Morocco - Blowing away the stereotypes

Greetings All,

This year I am continuing my hunt for the ultimate socialist paradise in Morocco, Portugal and France. Looking for that special place where can I spend a lifetime rock climbing with free health care and monthly stipend financed by the bourgeoisie and capitalists - those greedy bastards.

Let's start with Morocco. 

 Gaby and I decided on going to Morocco when I could not convince her to go to Ethiopia. My banker and a cab driver said Ethiopia were the place to go but Gaby has this thing against famines, war, stranded in the middle of a desert when the guides run away with all our money. Oh well, maybe next time we'll hit the big adventure.

So Morocco it was! All the travel media raved about Morocco and said it was the #2 place to go and I now can see why. Morocco completely blows away the mass media anti-Islam anti-Arab hype you read about in the paper.....kinda. Why?

1. Ultra safe. My guide laughed when I asked about violence again tourists. "We don't do that here". FYI, I read that 67 people got shot in Chicago last weekend. Time to head to Marrakesh folks.
2. Exotic: You can either shop at chic Gucci bag store with 1 billion other fanatic women, or head into the hills with Berbers where roads and electricity are just now being installed. Go back into the time machine to mid 1900's
   
   
3. Food: Wow. The orange juice for 60 cents was a drug I could not stop consuming. The sauces were a fantasy. Gaby is trying to recreate and is getting close.
   
4. Culture: The extreme cultures were something I didn't anticipate...I was naive. You can see beautiful women strutting all their stuff and proud of it and walking tents next to each other chatting on the street.
5. Religion: Once again I am naive. Islam practiced by most Berbers is so liberal it is like the Unitarian church - can't we all just get along. Then there are "the beards" and the  ' hypocrites" quote and unquote. Big chasm here that is bumping heads not only in Morocco but Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iran, etc.

So here is my story...take it or leave it.

The Basic Trip: 

Gaby and I spent:

•    3 days Marrakesh
•    2 days sleeping with a camel in the Sahara
•    5 days trekking in the Atlas Mountains meeting Berbers in little villages stranded in a time warp

Marrakesh was....well Gaby and I don't like big cities but for a day or two its was OK. Exotic. Like Venice Beach you see people of all types, sizes, clothes,etc. VERY cosmopolitan and at the same time 3rd world.

Markets

Major Mosque

Local kids hanging out on Sunday night

Old Palace

Palace

Working with all 4 appendages

Very busy. People are all super helpful and nice. I felt more safe than at home, but Gaby was a bit worried of the unknown. The only hassle was beggars, but they were not aggressive you tell them no and they go away. The bickering over prices and yelling and shouting was fun to watch if you are not in the midst of it for us that are not use to it. Gaby was great at bargaining and made those guys work for their moola.

Sahara

It would have been super cool, but it took an 11 hour drive (and 10 hours out)  in 104 F heat, to ride a camel 1 hour into the desert. Even I admit I was wiped out. Next time I would do the 5 day trip instead of 2 LONG days.

Our camels with our tents in the background

Sandstorm in the morning

Atlas Mountains and Berbers

This was the crown jewel that every kid in the US should be required to do for 1 year. We got to see the Berber culture LIVE and living color. Unfortunately taking pictures of people went against the culture so I can't show you the 60 year old women and their 7 year old granddaughters hauling hey on their backs from the mountain while the guys sit on their asses and chat. This was a trip back into the time machine that is just now being propelled to the 21st century....and its hard. You see until 3-4 years ago no roads or electricity so these people lived in the mountains doing what they've been doing for centuries.  WORK! Back breaking work. If you get sick- you die. If you have a famine - you starve. If you have to much snow -  you freeze. If your only cow dies - drink dirt. This is only 30 miles from Marrakesh.

Gaby and I can't say enough great things about the Berber culture. Kind, giving, smiles, gentle, hard hard working, humble, inviting...OK I know I'm boring you but you get the idea.

But NOW in just the past couple years - cell phones, roads, electricity. So now all the men are complaining that the women spend more time watching TV than working. Ain't that the pits guys?

Satellite TV all over now

Electicity

 Clinging to edge of mountain and no roads

Berber Whisky - Tea

Not bad for 95 years old - still hikes the mountains

Cute kids

Why aren't they wearing chic Gucci clothes?

