Morocco

DAY 1 (June 9, 2009) – We arrived in Casabanca about midday, and immediately took a train to Marrakesh. We were just passing through though, bc we then found a vehicle to Essaioura (Essa wera). We traveled the entire day, and didn’t arrive until after midnight. Then, we couldn’t find a hotel. It was horrible. We were so tired, and had to speak French. Luckily we made friends with one Moroccan man, who helped us. We ended up staying in a really expensive place though. The highlight of the day what learning that cherries are really common in morocco. I bought half a kilo.

DAY 2 – I woke up early in the morning and climbed to the rooftop terrace. The view was beautiful. You could see the ocean, the walls of the city, and all of the other rooftops. I stood there for over an hour, just looking. Kat and I shopped for most of the day, and we saw the beach. It was too cold to swim, but the area was beautiful. As we were just getting tired we heard a man playing guitar in one of the shops. We stopped in to listen, and made friends with him and his friend. Younes and Kareem were very friendly, and invited us to dinner that night. Before we met them, kat and I got henna. I got a temporary tattoo on my hand and one one my foot. Kat got two as well. I also bought a djallabah, a traditional robe. I started wearing it, and Moroccans loved it. They all treated me really well when I wore the dress and spoke a bit of Arabic. People really appreciate when you make an effort. We met the boys in the evening, for a traditional tajine. It is a sculpted clay pot, where all of the food is just thrown inside together and steamed. The spices make it taste a little smoky, a little spicy, but its delicious. While we ate, they played music. The boys are actually in a band. We heard their cd, and they are awesome. We searched for it, but couldn’t find a copy.

DAY 3 – We hung out with the boys in the morning while we waited for our late bus to Marrakesh. When we arrived, we had trouble finding a hotel, but people at a cyber were willing to help us, even carrying our stuff. People are so friendly in Morocco. There was a group of Peace Corps volunteers in Marrakesh for a training session, so we wanted to meet them in the evening. We didn’t know where we were going, so a retired policeman gave us a ride.. again, so friendly! It was really cool to meet the volunteers. They have different specialties than here in Cameroon, and a different training program, so it was interesting to compare. According to what they told me, most of them are pretty lucky, with nice houses, and internet. A lot of them work with kids at a youth program, which sounds like something I would like.

DAY 4 – We went to the main square in Marrakesh, Djemma el-Fna. I have been there before, but its still pretty cool. We saw snake charmers, and women doing henna, and a monkey jumped on my head. That was actually terrifying. I love monkeys, but this one was dirty and mangy. It probably gave me some disease when it tried to eat my hair. We drank fresh squeezed orange juice, and I ate a traditional chickpea soup. We also booked a tour for the next day, into the Sahara desert. (coincidently, the same tour group I took before)

DAY 5 – We left early with our tour group. We had a really interesting group, with everyone living in a different country than the one we were born in. We had a man from Sweden living in germany, a Moroccan living in the us, Canadians living in England, Cyprians living in England, and me and kat, Americans living in Cameroon. The first stop was Ait Ben-Haddou, a famous kasbah (clay village). This one had some parts shaped like castles, but they were made of mud. From there we drove to Oarzazate for lunch. There is a film studio there, where they actually filmed Gladiator. We passed through the Draa valley, and the winding Atlas Mountains, where I was very very carsick, and then to Zagora. It is the last city before you enter the desert. We were a bit delayed because of a sandstorm, but I guess it died down and we rode camels into the Sahara. Our plan was to stay with nomadic Berbers in the desert for the night. They construct huge tents on the sand, for people to stay. We arrived when it was still light, so we played in the sand dunes. We played just like children, jumping off and rolling in the sand, but it was really fun. After dark, we had dinner, a tajine of course, which was delicious, then drank tea and played music. They used empty water jugs for drums, and we all sang. It was really fun. At first I felt stupid, but I’m so glad that I joined in. it was fun, and completely worth anything thinking I looked stupid. We planned to sleep in the tent, but it was such a beautiful night that we dragged out mattresses and slept on the sand under the stars. It was beautiful.

