Thomson Airlines Boeing 757 Explorer One (G-OOBF)
Marrakech, Morocco
Thursday, February 25, 2010

    Marrakesh is an interesting location and a city that is alive. The old buildings, narrow streets lined with shops and workmen, the wonderful smells of spices and food, the less than wonderful smells of that are inevitable when you mix people and lots of animals in a confined area, and the colorful people going about their business all combine to create a unique environment.

    We began our tour of the city with visits to the Medrassa Ben Youssef, Bahia Palace, Koutoubia Mosque, and a short walk through the old town of Marrakech. As we toured the city, we were accompanied by a troupe of guides and several undercover security police escorts, so even as the groups became separated and disjointed, we were never far from someone that was unobtrusively watching out for us. If you watched carefully, you could see that every one of the hundreds of shop owners and independent trinket seller knew every one of the undercover police officers. They would exchange greetings and many a street vendor would be motioned away with the subtle flick of a finger if they got a little too aggressive.

    Marrakech is a fantastic place to buy leather products, wood products, and decorative ceramic ware, often at attractive prices, if you are good at bargaining. Several of our expedition group had a grand time shopping for items, including rugs, jewelry, ceramics, antiques, and leather goods. I have enough things stuffed in my house, so I contented myself with observing all the activity.

    As the day began to come to an end, the main square beccame even more of a hive of activity. The evening is when the square becomes more like a carnival and everyone comes to see the snake charmers, monkey handlers, body painters, story tellers, and dancers. There are also lots of food vendors with their fires producing huge clouds of smoke and filling the air with wonderful smells. Of course, all of these performers are “professionals” and the same rules of Cairo apply – point a camera and pay a fee – and heaven help you if you don’t pay up. The going price is the equivalent of about 80 cents per picture, but if you want something special, then you need to be prepared to negotiate. Of course, if you happen to stop too long just looking at a performer, you will be expected to pay for the view, as well.

    Tonight we had our farewell cocktail party and a huge Moroccan banquet with musicians and even belly dancers. The party was bittersweet. It was great and wonderful, but it marked the end of a grand expedition. Tomorrow, we have a relaxed departure time of 8 am and a short three and a half hour flight to London.