Peddlars and Hustlers

I have been mobile for the last 3 days( if you call a Fiat Panda being mobile) and have been exploring Southern Morocco . Am in a town called Zagora not far from edge of Sahara - consequently everyone here wants to sell you a trip on a smelly flea infested camel.

The scenery has been incredible and ever changing - the mountain roads were a bit hairy - not many vehicles on the roads - but the ones that are, are maniacs - mostly big merc saloons which they use as "grand taxis" taking people between towns.

No sooner do you stop and get out of the car -thinking that there isn't anyone around for miles - a shifty little arab will appear from nowhere to relieve you of some of your Dirhams.
As a rule whatever price they say - I divide by 10 - which tends to annoy them - but out of the cities the prices are more realistic - so when Abdul ( they are all called Abdul) quoted 500 dirhams - 32 quid! for this knife - I start laughing - he says - give me best price - I say 50 - he almost chokes - after about 10 minutes - I walk away - and eventually get it for60 dirhams - about 3.75! - so a good bit of business - probably for him also - keep him and his missus in couscous for a few weeks!

The second knife wasn t quite so straightforward - cost me a pair of trousers and 2 t shirts!

Everyone you meet here is after making some money out of you - so consequently you cannot trust anyones friendliness as genuine - they all have a cousin who has a shop or a camel!

I got treated to the roadside breakdown scam yesterday - they flag you down - their car has bonnet open - they ask for lift to nearest town - I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt - as he left his friend at the roadside with the car - but turned out that Abduls family run business in berber jewellery etc - so get to the town - he says - " oh I like to give you Berber hospitality - come and have mint tea with my family as my thanks for help " - spent next 10 minutes saying no thanks - in 3 different languages - he was a very upset Berber - was Abdul - I seem to have upset a few along the way - had to eventually pretend to come to his shop - just to get him out of the car - then got back in and drove off. Mint tea in a shop means severe earache and a hard sell - and quite tiresome.

Everyone is also a tour guide - and attach themselves to you at every opportunity - after 10 minutes of saying NO GUIDE - NO DIRHAMS they are still there and eventually you have 3 options
a) strike them to the ground and render them unconscious.
b) do a Basil Fawlty fainting routine
c) go along with it and argue over how many dirhams to give them at the end.
- it tends to be option 3 as a rule - everyone has a living to make I guess - so its no big deal.

Today it was market day in zagora - and there was big business in goats and sheep - they tie their back legs together - and lift them up from behind and then push them along in front of them - and at a glance it looks a little suspicious - but I will give them the benefit of doubt...
good fun watching it all go on and trying to sneak the odd photo.

talking of photos - taking far too many - but am managing to get the cyber cafes to copy them off camera and burn a Cd - going rate about 60p for that - it takes a bit of explaining -
CAMERA - PHOTOS - COPY - USB -CD seems to be pretty universal - my GCSE french O level is doing me proud on the whole and picking up a bit of Arabic along the way - although not up to the level of " are you shagging that goat?"