an array of spiced cuisines

View over the roof terraces from Riad Khol

Roof terrace of Riad Khol

Museum of Marrakech

Medersa Ben Youssef - is a 16th century college and prayer hall. It is very impressive with all the wood carvings and decorative tiled walls and floors.

We went on one of them touristy events one night where they showcase a watered down and generic version of Moroccan culture, dress and traditional song and dance. It was out of the city and it got bloody cold. The food was ok but the event as a whole was a bit mushy and it was hard to follow any storyline or motive. Guys in garb rode and performed stunts on horseback and shot guns in the air. The athleticism was impressive - one legged horse riding, tumbling over a horse while it was galloping, hoping on and off in motion, that stuff was ballsy.

As we were eating before the show several different cultural representations came past with a song and dance routine - it was a bit embarrassing as they tried to get people involved and eventually all of them sounded the same.