Impressions of Morocco - Racpat Morocco to Holland 2023 - CycleBlaze

Impressions of Morocco

  1. Friendly hospitable and observant people: "How do you like my country?" "This way to tanneries, no money." Bringing glasses when we are sitting and drinking juice from the bottle. 
  2. Maniac daredevil drivers: Yet we saw no accidents, and the vehicles are remarkedly undamaged. There is a method to the madness where drivers are willing to speed up or slow down to avoid accidents. 
  3. Diverse landscapes: coastal, desert, mountains
  4. Gas canisters are used for cooking: Delivery trucks and stacks of cannisters are everywhere
  5. Controle Radar by the gendarmerie are usually on the outskirts of towns. As a cyclist we were never stopped, except close to the Algerian border when we stopped for a coffee we were asked to show our passports.
  6. The Medinas vary from very touristy in Marrakesh to authentic with a window into the past in Tetouan
  7. Organized transportation with Petite Taxi's and Grand Taxi's each city has a different color. Bus stops exist yet there is still the informal walking to the road and hitchhiking a ride
  8. City streets are almost trash free, yet there is trash everywhere in the countryside
  9. Mosques dot the hillsides and in every village
  10. Kids know the high 5 slap with cyclist. They also have learned to ask for stilo or bon bon, and a step away to being aggressive when not receiving anything
  11. Round Abouts work well except in northern Morocco also need stoplights
  12. Raised crosswalks are fantastic as this also slows traffic
  13. 10 Dirham = $1USD
  14. Language: Moroccan Arabic and French
  15. Mint tea: served with a huge clump of Sugar and mint leaves. The mint may be served separate or already in the pot. Tea is poured from a height many times with the height indicating the importance of the guest.
  16. Prediabetes and diabetes is prevalent in Morocco and may explain the number of Hemodialysis offices seen
  17. A country caught between tradition and wanting to become modern
  18. After a handshake a you touch your breast over the heart to add importance to the gesture.
  19. In university towns, the younger women vary from western clothing, to western clothing and hijab, to traditional. 
  20. Taking pictures of women is taboo
  21. The Berbers in Morocco are an indigenous civilization of North and Sub-Saharan Africa whose existence dates back more than 20,000 years.
  22. Most figures put the Berber population of Morocco at around 40 percent of the nation's 32 million people, though almost 80 percent of the country claims at least some Berber heritage.
  23. Berber traditional dress is an outer long robe with hood 
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