Too busy keeping food on table.

This was our typical lunch served by our mule driver

This guy could cook

Our poor mule

Atlas waterfall

Socialist Paradise - NOT

 Morocco is a oligarchy where the king owns the major economic pie and can even dictate that you have to name your kids an Arabic name. Historically Morocco was a socialist state but in name only. The government and Islamic religion owned much of the infrastructure and wealth while the grinding poverty was distributed evenly to the 99%. However since 2000 things have started to improve with a new liberal king, privatization, de-centralizing the government,  roads, electricity, etc. There is now rampant small capitalism in the markets, with foreign firms investing in the economy especially tourism. But the king still owns all the open land, minerals and has the last say...so democracy is minimal but growing at the federal level. Corruption is rampant...so much so that every older Berber I spoke with said the same thing "Bring back the French at least we didn't have to pay bribes"

There is free health care....if you can get to it and don't die waiting in line. Larger mountain towns have small clinics but if you need more than a band aid you have to wait for the next truck or mule and haul your ass about 25 miles downhill...and hope the doctor is not on siesta. So emergency care and ongoing care for problematic illnesses - I heard a saying "Berber life is good until you get sick - then you die". I think its a LOT better than 10 years ago...but I'd even take Obamacare over Morocco-care at this point no matter how free it is.

On the plus side we did not see a single obese person, diabetes is unknown, I don't remember villagers smoking, alcohol is illegal, guns are unheard of unless you are with the government, and they eat real food and not plastic drug laced hormone enhanced super sized mega burgers like us Westerners do. So while Westerners die of gunshot wounds through our size 88 pants hitting our insulin pumps, Berbers die from accidents, drought and cancer. Tomaaaaato - Tomato.

Social Security - NADA
Free Schools - Yes (hey get this, the kids learn 4 languages  Arabic, Berber, French, English)
Unemployment Insurance - NADA
Welfare system - NADA
Nursing Homes - NADA


In addition I thought prices were high for a developing country.

1.5 liter of water - $1.30USD
Gallon of Gas - $4 USD
Lunch for two - vegetarian - $25 USD
Basic scarf - $2.60

Hotels were cheap though: We paid $24 USD for two people with a great breakfast. Clean rooms but basic and hotel was quaint but nice.

But we really didn't get a chance to see more prices so I think they see a white guy and prices go up 50%. And I'm too lazy to bargain and Gaby got sick of bargaining after a while.

OVERALL - I asked everyone I met "Are things getting better" and most people said yes. The king is pretty liberal and everyone likes him, but they don't like the people that influence him and Berbers think his minions are corrupt and power hungry. I saw much economic development with new roads, electricity, new buildings, modernized airport, etc. So I think the economy is booming and more people are benefiting from it than in the past.

So Morocco gets points for having some cool climbing areas...but not sure its the socialist paradise that will baby me until I die.

Culture - Arab vs Berber

NEVER! call a Berber an Arab or vice versa or you might be walking home through a big desert by yourself. Berbers have Nordic genes in them so they are basically Norwegians with tans. Arabs have Yemen and Damascus genes in them so they are Arabs. So the weirdest thing is you look around and you see all colors from white kids with blue eyes to super dark people, but you can't tell who is what! Our guide says he knows who is what, but not sure how they do it.

 Berbers are 65% of the population and Arabs are 35% but Arabs dominate the government - which is a sore point. Berbers were the nomads that roamed the deserts and Arabs were the conquerors that conquered the Berbers in the 7th century. Berbers see themselves as a conquered people equivalent to Kurds, Tibetians, American Indians, Palestinians, etc. Not until 2011 did they get free speech and recognition of their Berber language which almost everyone speaks - both Arabs and Berbers. They still are required to name their kids Arab names, Arabic was the official language for 1500 years, Islam was forced on them, they had to learn Arabic tainted history in school, etc. I asked almost everyone what they would call themselves "Moroccan, Arabic, Berber" and the response was 100% Berber.

