My first thought when I walked off the plane was of course - It's roasting! Morocco is actually an hour behind Ireland until the clocks change on the 19th of July for daylight saving. It is currently 10:30pm and it is a whopping 29° Celsius!
My next impression was the driving. I had arranged an airport pickup with my hotel and there he was waiting for me in arrivals. We hit off for the short spin to the hotel on the crazy Moroccan highways. There are probably more scooters than cars, each scooter carrying at least one passenger. The general rules of these roads are :
If there's a space - go for it
2 lanes means an automatic road race
Indicator lights are unnecessary decorations
It isn't quite India but it's best to focus on the scenery and not think about the other vehicles!
Marrakesh from the (fast) moving car is very orange and sandy. All the buildings seem to be an orangey pink colour. Maybe it's the easiest to maintain with all the sand. We were driving in the suburbs and
Ryad Dar Ouladna is in a newer area of the city. The buildings are spread apart and I only saw two people walking and they were tourists.
It was about 8pm when I arrived at
Ryad Dar Ouladna and the manager offered to drive me into the city if I wanted to eat. The restaurant was closed as it is Ramadan and the staff have their time off at that hour of the evening to eat and relax. Luckily I was not hungry and ready for bed. Due to Ramadan tourists are few. In fact, I am the only guest!
The upside of this was my beautiful suite with a bathroom not much short of a leisure centre!
My next impression was the driving. I had arranged an airport pickup with my hotel and there he was waiting for me in arrivals. We hit off for the short spin to the hotel on the crazy Moroccan highways. There are probably more scooters than cars, each scooter carrying at least one passenger. The general rules of these roads are :
If there's a space - go for it
2 lanes means an automatic road race
Indicator lights are unnecessary decorations
It isn't quite India but it's best to focus on the scenery and not think about the other vehicles!
Marrakesh from the (fast) moving car is very orange and sandy. All the buildings seem to be an orangey pink colour. Maybe it's the easiest to maintain with all the sand. We were driving in the suburbs and
Ryad Dar Ouladna is in a newer area of the city. The buildings are spread apart and I only saw two people walking and they were tourists.
It was about 8pm when I arrived at
Ryad Dar Ouladna and the manager offered to drive me into the city if I wanted to eat. The restaurant was closed as it is Ramadan and the staff have their time off at that hour of the evening to eat and relax. Luckily I was not hungry and ready for bed. Due to Ramadan tourists are few. In fact, I am the only guest!
The upside of this was my beautiful suite with a bathroom not much short of a leisure centre!
The indoor dining / bar area
The upstairs with carved wooden doors leading to each suite.
The ensuite bathroom
The suite complete with flat screen TV and balcony.
And my breakfast table this morning beside the pool.
Breakfast was carb heavy, full of tasty sweet breads and pancakes. ( More about food in a later post.)
Luckily the afternoon is too hot to eat and I followed local custom by eating dinner late in the evening.
Overall, great first impressions :
It's hot
Driving is pure entertainment and at times terrifying
Sweet cakes and pastries for breakfast
The accommodation is amazing and I've gotten a taste of the Ryad/Medina style. It's beautiful.
I'm sorry I can't speak French. English is useless here.
Couscous will probably be my dinner every night.
It's roasting!
Breakfast was carb heavy, full of tasty sweet breads and pancakes. ( More about food in a later post.)
Luckily the afternoon is too hot to eat and I followed local custom by eating dinner late in the evening.
Overall, great first impressions :
It's hot
Driving is pure entertainment and at times terrifying
Sweet cakes and pastries for breakfast
The accommodation is amazing and I've gotten a taste of the Ryad/Medina style. It's beautiful.
I'm sorry I can't speak French. English is useless here.
Couscous will probably be my dinner every night.
It's roasting!
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