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Marrakech in May

I recently saw a friend whom I met in one of our travels. See, this is one thing I love about traveling. I get to meet strangers, then they eventually become my friends. I am writing about this trip to Marrakech because somewhere along this trip is where I met Ate Liz from Chicago.

We did this crazy 3- countries-in-seven-days trip again sometime in May 2010. But this time we decided to go outside the Euro zone a bit and therefore flew from Madrid to Marrakech via Ryan Air. If you were to ask me, I would love to go back there again, only because I didn't enjoy the Souks and Jemaa el-Fnaa that much because at that time, I still didn't appreciate these kind of things. While everyone was so keen on the Souks, I treated it as just one of those markets. Well, I have been to Divisoria and the like, so what's the difference? But apparently, this place is one of the reasons why people visit Marrakech. So I want to go back and experience it the other way around.

So, their airport is called Menara and OMG, it was one of the best airports I have ever seen- very clean and organized.

Then from the airport we went straight to our meeting place for our desert trip.  We took the taxi from the airport to our meeting place in Medina for around 100MAD. Take note, they always offer you a higher price than that but make sure you haggle because according to reviews that we have read, taxis should only charge you 100MAD or less. It could be more now as our travel was 2 years ago, but still.

Apart from Koutoubia Mosque, which is the largest in Marrakech, another nice place to visit is the massive Menara Gardens.

 And, there is more life in Jemaa el-Fnaa after dark. Beware though of pick-pocketers as they are everywhere in the night. But saying that, it's kinda harmless. I am saying this based on my personal experience. There was this boy about 10 or 11 years old who was following me around and then all of a sudden he was  touching the back and side pockets of my jeans. I was going to say something but I was told not to as long as I didn't have anything in my pockets, because that strategy is apparently a norm. He probably was just checking if I had money in there or not. And when he couldn't find anything, he left. I had my bag in front of me so he could not touch it. I was scared at the same time I found it a bit funny because it was as if he was doing it innocently. And apparently, even old people and I mean grandmas and grandpas do the same trick. So just be aware.
If you are a massive fan of night markets, this one is for you to see. Foods, spices, music, entertainment, noise- everything! It is just magnificent! And oh, try Escargot! 

Well, for me the best part of my trip to Marrakech was my visit to Jardin Majorelle. Not only because this garden is used to be owned by the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, but also because the colours are amazing as well as the plants, the trees and the flowers. And yes, the blue house where YSL lived once. Apparently also, his ashes were scattered in the garden.

We took the taxi from Medina for 30 MAD. Not that bad really. The entrance fee at that time was 30 MAD per person.

The flowers of Jardin Majorelle:

Amazing colour-blocking theme:


Apart form those unbelievably bright and striking colours, the garden has a lot more to offer:

So, if you guys are planning for a future trip, consider Marrakech. 


tintin x

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