Hot And Cold

We are currently  sweltering  in Marrakech in Morocco. Yesterday we  were wearing our warm gear in Bergamo, Italy, but arrived here at the airport in 40 degree heat. It was the hottest I'd ever been in. The kids were overwhelmed.
We have decided to get up early, wander around for a few hours, then 'hide' in our air conditioned rooms for several hours having first gone for a dip in the small, cool, pool here.

We're  looking forward  to Tuesday  where the temperature is forecast to plummet to 28 degrees!

Wandering around the old town and the markets have brought back many memories to Naomi and me of our year in Yemen in 2004 BC (before children).

I enjoyed bartering with a shop keeper. We bought a wooden chess set and a wooden 'magic box'. His first offer was 1200 dirham. I managed to get him down to 550. I'm was possibly still being ripped off, but I  felt like I  did well. He asked me where I was from. I said 'New Zealand'. He said he thought I was a local with bargaining like that.

Naomi then went to buy several scarves from him. At the end of that negotiation he said, 'I thought your husband was a strong bargainer, now I see where he gets it.'

This evening we went into the main market square. We enjoyed it. We saw snakes and lizards. There were people with monkeys. Several of them had dresses and nappies on. I thought that was to make them look cute. Turns out they had a more practical use. A guy brought one to to us. We could pat the monkey and, if we wanted to, could have it sit on our arm or shoulder. It sat on one of our shoulders...and then pee'd down their back! Not pleasant at the time, but funny after a shower at home later.

It seems hard to beliece, but in less than two weeks we'll be  back in New Zealand after over five months away. a
Although we have been having a great time, we're all looking forward to getting back home.