Folie Monsieur et le départ pour le Maroc

Speculation has been rife on the streets of Marseillan - Folie Monsieur has arrived, and what will he think of the sleepy port side town I have come to call home?  How will he feel about the lack of surf, the absence of utes and the total disregard around these parts for double garages and colorbond fences? Will endless vineyards make a good substitute for miles of uninterrupted beach and will a case of Heineken for ten bucks go some way to make up for petrol at AUD$2.30 per litre?
All shall be revealled shortly...

One secret weapon-of-mass-persuasion I have up my sleeve is the proximity of this location to some of the most interesting locations available to the intrepid traveller, all for the price of a discount train ticket.  Thus, we are off to Marrakech on Sunday - the kingdom of mint tea, flying carpets, snake charmers and the djemaa el fnaa. A short drive and a quick transfer on the endlessly frustrating, yet unbeatably cheap, Ryan Air, sees one transported from the land of baguettes and boules to the principality of myth, legend and the 'assembly of the dead'.  We are very much looking forward to our trip, latest disruptions notwithstanding.  There is no country I know that assails the sensibilities and seduces the senses quite so instantaneously as Morocco.  From the minute one steps off the boat or plane, the smells, sounds, heat, feel and taste of the place seizes one by the throat and simply does not let go - not until, at least, a good haggle and an agreed transaction has taken place. 

Some of my best (and worst) memories originate from this North African jewel, and I am exhilarated to return.  One of the best things about this trip is that I know it can easily be one of many, a visit as easy to make as a trip from Broadbeach to Coffs Harbour but an exotic and fabulous location far from either of those places, and one which reminds us that the world is a large and complicated place filled with alternative lifestyles, all equally as viable as the other.