So this is the rub. Berbers feel the King is a cool guy trying to improve things. But as the king he is an Arab, influenced by external Arab forces and is also the head of state and Pope of the Islam religion which is heavily Arabic influenced. So Berbers feel the king is somewhat a puppet being manipulated by his corrupt Arab backers.

Funny thing. The French occupied Morocco from 1912 to 1956. Everyone I spoke to wants the French to come back because they made Morocco what it is today with trains, streets, and a working justice system. I don't think that is going to happen, but at least some people like the French.

I tried to find some Moroccan Arabs to get the other side of the story, but failed. So the above is obviously totally biased opinion with minimal facts I gathered from about 10 people I spoke with and compared to other trekkers chatting with their guides. Someday I want to hear the other side.

Religion - Liberal vs Conservative Islam

I went to Morocco to get away from the mass media hysteria and stereotypes and to see what Islam is all about at the ground level. I came away both encouraged and scared.

The quote that stayed with me is "I used to go to the mosque until our imam told us to kill all the Jews". You see Berbers were originally pagans worshiping the sun, then they converted to Judism (Jewish), then Christian and finally in the 7th century Islam. But until the 1950's, because of this history Berbers were/are very tolerant of all religions and the government was secular (non-religious as best they can). In fact, Moroccan Jewish people are the 2nd largest group of emigrants to return to Israel. So for 1500 years everyone just got along no problemo.

Then in the 1950's with the birth of the Israel and the Arab/Israeli conflict, things got tough. The Arab King Hussein was a big bad dude and used his Islamic Pope like powers to force the Jews to leave. There are still Jews left in Morocco, but very few. The part that scares me is that imams are required to read these edicts from the central Islam authority which is basically the Pope King. So now even the new liberal king is advocating state sponsored genocide of an entire race of people - kill the Jews. The Berbers don't like this new religion because their religion is liberal, peaceful, secular, inclusive....and heck they were once Jews too!!! Islam is a religion of peace and that is how Berbers want to practice it as they have since the 7th century. Genocide is a different religion Berbers don't recognize.

One more thing. I am still disappointed with how Moroccan Islam treats females. In Marrakesh females could do what they want. But in the mountains it felt like females got the short end of the stick - they did a lot of heavy work all day, had to cover up, can't go to advanced school, fairly subservient to men, can't date before marriage. Our guide said that Islam says women are equal - except they must cover their body, polygamous marriages favoring the guy, can't inherit land like the guys, etc. BUT HEY - If people are free to choose their destiny and enjoy being subservient and faithful to their religion - then its not my problem and I wish them a good life.

On the brighter side, we were visiting the Jewish cemetery in Marrakesh:

and people in the streets were yelling "Shalom!!!" The cemetery was being cared for by an Arab? family that has been doing it for eons. So it was nice to know that at some level, people can still get along.


Summary

Pack your bags and go now. Berber country is changing fast and if you want to see the old and new you better do it soon while things are somewhat inexpensive.

And forget the stereotypes.

Portugal From World Power to World Begger

Portugal 

From World Power to World Begger

Portugal has a history like the British. Mighty world power and sea faring nation with tons of colonies. Then Napoleon wanted a piece of the pie in 1807 and it's been downhill ever since.

Gaby and I spent 9 days in South Western Portugal - Algarve - basically hiking the wild coasts. This place is paradise, with balmy So. California type temps and beautiful wild beaches and not many people (Portugal is actually losing population). I'm not sure why this area is not flooded with Norwegians buying up all the cheap property. I was told that Europeans like hotels right on the beaches so they don't have to walk too far for their beer. And Euros like 10k long beaches. These beaches are wild in short 1k stretches and located in a nature reserve so there are no hotels. Very few people with isolated beaches - we totally loved it.

Crowded beaches

Wild Women

We're NOT in Minnesota anymore

Fort Sagres - Waiting for the Moors to Attack

Proud of their cork trees.

The food was so fresh and tasty. We shopped and cooked every night. There is just a level of food quality you don't get in America. It is so fresh and tastes like real food not like the plastic we eat in the US.

Best of all they have lots of climbing right out of the sea up to 300 feet high. Great weather, climbing, fantastic food, socialist government. Could this be my climbing nirvanna?

