Morocco

I've started and stopped writing this post three times now. How do I tell you that I didn't enjoy Morocco? I thought it would be exotic, with great big markets selling spices, fancy slippers, and bright cloths. People would be eating couscous and drinking mint tea in small outdoor restaurants. Maybe there would be camels, and how about sand dunes that reach the ocean. Well, not so much...

To be fair, Morocco does have many of these things. From what I've heard there is a beautiful snow-capped mountain range that bisects the country north to south. And to the east of this is the Sahara Desert, which would be very cool to experience. In Marrakesh, sitting inland at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, you can find large markets teaming with exotic merchandise and entertainment.

On our two previous days we visited two coastal ports of call... Casablanca and Agadir. The former is a huge city of commerce with smog, dust, and dirt. Lets add to this traffic jams, poverty and a bit of corruption. On a brighter note, it is a rather young crowd, with many cultural influences from Portuguese, Arab, Spanish and French influences. Centrally, the shopping appeared somewhat upscale. Casablanca is also host to the second largest mosque in the world, the 600 million dollar Hassan II Mosque. It is quite an amazing place and impossible to miss as it is built projecting over the ocean. The Moorish decorative detail is a feast for the eyes. And we were not leaving without trying some mint tea; it was yummy and very sweet.

Agadir, located further south, is smaller and more tourist friendly. There are small resorts scattered along its crescent shaped beach, and the city appears fresher and less congested than Casablanca; it was entirely rebuilt following a massive earthquake in 1960. Even so, I'd not be interested in returning. We tried shopping and were constantly monitored and pressured to buy. Also, it was missing something that is hard to define, maybe you'll get a sense of it from this little mini-movie.

On a brighter note, we are now settled within the regions of the Canary Islands. We've made our first stop on the island of Lanzarote and I am still speechless... it was wonderful! It was better than what I had imagined. Now we're cookin with gas!