Morocco

Well, I'm never going back to Morocco.

We spent seven days in Morocco. We went from Tangiers to Fès, and then hired a guide to take us into the Sahara, and then to Marrakesh where we flew back to Stuttgart.
Fès was really different. I haven't visted a place like that before. The old Medina was insane. So many people living in cramped quarters where the only vehicles are donkeys. They had an awful sewer system, namely - they had two rivers. one where they got their drinking water, and the other where they threw everything away. And their solution to the foul smelling water and trash everywhere? Build a higher wall on the bridge over it so you can't see it. Wow.

Their food was also OK. We had to make sure that we were not eating any fresh vegetables or tap water. Mint tea was their favorite drink there, along with fresh squeezed orange juice. We had camel meat at some really sketch restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Tasted like cow. A little too much like cow if you know what I mean.

The people will try to rip you off in tourist areas. You have to bargain for everything. Usually we found in Turkey that they offer a price, you cut it in half and then go a little lower for something fair. Here in Morocco it wasn't even close. We would be offered carpets at an initial price of 10,000 dirhams (like 1000€), and then we were like, fuck that... who wants an ugly carpet like that for that amount of money. So then they are still there thinking you want that ugly thing, while we just say that we are not interested. They got all the way to 200€ and we still weren't budging.. They probably would have made a profit if we payed 50€ for it. And then you had to do that with everything, except dinner and lunch.

The people were nice, I'll give them that. The scenery and geology of the interior of Morocco is pretty amazing. Oases, deserts, and mountains. I really thought Turkey was a much better country, more western, and cheaper. There are a lot more sites to see in Turkey as well.

My pictures of Spain and Morocco should all be up tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow - I am going to Amsterdam for a short 3 day vacation.
I get back on the 24th, and on the 25th I go to Lisbon and Porto with stuart until the 29th. 25th of April is their national holiday, so that should be exciting.