Socialist Nirvanna 

Since independence Portugal had a long history of socialism and communism since they achieved freedom from military rule in 1974. Obviously that all blew up because they didn't have the Germans to bail them out. So in about 1987 the IMF said you really should work if you want get to money and they've been trying to dig themselves out of the hole since then. 

But as you probably know, Portugal along with Greece/Spain/Irelands, all had massive bank failures and bloated government budgets so they went bankrupt yet again in 2008 and the Germans had to bail them out because they are now part of the Euro. On our trip I kept hearing the term "Brussels Money". "We built this highway with Brussels Money" "We built this park with Brussels Money", etc. Basically its German money. In reality they've been just blowing the money and retaining their bloated civil service infrastructure because they are afraid the public unions will shut down the country. They are slowly trying to privatize and decentralize, but during my trip that's all I heard was "All the money and decisions go to and come from Lisbon". Basically there is no state/province/city taxes. There is only the 50% federal income tax for those few that work and it all goes to Lisbon and then you pray to god you bribe the politicians enough to see if any money comes back to your town. 

Our landlady needed some gardening done on her property because her gardener was ill and quit. She called around and could find no one that wanted to do any work even in a country with 18% unemployment. She said Portuguese don't like working outside, it is too hot. They want computer jobs. She wound up hiring a retired Romanian expat.

Health care: FREE - Emergency care is good, but regular medical services are a step above 3rd world nations. You sit in a room with 1000 other people for hours and wait your turn and you are told what doctor to see and hope you don't die before you see them. If you really want health care, you pay out of your pocket and see one of many expat German or British doctors.

Social Security: Everyone who is retired

Welfare: Free money

Unemployment: Everyone is on unemployment. Not sure how it works.

Nursing homes: Not sure

Schools: Free but abysmal quality. Teachers are paid nothing and very disorganized. On the plus side, there is no gang violence and children generally go to school to learn.

GAS: $7.80/gallon

BIG Fancy Apartment: $65/night

Big Shrimp Salad on the beach: $7.80

GREAT! Cheese: $1.30/pound

Really bad cheap beer: $0.51 cents per 12 once bottle. Same as Natural Ice

Summary: I think Portugal has all I need to live the life of a climbing bum. Great weather, inexpensive, welfare state, great food. Portugal is on the short list.

German Healthcare System - Good Bad Ugly

Well I'm back in the Fatherland continuing my quest for the ultimate socialist utopia. Yesterday I spent a night with our neighbor doctor and some great Grappa and got the update on the economics of German Health Care. So I guess between the Grappa and my fiscally conservative
leanings you may want to put a grain of salt on this. Gaby may comment and give more accurate info.

Lot has changed since Gaby was a kid, used to be everything was free for everyone, but reality has set in and this is what I heard is the current state of affairs.

German doctors make about 60K Euro per year (about $78K). There is this hierarchy of doctors, not the private practices that we are use to. THere are the big shots PHDs, then
under them are the underlings. I guess when you are in the hospital, there will be a hoard
of them following the PHD like little ducklings visiting each room. Gaby said it is an insult
to ask the PHD any questions because he/she is the all knowing deity and the unwashed
peasants aren't at the same karma level to interact.

There is 3 levels of doctor incomes:

1) None - for illegal immigrants, tourists, non-German types
2) Public - Anyone that had a job and paid into the system at one point. Works sort of
like our vaulted Social Security system. 80% of the people are Public in big cities.
3) Private - The chosen ones. 20% are private in big cities, 5% in rural.

#1) None Those unfortunate few that wander into the German hinterland, drink too much beer and get hit by 200mph BMW. They get into the emergency room and tossed out into the street until they get hit again by a BMW. Similar to 40% of the people in the USA.

#2) Public -Doctors get paid in quotas. Example they get $90K per year to treat 1000
patient 'treatments'. Patients show up in their office with ration cards. Patients can have
several 'treatments' per quarter. If they run out of ration cards, then the
doctor loses money on subsequest visits. So basically if you are a sickly type person and the doctor hates dealing
with you, then you go to the BACK of the line. WAY BACK. The doctor is now losing money
(not working for free, but losing money because you are taking up a paying slot) and if you have a bad attitude then it is their discretion to deal with you as they wish. So come back in 3 months
when the quarter starts again basically. You might have to come back in 3 months anyways, because some doctors close their offices and head to Greece when they fill their quotas for the quarter. COMMENTARY: I actually like this because if you don't take care of yourself then
no one else will. So the incentive to get in shape is higher in Germany than USA.

