Midnight at the Oasis - but do the Camels know the words?.....

[Pushka]

The website is doing my head in. I can't edit etc and keep getting an error message. So have to put up with errors.

We started the day at 9am after an excellent breakfast heading to the main attractions. The Kings Palace. Every Palace, and he has many, has its own private golf course. He likes golf. And this one has one too behind the wall and consists of 700 acres.



Carrara Marble. 1 kilo of marble was exchanged for 1 kilo of sugar.









This photo shows the old town.



This one the newer town (above the old town)



And this one the modern town (to the left of both)

 

[Pushka]

Then - to a tannery. Yes. The smell is likened to Chanel minus 5. Because the cost of Chanel is the same price as a kilo of pigeon poop which is essential to the process and which creates the smell! We had banadanas and you are handed mint leaves as you enter. The skins start off in the white vats, then moved across to the middle ones, and then into the natural dye vats.




One participant had to leave but surprisingly you actually adapted to the smell.

Their products were beautiful and we learnt about the best quality leather which turns out to be camel belly.



One of the group purchased a leather shirt, the other a leather jacket, two purchased stools, and a stunning travel bag. I was going to purchase a leather bag to replace my travel bag which is simply a half A4 size bag with two front zips and a top zip, plus another smaller bag to replace my large tote. The price - $800 AUD. My immediate reaction was to hand him bag the bags. Pretty much in disgust at the rip off to be blunt. He knew I wasn't going to change my mind then took me off to another room to negotiate. I said a price, hugely lower and he said no. Fine with me. Not a problem. We were the only ones who left without a purchase. Not an issue. I don't know the cost of the leather jacket but the leather shirt was $850 aud. The pouffes at $220, and I don't know the leather bag but which was gorgeous.

Waiting for Marrakesh to buy know.

 

[Pushka]

We had another lunch but at least we could select what we wanted. But we dealt with this later today. In the afternoon we went to a ceramics factory where we tried our hands at mosaics and painting ceramics. A lot of fun to be had.

Taglines.







In this ceramics the blue will fire as black.












Us at work. Another woman and I finished well before the others. Mine is at the bottom of the screen and it will be filled with plaster of Paris making it too heavy to consider bringing back.



They are completed upside down so the colour of the tile is sitting on the table.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Those are crazy prices!!!

As you say, bargaining is key - and expected! Start at 1/3 of the original price.

Ironically the best-value place for the beautiful pottery you’ll see at many places was the airport souvenir shop at Casablanca!

It was a fixed price but for example we paid €13 for a large 28cm fruit bowl. Which is probably around where we could have got it in the souks, but without any of the bargaining!

We were surprised that the level of aggressiveness by shop owners in trying to seal the deal had largely evaporated in Marrakesh. Maybe a post Covid thing?

 

[Pushka]

And the tagline I painted. Apparently the cooperative is going to fire them and get them to us in Marrakesh. We will see.

 

[Pushka]

Those are crazy prices!!!

As you say, bargaining is key - and expected! Start at 1/3 of the original price.

Ironically the best-value place for the beautiful pottery you’ll see at many places was the airport souvenir shop at Casablanca!

It was a fixed price but for example we paid €13 for a large 28cm fruit bowl. Which is probably around where we could have got it in the souks, but without any of the bargaining!

We were surprised that the level of aggressiveness by shop owners in trying to seal the deal had largely evaporated in Marrakesh. Maybe a post Covid thing?

Crazy indeed. We didn't buy because the products just weren't unique enough and can be sourced elsewhere.

 

[Black Duck]

I have a shoulder bag I bought in the Marrakech souk some 50 years ago. It wasn't high quality as I was just a young traveller and couldn't afford much but it's still going.

 

[Pushka]

Today we are off to the Sahara, Camel rides and camping. Cooler than predicted and only 40c.

There are 3 women travelling together, two are midwives and the other nursing administrator working in places like China, Dubai etc. She is a Chanel girl and buys her shoes at the Chanel shop in Barcelona. She holds herself and others to high expectations. She didn’t to yesterdays trip but had a spa day instead.

