Into Riad Jona

Had a great 3 hour trip back to Marra from Essa ... a bit hip with the abbreviations Pete!!

Stoped for a $100.00 ice-cream on the way, freezers in the rocky desert must cost a lot to run or maybe its the cost of the very long extension cords.

 

 Also stoped as their was a Arabian horse event happing so our driver wanted us to have the real desert town experience, the people and the horse everywhere and the sound deafening.

They ran from one end of the field to the other.  

 

 

 

Stood up at the halfway point and presented arms,

at the other end of the field to finish with a 21 cannon blasting

Cool to be able to be a fly on a palm tree for 15mins.

 

 

Then back into Marrakesh into our room at Riad Jona for our last 5 nights in Magical Morocco and it's just a few doors away from our last Marrakesh Riad so we will have some more time to experience and explore the old Medina.

Just out from our room in the central courtyard. 

 

 

Looks like we will have some time to smell the

 

before tomorrows cooking class on Moroccan Pastries

Here is a sneak peak of tomorrows efforts ...

 

 

Our room while not the whole Essa Arabic/Moreish/Oriental Style is more of a tradition Riad and a tad more compact.

 

 

 

A bit of African road kill to adorn our in rooms ottoman.

 

   a map so we remember that Morocco is actually in Africa.

More Moroccan mood lighting

And after todays close encounter with the real Arabic horsemen some art depicting them ... but so much quieter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern Art of Ess A E I O U

 

Heading back to

Marrakesh after 11 amazing days in Essaouira.

A luck man having a truly amazing life experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual Confrontation

makes you think deeper as to how your actions can affect and or help others. 

It is very confronting when you travel to see so many street people who their biggest crime in life is the geographic of where they are born or that they have been displaced from their own countries because of wars etc.

One can not help all but one can help someone ... it's who do you pick as you wander the streets enjoying their country from the safety of our own tourist wealth bubble.
 

Every morning I have been going out with food parcels leftover from our breakfast and finding someone who is grateful for a meal.

From a distance I watch and if they eat what I have given them I go back and give them some $ also, if they eat the food I then know that they are doing this to survive.

Its not just another street scammer "well if a dumb tourist wants to give me money because I put on a old suit put out my hand wandering the streets well that his problem".
 

Yesterday I gave some food to a lady in a wheel chair and this morning when I was back around near her again she quickly put away her new I Phone and stuck out her hand again.

I smiled and carried my food parcel on to someone else.
 

It makes you syndical but it makes you look a bit harder for the real people in need.

 

 

   I sat next to (he didn't sit next to me) a 39 year old man down by the beach and I started to talk to him and he told me of his displacement from his homeland of Syria.

His travels down through Europe into Africa with his 2 children, mother and sister with basically the clothes on their backs. The rest of what he told me is in my heart and just to graphic to write.
His words will affect me for the rest of my life and in a away that only my heart will have to deal with as we talked about todays cruel world. He and I hugged and cried together on the beach as we both looked out into the distance ocean and prayed to our own gods for a peaceful safe world.
I could tell he was just such a broken man that he needed to talk and just to hug someone that didn't judging him. He was just like me only younger but displaced from his land that he loved, did have a home and a job.
We all need to make a difference for someone. I helped him for the day with some $ and a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen.
 I hope and pray that I have made just a little difference to his life.
 He is one of the genuine people that we all need to look out and find.
Please don't comment to this post ... just think how your own actions will help someone else who's current life is not as wonderful as your own.

 

 

  

 

 

Sand Drifts

The wind blows so much sand around that there is always men sweeping and shovelling it back to the ocean.

 

 

When you sit for a meal outside the taste of salt and grit is a bit off putting but this is the real Morocco and sand is a way of life here and we are the intruders.

 

 

But the bigger problem is the wind as will blow over ones glass of vino right off the table!! and as vino is hard to get here in Morocco that would be a right wasteful shame.

Solution

For us its a window seat overlooking the view and eating the food as the chef would like it served ...

with a glass of local Moroccan vino.

 and without the extra salt and sand.

 

The smoked salmon here is to die for.

 

 

 

Big Holes

Walking is quite dangerous at the best of time as the footpaths have loads of undulating and trip hazards but today this little old tourist could have ended up in China,

or worst still back in Aussie via Medivac

 

 

 

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