#3) Private - Anyone can buy private insurance and you will be treated like a Michelle Bachman at a Tea Party fund-raiser. The PHDs will shine your shoes. You go to the front of the line. This is where doctors actually make money to pay for their shiny equipment and Greek vacations. They WANT to treat you because they get paid a LOT per treatment. This is like the USA system that 60% of us are use to.

Sidenote (I didn't get this one): Hospitals get paid based on how many diagnosis you have. So if you have bad stomach and doctors think it could be cancer, or ecoli, or bad grapa then they get paid 3 times.

One note of sunshine for doctors. Malpractice suits are minimal. You can actually be a doctor here.

Doctor neighbor said in Germany you should go into medicine if you are passionate about it.
The money, fancy equipment, etc is just not there. Plumbers make more money for less
headaches. Sounds like doctors are more like USA teachers.

Soooooo the big question is how does Germany pay for all this? Well #1:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
Germany military will have 163,000 members for a nation of 70 million by 2012. That's equivalent to a USA military of 600,000...we now have 1.5 million in our military and not counting all the contractors and cool equipment. Germans spend 1.4% of GDP (going down in 2012), we spend 4.7% of GDP. So basically Germany and the rest of NATO are no dummies, they will let Uncle Sam borrow money from the Chinese to pay for NATOs 'common defense framework', while they keep their aging electorate placated with cool social programs and humming industries fine-tuned with an educated workforce.

Oh yeah, they also pay lots of taxes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_of_Europe
So assume you can bring home 50% of what the boss pays you (if you make it home, gas is $8/gallon). But remember you get basically free health care and grade 0 though University education, and nice fat social security checks.


Summary:
1) If you currently don't have health insurance: Don't move to Germany, vote Obamacare
2) If you are sickly: Don't move to Germany, vote BachmanCare
3) If you are healthy: You can move to Germany or USA. Uninformed opinion is USA has
better equipment, drugs, well-compensated talent.
4) If you are a doctor: Definitely don't move to Germany unless you like a lot of Greek vacations
5) If you are a lawyer: Stay in USA and continue to sue doctors for bad boob-jobs

Personal Opinion:

I'm healthy so I'd do OK in either system, but prefer USA. I'm thinking better facilities, options, talents, cool drugs, less restrictions. But if I'm wrong I'd switch in a heartbeat. One thing I really like about German healthcare is if you don't take care of yourself, the doctors have the option
of blowing you off. So there is an incentive to to cut your Marlboro and strudel intake. I wish
Obamacare would have a clause where you pay less and go to the front of the line if you take care of yourself.

My fatherland - Austria

This may be my best bet given my Gaby Euro passport, and both my grandfathers fought for the Austrian empire and took bullets in the hand for them. Also my family records are stored in Innsbruck. This is my fatherland.

Economy is doing good,
7% unemployment
50% tax on income for pension and health care (remember this doesnt include income tax)
The usual 6 weeks paid vacation and usual you-barely-work freebee stuff
Free health care
They like the care
You dont wait
You pick your doctor

(not in austria now, but will update with more when i get there)

Austria is looking good!!!!

Greetings from a real socialist Utopia - Croatia

14% unemployment
40% of GDP is government spending with huge government debts, the EU will not let them into EU until they fix it.
Avg income is $1,500/month
40% tax on income for pension and health care
20% sales tax
$6USD liter gas
$1USD liter beers


Ah yes, Uncle Tito did great things for Croatia and they are still trying to recover from it. I hope the USA doesn`t have to experience it to.

But this place is total paradise. $1 liter beers, they LOVE America because of how we bombed the crap out of Serbia, and people work their asses off here, not like the EU lalaland. They are not in the EU so its cheap to live and vacation here. One Croatian guy we met climbing with a Slovanian (member of EU) said "yeah, croatia is not in the EU, they are the lucky ones" I`m guessing because when countries switch to the Euro prices instantly double and taxes go up because they have to fix all their economic screwups before they can join. This place is old war poor, so I would think a Euro switch would really hurt most people.

