Aug 19 – Trip to Azrou.

Now, to bid farewell to our favourite city of the trip thus far. This was what we had had in mind when we came – the hustle and bustle of an exotic ancient city, but without the excessive hassle. Hassle-freeness makes the simple act of exploring the streets so much more inviting.

It’s ironic that the most hassle-free city of them all should also present the most hassle-filled bus station we encountered our whole trip. The hustlers at the bus station advanced before we had even properly gotten out of the taxi. We tried our best to brush them off, because we wanted to make our own decision, and we didn’t want to have to tip them for doing what we could so easily do ourselves – find the right bus to get on. We found the correct company, bought the tickets, but were finally saddled with one of them as we were told we had to follow them to get to the bus. Argh.

At the bus, we struck up a conversation with a woman (30-something) from the Netherlands who had literally been all over the world. She was backpacking through Morocco with one other person, and was also headed to Azrou to do some hiking. She said that there were hustlers like this everywhere she’s been, it’s a universal thing.

The bus-ride is relatively short and uneventful. Here's a pic A took out the window on the way there - can you tell why it astounds me that 30million ppl eke a living out of this land? Once there, we manage to rebook our hotel-room for one night only, as we decide we will take the overnight train down to Marrakesh rather than waste a day traveling. The room is the nicest we’ve had by far, complete with a balcony view. And now for some shopping!

Next - Aug 19 - Azrou Shopping Extravaganza