Marrakech (Air) Express

This should be read while listening to this sound-track! Marrakesh Express.

We have lift-off! 

The post-retirement Grand Tour begins, after months of planning.

The first leg of our trip is to Sydney, where we are spending a couple of days with George's mother Joan. 

Sydney Harbour. Opera House and Harbour Bridge top middle.

Next stop Marrakech. 

The theme behind some of our travel in the last couple of years has not been the 'bucket-list', which about a billion retiring baby-boomers will be doing. No, the theme is revisiting hot-spots, special places which one or other of us have visited in the past and where we had special experiences. Thus 2018 featured NZ, and Bali.

In about 1968 I hitch-hiked to Morocco by accident. I had been planning to hitch to Gibraltar, but around Bordeaux I got the ride of my hitch-hiking life; all the way over four days through the rest of France, Spain and to Tétouan in Morocco. The Cow-girl with the Blues would have been envious! (She was the world's best hitch-hiker, with huge thumbs). 

In Morocco I saw some amazing clothing and leather gear, and thought it might be possible to import some to the UK to supplement my meagre student rations. After my return, an attempt to contact the only address I had, failed, so the following year in 1969, I flew with two friends, Ian Gill and Nick Branwell, to Morocco to try and more formally set up an import business, called 'Casbah Clothes'.

This involved going to see the manager of the Bank of Morocco in Marrakech and persuading him to lend some money to the project, and recommending an agent to me who could be relied upon.

The agent and I then went around businesses and haggled prices for specific items like caftans, leather bags, etc. I took photos and we created a catalog. 

The plan was that I would distribute these catalogs to students in various university towns in the UK. They would persuade boutique owners to order some gear, and send the orders to me. I would forward the orders to the agent in Marrakech, who would buy the clothing with money provided by the bank manager and send the parcels to the boutiques, cash-on-delivery, money to be sent to me. I would cash the cheques, keep half, and send half the money on to the bank manager. 

A cycle would develop which required me to only forward orders and cash cheques. Great plan! 

It didn't work, of course. The orders sent to Morocco went unanswered, apparently because the bank manager had a severe car accident.

The project was still a lot of fun. The bank manager took me out for a drink with the Chief of Police, which was an interesting experience. 

Ian, Nick and I went on an expedition up into the Atlas Mountains on donkeys and slept in the open with jackals howling around us.

Exploring the Atlas Mountains in 1969

Later the three of us split up and hitch-hiked separately across Algeria and Tunisia.

This is now 50 years later!

The context of this trip is on our minds. There has been Islamic terrorism for a number of years, but recently there have been some particular incidents. In December two Scandinavian students were beheaded in the Atlas mountains near Marrakech by terrorists from Islamic State. On 15th March, an Australian white supremacist massacred 50 Muslims in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. And just before we flew on Easter Sunday, another Islamist atrocity occured in Sri Lanka, where 360 people were killed in a series of bombs in churches and hotels.

Our flights went well, from Sydney to Dubai, Casablanca and Marrakech. The last plane was called the 'Express', alluding to the famous song by Crosby, Stills and Nash.

The Marrakech Express

A glitch occurred there; my bag was scanned and I was asked to remove my Mavic Pro drone. It was confiscated. Unknown to me, all drones are prohibited in Morocco. 

We were met at the airport and driven to ur accommodation, Riad le J, in the Marrakech medina. We have been very happy with it.

Riad le J.

Fancy doorways

The Secret Garden

A different approach to lawn

The Jemaa el-Fnaa square by day



Looking down from a roof-top restaurant



Posing with a 'dentist'.



Checking out some meat

These pastries are attractive to bees!

Donkey carts in the narrow lanes

Unloading chickens.

Bird handler

Snake 'charmer'.

Horse carriages, with Koutoubia Mosque beyond

Wooden spoon seller

Hundreds of 'Aladdin's Cave' style shops

Amber necklaces galore

Fine metalwork

Poverty and sickness very visible

At night, the Jemaa el-Fnaa changes tune. Crowds pile in. Drums get louder. Attention-seekers seek more attention. 'Eat here'. 'Buy this'. 'Pay me that' (for taking a photo). 

Jemaa el-Fnaa at night.

Watch the fun from a roof-top restaurant

Drummers

Drummer's minder who collects money from happy-snappers

I look cute in my turban, and you must pay to take my photo.

My gig is to wear a funny hat and charge tourists to take my photo.

Sweet seller

His competition

A favourite spot in Marrakech is the Jardin Majorelle. Originally developed by the painter Jacques Majorelle, it was later bought by Yves St Laurent and his partner. We were warned that crowds develop if one arrives later than first thing, and busy Instagrammers get in each other's way. We got up early and were near the front of the queue. A good plan.

We passed these men flaunting various uniforms on the way. The King recently set up a special health service for police and their families. All the better to keep them onside, I suppose.

Vibrant colours and water features.

Cacti in Le Jardin Majorelle

Old decorative work in the museum

Modern art

Sunrise on the riad roof

There is a flash hotel in Marrrakech, famous for being Winston Churchill's favourite haunt. La Mamounia is pretty special. We had a drink and a saunter in the beautiful gardens.