She sets herself up all the time but she does enjoy the laughs it creates. We had a rocking night last night. Gourmet food but in a private room and we laughed so much at one point we were in tears. Over so many different things. All I had to do is say ‘xx_ is sleeping in a tent tomorrow night’ and the two midwives are in tears at the thought of her camping.

Dinner last night was again excellent. Relaid et Chateux included meal.

Lamb. Superb.


This tureen is entre size. 1 person. Three bowls. Quail soup. He had it last night too.



Trio of desserts.



The bathroom. Toilet paper.


Exquisite tapwear.


Amenities in each bathroom.



Guess what! We aren’t going to any Oases

 

[Pushka]

I saved the group from spending $40 each last night. The guy who had the soup doesn’t know French and he had the only wine menu. He read Coupe as a bottle and five of them were about to order one. Then he gave me a menu and I said wait - that’s a glass not a bottle. So $40 a glass. The rest cancelled. He ended up having two. He’s the one who bought the shirt for $800 and at the ceramics factory purchased a beautiful mint tea drinking set. $400 but that included DHL shipping. He’s a little crazy but great fun.

 

[RooFlyer]

Have you had a 'genuine' tagine yet - ie roadside?

 

[Pushka]

Have you had a 'genuine' tagine yet - ie roadside?

No. On the tour they don’t recommend. Just because it’s a risk management thing for the tour company.

 

[RooFlyer]

No. On the tour they don’t recommend. Just because it’s a risk management thing for the tour company.

I can imagine . When I toured the back-blocks on business, with a local, he insisted on inspecting the road-side tagines each day before he'd allow us to stop and have lunch. We survived OK.

 

[Pushka]

So this little Europe is just a few hours from the Sahara.












Atlas mountain village.

 

[Pushka]

Now monkeys. Aggressive. They steal phones and bite. We didn’t get out of the bus so one decided to come in.







We did watch other tourists and the monkeys were jumping onto their heads.

Through a window so dusty.

 

[Pushka]

Sirocco just hit. And we are going to visit an oasis.

 

[SuePa]

I'm really enjoying your trip report, but every time I read it, I get the song stuck in my head.

 

[Pushka]

So I'm two busy days behind. Yesterday we made the long trip to the Sahara. We'd expected a tedious boring drive but it turned out to be exactly the opposite. The scenery was simply stunning across the Atlas Mountains. If mountains bore you then come back in a bit. I now get why @RooFlyer gets so excited by rocks. We were all blown away and we are not rock people.

Started off with the usual routine. Breakfast then hit the road. We could only take backpacks into the Sahara so considered packing. We would change across to 4WD when we left the bitumen.

Along the way. Now all of these were taken at high speeds through a window and it was glarey.



So many of these. And we got pulled over. Driver not impressed but all ok.



This gorgeous town is just like a European village and it's just a few hours from the Sahara. It's cool and this is where the King spends summer. Lucky chap.













We were told there were monkeys ahead. And there they were with tourists surrounding them. We didn't get out but watching them jump from people's heads to someone else's head was simply scarey. Clueless. The driver had the door open and one decided to pop in. Much concern inside the van.








Then we were off again.

 

[Pushka]

Next up. We started the drive towards Atlas Mountains. This area is well known for apples and other crops and we passed many orchards.



The water is plentiful from the Atlas Mountains. We passed plenty of streams along the way. And the rock formations were stunning.





In the distance those aren't clouds but the Atlas Mountains.





These. So slow.


The mountains get closer.





We are just two hours from that village! Dustorms and the winds picked up. Sirocco has arrived.

 

[Pushka]

And yes that's snow in the mountains and it's dustorms and 40c here.

More snaps from the trip to the mountains. We had lunch at this place where we had a map to show us where we are headed. Final point is Merzouga.



This place is fossil central as it was covered in ocean 64,000,000 years ago. Hard to imagine now. I bought this fossil of an ancient squid amd sharks tooth. For the grandchild whose obsessed with fossils.

 

[Pushka]