Yesterday morning I took an early morning flight from Gatwick to Marrakech in Morocco. It was a 3.5 hour flight which went without problems. Because it was a cheaper EasyJet flight it left at an insanely early hour of the day. I think I’ve decided that once I factor in the cost of the airport hotel the night before I might as well have flown a normal airline and the price would have been the same. Lesson learned for future!
I’m going to be in Morocco for about a month until the 19th of October. In that time I plan to do a number of things. Following these couple of rest days in Marrakech the first major one is a tour which starts tomorrow which isn’t a sightseeing tour but rather activity based so lots of hiking, bike riding, and camel riding. The tour is 10 days. After the tour Eric is joining me for a few weeks (very very excited to see him!!). We are going to rent a motorcycle and tour around for a couple of weeks. This will be followed by a week at the beach near Agadir where I’m going to attempt to learn how to surf. That is the current plan. In all of this I have no guarantees of reliable internet access so my postings are likely going to be fairly patchy for a while.
For the couple of days before the tour I’m just hanging out in Marrakech. Yesterday, besides a short trip to find some food, I stayed put and rested. I’m going to need my energy for the tour. Also to be honest I’m feeling pretty down and flat these days. I’m not looking forward to the challenge of wandering through the chaotic souk alone today but I’ll make myself do it because that’s what I’m here for. I am really craving the familiar and comforting at this point in the trip. I’m hopeful the tour will jolt me out of this funk.
Another lesson learned is that I don’t think I really like travelling solo. Even though I’m staying in hostels, I am totally disconnected from people around me. This is definitely contributing to my craving for home in a big way. I’m staying at a hostel in Marrakech which was highly recommended online but I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t feel totally safe or more like I don’t feel my pack is safe. There is no where to lock it up in my room and no lock on the room itself. So anyone can wander in and rifle through it (I’ve removed anything of actual value). Anyway, in future unless I can determine better safety at a place I’m going to book a proper hotel. The money savings isn’t worth this discomfort.
My throat infection thing seems to be clearing up slowly with the medications helping a lot. I’ve been having fewer coughing fits which is a good sign I think. I’m hopeful it will clear up soon.
As I mentioned my plan for today is to go out into the Medina to explore a bit and to get a SIM card for my phone. I’m having to steal myself for this. I’ll post some pictures later.