Morocco

Jumping right ahead now- If I don’t start writing posts with some updated and relevant information, (while we actually have internet) we’ll be finished this trip and back on land trying to get jobs and wondering where the time went!

So… we arrived in Morocco last Friday- the 2nd of Dec to be precise- my 44th birthday. We’ve finally left the Mediterranean with no fixed plans to return and none not to return- (this blog isn’t called from Vacillation etc etc, for nothing! )

We arrived with our new found Kiwi friends- (boat named Drakkar from Auckland, with two children on board almost exactly the same ages as our two- met in La Linea) and settled into our berths after the lengthy but very amicable customs procedures. Celebrated my birthday with Max, Shannon, Cesare and the kids and made plans to explore the nearby Medina of Salé in the morning. We are in a marina located between Rabat, (Moroccan Capital) and Salé. We also met an American family who have been doing the cruising things for 18months and also happen to have a 10 year old daughter! Things are definitely looking up!

We went to the local market in the morning- bought some fruit and veg, sampled some of the local sweets/cakes and had our first Moroccan tea- Ahhh yum. The market place was not totally different to what we’ve seen in the past although I must admit when I heard lots of squawking and turned around to see a chicken being separated from it’s head, I did think that perhaps things were just a bit more pastoral than we were used to! The locals were very kind, offering us sweets and dates and olives to try. You could find everything you needed, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables and pets- lots of birds, (parrots and fish(for a tank) right opposite the veggie stalls.

A neighbor came to introduce herself in the afternoon, Seb had a sleepover at his  friend Boton’s place, while his sister Amelia and Allie, (American families daughter) came to our boat for a sleepover!

Sunday we went into Rabat, more Souks a FANTASTIC lunch for 15 euros that consisted of Harira, (delicious soup), Moroccan salad, a chicken tagine, desert, coffee and mint tea. In the evening had a wonderful gathering on our American friends boat where we met yet other crazy people doing what we are doing! Different nationalities, different stories, very different people, all sharing quite a lot in common.

We went off to Fez on the train yesterday. It’s a 3 hour rain trip from here and it was really interesting to see some of the country. Fez was quite the sensory experience. Lilly is very keen to do a post and is most of the way through hers, so I ‘ll let her describe it from her perspective. We are leaving here in the morning for the Canary Islands- it’s a 4 day trip and it will be our longest passage to date by quite a few days.

For now, I’ll leave you with a visual of our time in Morocco. Bye for now- Slice of Life out!