DAY 6 – I woke up before sunrise, to flies buzzing around my head. Unfortunately, that is very common in the desert. I watched the sunrise, then we had a short camel ride back to our vehicle. I was carsick again, and I ate some melon for lunch. They have a honeydew type melon in morocco that is really good. Its yellow on the outside, and green on the inside. They don’t even have a name for it, but it is delicious. The driver dropped us at the bus station, and we bought tickets for an overnight bus to Fes. We planned to stay there with another Peace Corps volunteer, Duncan. There was a bit of difficulty with the bus, because the station closed before the bus left, but we made friends with one of the agents, so he helped us. We finally left, and the ride was uneventful.

DAY 7 – We arrived in Fes early in the day, so just relaxed in the medina (city center) while we waited for Duncan. I really wanted to go to a hammam, but I didn’t want to go by myself, so I missed out. A hammam is a single sex bathhouse, where someone scrubs you down with a rough sponge and then throws buckets of water at you. There is also a steam room, and it is supposed to be relaxing and invigorating. I’m still bummed that I missed out, but its designed as a social activity. When Duncan arrived, we visited a tannery. We went to a rooftop to see how they tan and prepare leather. It smelled a bit like sulfur, but it didn’t bother by chemist’s nose. I’ve seen pictures of these tanneries before, but its nothing like seeing it. They have different vats for every color, and men go into the vats to step on and move the leather around. Sadly, men that work at tanneries usually die earlier than other men because of all of the chemicals. In the U.S., when you buy a leather jacket, or a leather purse, you never realize how much work goes into preparing it. We had a guide that explained the process to us. First they put the skins in lye for 2 weeks, then into pigeon poop for another week, followed by water for 1 week, before color. He told us how they use all natural herbs for the dye. They use indigo for blue, saffron for yellow, henna for red, etc. the skins dry in the sun, and then tailors sew the leather items. From there, we visited a rug “factory”, where the men showed us how they make all of the rugs, and then to a place where they make argan oil. It is very famous there, and nice. They do all of the work by hand on a press. The oil looks like thin peanut butter, and tastes pretty good. We visited a beautiful mosque after, called Madrassa Bou Inania. It’s not a mosque anymore, but a training center of some kind. The inside is beautiful, filled with mosaic tile. We were tired then, so we traveled to Duncan’s village, Immouzer. It is not actually a village, but a beautiful mountain retreat, where spring water comes from. We visited the market in Immouzer, which is surprisingly similar to Cameroon. I learned however, that in morocco, zucchini is a very bad word. We prepared a tajine for dinner, so now I know how.

DAY 8 – We relaxed in the morning, and saw more of Immouzer. The country built these beautiful waterways to hold the spring water, and they look like canals. There are benches all around so you can sit and enjoy. We had a delicious chicken lunch, and there, I made my fateful mistake. I saw that ice cold water on the table and I drank it. All of the volunteers there drink tap water, so I thought I would be okay. Later, at the Fes market with Kat, I realized my mistake. I was very very sick. I will never drink tap water again. We did our last bit of shopping, and headed back to Duncan’s for the night.

DAY 9 – We were up early for a long day of traveling. We went first to Ifrane, to find a vehicle for Meknes, then a vehicle to Moulay Idriss, then another to Volubolis (also called Wilili). Volubolis used to be an entire town, but is now just ruins. No one knows what happened, or why, which makes it more interesting. You can walk through each of the buildings, and still see mosaic floors or structures of some type. The area was huge, and it was unbelievable to think that in a short period of time, all of the people disappeared. We even saw archaeologists while we were there. When we finished, we took that long journey back to Meknes, then Casablanca, then to the airport. We had a late flight back to Cameroon.

DAY 10 – Arrival in Cameroon.