The Road Through Morocco - Morocco
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August 22
Today was a day to enjoy Chefchaouen. I am fortunate to be traveling with the British girls and Canadian guy because they speak French and this was a French colony. It's easier to get around and get stuff you want. The Chilean is with us also so it's five of us sharing a room on the second floor of the hotel. The only other person on our floor is a nice elderly local man who comes out in his slippers to pray every once in a while. He only speaks Arabic so we just say "hi" to each other.
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| The walls and fortifications of Essaouira, Morocco are attractive day or night |
Also entertaining is going through the shops, mostly full of rugs. We went to a shop owner that kept showing us dead animals for sale in the back. But the salesmen are entertaining and we got complementary mint tea, as is the custom in the Arab world. The tea tastes really good, is useful in the midday heat and is free. They don't lay a guilt trip on you if you drink the tea and don't buy the rugs. Most of the rugs we were shown were too big or too expensive for us backpackers.
August 23
The group wanted to take a trip into the Rif Mountains to see this big waterfall. We started bargaining with taxi drivers through a ten-year-old kid who translated French and Arabic back and forth. We got a good price and wanted to give him a tip as we were leaving. There was a grown man next to him and the kid was waving off the tip. We gave him the tip anyway and the man started choking him until the kid gave him the money. The taxi had taken off before we could do anything.
We paid for a whole day of taxi service. It's interesting to see the modes of transport as trucks are often littered with people hanging on the sides for cheap transport. We made it to the area where the waterfall is and cooled down in the pool and then we started to walk to the waterfall. We never saw the waterfall but we did see a lot of marijuana. Morocco is much more relaxed on drug issues than other Arab countries. The local Berber people didn't like us dancing in their marijuana fields and shooed us away. The scenery in the Rif Mountains was really good though.
We all went out to eat after the trip, as we were all hungry. I had a ton of food. I don't know what it's called but I ordered something that has pigeon in it. I also had baklava, which I had before, and a lot of other rich, syrupy desserts.
August 24
Today was our last day in Chefchaouen, which is a city all of us liked but it's time to look at something new. As we were taking a last walk around the streets, I noticed the ten-year-old kid from yesterday that got choked. We told him to come with us to a little cranny in a back street, (all streets here are dead ends) where no one was watching. This time we all give him a tip, so he ended up getting five times what we would had given the day before. His face lit up when he got the money. Things have a way of working out, it's just in a real twisted way. We took a shared taxi to Fes, had dinner there and then jumped on an overnight bus to Marrakesh.
August 25
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| Snake charmers and belly dancers perform at the Djemaa el-Fna in Marrakesh |
We took showers and than went to the beach. I liked this beach because it was interesting to look at the wardrobes. It ranged from people in Speedos to women covered totally in black except for their feet, sitting under an umbrella. A popular game on the beach is like tennis but with a small, completely wooden racket and rubber ball. I played with a little kid and let him win because he was really competitive. On the beach, many women were putting henna on their hands and feet. It rubs off and leaves an orange dye for a week. It's meant to keep you cool but it looks like it's a beauty aid too.
We took a walk around the dark back streets at night and had some escargot. There are a lot of shops and the smoke from restaurants makes it look even better. This is also a walled city, which are light up at night.
August 26
We took a camel out to Jimi Hendrix's castle. I've ridden a camel before and it doesn't take long to get sore. Luckily the trip is not too far. The castle isn't much to see as it has deteriorated but it was a nice ride along the beach.
We celebrated my birthday, even though it's tomorrow. Eventually, we found a place that had wine. They gave us glasses that you couldn't see through and a bottle of wine in a paper bag. We were instructed to have the bottle on the table only when filling our cups and the bottle should be hidden under the table the rest of time. We had a couple bottles there and bought a couple for the apartment. So, I guess for my thirtieth birthday I was drinking illegally just like for my twentieth birthday.
August 27
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| Souqs (markets) are a good place to buy just about anything |
We immediately went to the Djemaa el-Fna, a square that has heaps of activities. There are belly dancers, musicians and snake charmers. This is a great way to start the trip in Marrakesh. There is also a lot of different food to try.
August 28
I woke up early and decided it was time for me to break from the group and move on by myself. I had only planned to spend a few days in Morocco so I wanted to get back on schedule. I toured Marrakesh which included the Saadian Tombs, Koutoubia Mosque, El Bahia Palace, Royal Palace, El Badi Palace, and the souqs (markets).
I enjoyed El Bahia because of the architecture and the flowery garden. This is in contrast to the dirt and confusion outside. The souqs are also good because you can buy clothes, neat-looking Arabic stuff and rare animals.
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