Morocco was perfect.
I've been procrastinating on this post
because I cannot properly put into words
how incredibly precious those seven nights in Morocco were.
My pocket notebook is filled with pages and pages of adjectives
that I had hoped would adequately describe the entire experience but they are sadly not enough.
arrival.
We arrived in Marrakesh on Saturday, March 3rd, after a long day of travel.
That first night was a whirlwind of sounds, sights, scents.
The city is a labyrinth filled with crumbling buildings
and heavily littered streets.
Bicycles, motorcycles and cars fly by narrowly missing one another
and people weave in and out without rhyme or reason.
We ventured out that first night for dinner
in an outdoor restaurant in the market square.
They bring baskets of warm, round bread with spicy red sauce
and ramekins of olives.
Then come steaming plates filled with succulent meats, veggies and couscous.
Our bill for seven people was 300 dirham,
which roughly translates to 45 US dollars.
day one.
our first full day we spent exploring the city.
The sky was perfectly blue and it was hot,
a wonderful change from the German snow.
The streets are severely crowded with small shops,
people, animals and vehicles.
The air smells like a mixture of spices and feces.
Everyone is very aggressive, trying to sell us any and everything.
We wandered around a palace, a garden and catacombs.
Then we enjoyed a lunch of chicken, veggies and fries,
followed by cone of chocolate and banana gelato
That night we relaxed on the rooftop deck of our hostel,
we played guitar and sang songs
and they cooked us traditional Moroccan tangier.
day two.
there are three kinds of people in Morocco
the Arabs in the city, the Berbers in the Mountains
and the Nomads in the desert.
For day two we went up to the mountains to learn about the Berbers.
We ate breakfast at a Berber home
They live off what they have so the bread and jam were homemade
and so was the butter, we even met the cow it came from.
We have all become addicted to the sweet mint tea.
There was also a brief camel ride, a tour through a medicinal garden facility
and a hike up to a beautiful waterfall.
Lunch was eaten outside, next to a river.
Precarious homemade bridges were strung over the river
and nearby a woman washed her laundry, beating the clothes against stones.
day three thru five
we left early in the morning, headed for the desert.
the drive was hot and beautiful and winding.
there were roadside demonstrations, stops at a breathtaking gorge
and plenty of tajine. We stayed the first night in a beautiful hotel
and the next morning headed further into the desert.
Just before sunset we dropped our stuff off at a hostel
and mounted our camels for the ride.
Somewhere between one and two hours we arrived at the campsite,
somewhere near the Algerian border in the Sahara desert.
We ate tajine, danced around the fire and attempted to play the drums.
There was also sledding/sand boarding down the dunes.
We woke just before sunrise and got on the camels for the ride back.
No amount of moving could warm my frozen limbs.
By the time we arrived back at the hostel my fingers and toes had no feeling.
Breakfast was the same deliciousness it always was,
bread, honey, marmalade, tea and coffee.
I spent the bus ride reading and soaking up the last bits of scenery.
Out in the desert everything is tinged with dirt.
You can taste it in the tea and feel it collect on skin, hair, clothes.
day six
our last day we spent shopping at the markets in Marrakech.
Haggling for the last of our souvenirs and taking everything in one last time.
That night, as we were walking our final walk back to the hostel
someone drove by on a motorbike and grabbed my arm.
As I yanked my limb free, they stole my camera off of me.
Luckily I didn't get hurt, or taken, or who knows what.
Luckily it was my camera and not my purse with my passport.
But I still cried, like a small child, for the better part of an hour.
If I had been feeling positive I would have reminded myself that
there were six other people with me taking amazing photos.
I would also have reminded myself that no one can take away the memories
stored in your brain and that now I have an excuse to buy a Canon.
But I wasn't there yet so I cried and threw a few pity parties
but I'm okay now.
things that stood out in my mind.
The entire trip we saw two women working
and both were cleaning our hostel.
The men have all the jobs and all the women were covered
holding their children or begging in the streets.
It was strange to be in a place were women have little to no value.
They told us if a man touches you and you slap him, he will just hit you back.
Also, being a Muslim country, everyday, multiple times a day,
we would hear the call to prayer over the speakers throughout the city.
It was fascinating to watch the men immediately kneel on the sides of the streets.
The entire experience was best described
by my friend Liz as "sensory overload"
I had no idea what I was getting myself into and now looking back
I'm so grateful that we all managed to stay safe and healthy.
(I will be posting the pictures my friends took soon)