Health care: the people I talked to liked their health care system. Free health care for all. They dont wait in lines, they can pick doctors and they are happy with the care.

Unemployment: 3 - 6 months at 30%

Welfare: Show them you are poor and you get free money

Crime: I guess their is a lot of corruption type stuff, but we leave stuff open and people returned my lost wallet and iphone so safer then USA

So far Croatia is my favorite country. Warm, cheap, great climbing, old world charm, clean beaches and swimming.

I think this could be a socialist utopia if I can figure out a way to get in. Gaby`s Euro passport is worthless, they are not EU.

God bless Croatia, its people and its Socialist paradise.

France is it!

My Internet access is horrible here. Besides the fact it costs $9\hour and being Europe no one works so I can't get to a terminal during any sane hours, when the thing is open 20 people are lined up in back of me tapping their toes. Why can't the government pay them to sit at the bar drinking like the rest of Europe.

OK, I have some Internet now in the mountains of Italy, but its slow. I'll try and update.

Spain: Great deal for citizens but the are exporting immigrants as fast as they can fill shipping containers. Economy collapsed 15% unemployment, social services failing. My friends claim free health care and it works and they are happy with it, but no more free rides since economy collapsed.
France: I think we may have a winner. My friends say free health care and generally OK with some waiting. Best part is I think? the floodgates are still open for the Mike Endrizzi's of the world to weazle onto the system. Don't quote me on this, but so far I think this is my best bet.
Italy: Once again day late and dollar short. The last government open the floodgates and the Italians were overwhelmed with warm bodies looking for free hair transplants from around the world. So they ejected that government and the new government has slammed the doors shut in MY face, and I'm Italian! How dare they, I am a citizen of the world, an unwashed peasant, a lowly contractor. Geez louise, during the great Depression the USA took in tons of guineas like my mom and dad and now when the America is on its last dying breath, what about me????? Yes you get free health care and they seem to be happy with the level of care.

'''''''''''''''''''''

One thing that is universal. My friends are from left, right, north, south all political walks of life. They all agree that centralized universal health care is a good thing and works for them. I'm thinking they dont realize that you can get excellent care in USA if you can get into the system, I think they are use to living in North Korea like health care type standards so it seems to work? Not sure. I guess I can see the USA taking the dive and in the beginning it will suck and we will stand in long lines to get a flu shot, but 20 years from now our kids will think it is just normal.

Taxes: These are all very general
Spain: 30% for minimum income worker
France: 40% for minimum income worker
Italy: 20% for minimum income worker, 60% for larger wages

GAS:
Italy, France generally near $7.75\gallon,
spain around $6.50

Housing Prices:
Italy: 900 sqft condo mountain vacation home off beaten path nothing special $400,000

General Economy:
Spain: North is OK, rest of country it is like USA 15% unemployment
France: Generally OK
Germany: Generally OK
Italy: North is doing very well, no unemployment. South Italy was, is , will always be in tanks
Holland: projected 1 million unemployed, total pop is 16 million.

I still don't understand how these Euro economy work. No one works 40 hour weeks - 35 to 38, they get 13 months of payroll ( 1 month xmas bonus), 6 weeks paid vacation, free health care, $300/baby, doctor can write a 6 week prescription for paid vacation if you are burned out, retire when you are 55 if you work 30 years, the list goes on. I think we are all suckers in the USA killing ourselves for the man. Except Dan, stop reading this blog and go back to work for the man or I will continue not to pay you.

Later,
dreez

Prices in Northern Europe

Just want to keep track of prices. I'll be updating this as I go.

Germany:
E1.45/liter Euro for gas 100 octane . $2.06/liter. $7.79/gallon
E1.08/liter for diesel $1.51/liter $5.71/gallon
Euro is at 1.45!!! Ugh $$$ is dying again, politicians are printing money
6 pack beer. $2.45
ground beef. $2.80/pound
bailays irish creme 750 millileter $3.50

Holland
Camping $30/night very tourist spot
E1.33/liter Euro for gas only 95 octane available.
E.96/liter for diesel