As I said before, I was definitely in culture shock for the whole 10 days. This is the journal that I took during the time, so some of it drags. Left the 4th of December on plane from Lyon to Marrakesh. I didn't have any hotel reservations because I was supposed to land at 7 and I would have had plenty of time to figure things out; however, the plane was delayed four hours (damn you EasyJet) and I landed at 11. Took a taxi from the airport and paid three times to much, but I was so tired that I didn't feel like negotiating. Went to youth hostel where I was put into a room with 6 beds. I had one other roommate, who turned out to be another American woman traveling alone. It was so cold that we took the extra blankets off the other beds to cover up at night. The hostel was 70 dihram ($10) a night including breakfast. Found out very quickly that there is no toilet paper so it is necessary to bring tissue with you.
The next morning I woke up at 8ish and had breakfast of coffee and a baguette with my roommate. She showed me how to get downtown and then took the bus to another town. I decided to go to the marketplace because that is the most well-known part of Marrakesh. The first thing that you see in entering are snakecharmers and men with monkeys. The good shopping is in the souks, which is an immense labyrinth of stalls selling everything you could possibly imagine. I walked for 4 hours straight and never saw the same thing twice. Shopkeepers yell out phrases in every language and push things in your face. At one point, I had no idea where I was going because people tell you the wrong directions. I was walking in an area where I was obviously the only tourist and it was very frightening and awesome at the same time. Funniest sight of the day was a man walking by with three live chickens in his hand, which were squaking and flapping all over the place. Then I saw someone selling dentures and partials and that took the prize as most hilarious sight! Purchases of the day included a wooden box for $20 and a silver bracelet for $25. I didn't know what else to do for the day so when I saw a spa, I went in. I ended up getting a manicure/pedicure/facial/hair styling for almost nothing. It was 7:30 at night when I left and the marketplace was full of stalls selling various meals. I got couscous for $4, but I know I paid to much because the server gave me tea for free. They put out olives and bread, but if you eat it, you have to pay for it. Didn't fall for that trick, luckily. After a delicious dinner, I walked around the square and listened to the various musicians playing. One Moroccan man, who spoke excellent English, translated the lyrics for me. It was so beautiful that it almost brought tears to the eyes. I was so glad that I found a friend because there were some very persistent men. One kept walking past me and brushing me. This happened 7 or 8 times and my friend noticed and told him to go away; however, there were still some problems. We were listening to Berber music from the Atlas Mountains and I was invited to sit in the circle with the musicians. There was something brushing my leg, but because it was pitch dark and I couldn't see anything, I assumed it was my purse strap. It kept happening and finally I saw that the man sitting next to me had his arm under his chair and was feeling me up. I was so feed up that I left and went back to the hostel. It was 60 degrees all day, so I was comfortable in a t-shirt and fleece.
The next day I returned to the souks where I bought some leather sandals for $20. I had heard about the hammam in Morocco so I decided to go check it out. Had to strip down and enter a room on the roof. Got doused with hot water, rubbed down with soap, and rubbed with an exfoliating cloth. I would compare the experience to getting rubbed with sandpaper, but it felt so good afterward. I got a delicious soup for dinner for about .50 and then listened to some more music. I was the only Westerner and one of two women listening so I stood out like a sore thumb, but it was still wonderful. Different musicians insisted that I play there instruments and sit in the front of the circle, but being alone, I did not want to draw anymore attention to myself. Got lost going back to hostel because everyone was giving me wrong directions.
Left hostel at 7 am to go on a two-day tour in the desert; however, the wrong bus picked me up and we had to return to get things straightened out. There were 16 of us on the minibus: 2 Irish, 4 Americans, 4 Brazilians, 2 French, 2 Dutch, 1 Italian, and 1 South African. One hour in, the Irish guy in front of me pucked all over. We cleaned it all up, but the bus smelled of vomit the entire day. Lunch was at Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of Morocco, where Sex and the City 2 was filmed. I bought a head wrap for the desert for $15, a pen, and a tissue of packets, because I didn't have enough money. After that bartering experience, I sat on some steps to collect myself and got approached by a bunch of school children asking for money. One little girl, 6 years old or so, was especially persistent and tried to steal stuff out of my purse. When she realized that I wasn't going to give her anything, she sat down next to me. I asked her about school and she pulled out her schoolbook, flipping through the pages for 10 minutes. Her mom came along and yelled at her. The next was a little boy of the same age who begged and then played soccer with me. I'm not really sure how to explain this but it was a really cool moment for me because these children became kids like any other. They weren't beggars, they were schoolkids who just wanted to play with someone. Even though, we couldn't understand each other, I felt like there was a connection. It was so sad at the same time because they have a very hard future in front of them. They kept repeating the same phrases over and over again. "Un bonbon, un stylo, un dihram." ("a candy, a pen, a dihram")
We finally arrived at Zagora, where we found the camels, after 9 hours of driving. We rode the camels for an hour while the sun was setting. The most uncomfortable hour of my life, but hilarious. The noise that the camels make is incredible and there was no saddle, so I was sliding all over the place. When we finally arrived at the camp, we took off our shoes and walked into the tent where we were going to eat. There were cushions on the floor and some tables, which we sat around. We were served tea and soup, which no one liked but me. The entree was chicken surrounded by veggies. The servers placed some forks on the table and left. There were some questions as to where the plates were and someone said, "Guys, I think we just dig in." It happened to be the case. There were 8 of us to a dish and we forked out what we wanted.
Later on the Irish lady asked where the toilets were and the guide said that they were everywhere. We were in the Sahara Desert and she was expecting running water. There weren't even designated spots; one simply went out into the dunes and did their business. Went outside and the stars were absolutely incredible. I could see all the stars, planets, satellites, everything--definitely an unforgetable sight! We slept in the tents on mats on the floor with some wool blankets. I slept like a rock, but was the only one.
Left at dawn the next day. The road that we had taken the day before was closed because of snow so we drove 20 hours around the mountains. I have never been so happy to get out of a car in my life. Arrived at 12:30 am and I found the nearest hotel. Bargained the price down from $30 to $20.
Left for Essouira, a city on the coast, at 10 the next morning. Found a hostel and watched the sun set. See previous post for pictures. I slept for 14 hours that night and then decided to go back to Marrakesh. The bus that I was supposed to take was leaving as I arrived and the driver was yelling, "Run!" He didn't slow down, but simply opened the door and kept pulling out. I was sprinting as fast as I could and then someone grabbed my hand and pulled me on.
When I got back to Marrakesh, I checked into the hostel again. New roommate was an American too. We hung out that night and the next day. Ate dinner with the guy in charge of the hostel and he invited me to visit his family with him in Asni, a little village in the mountains. That night I was in the mood for a stiff drink so I walked to the center of town. Halfway there, I decided it was a very bad idea. I was followed by cars and by people on foot. This happened all the time during the day, too, but at night, I was absolutely terrified. I would compare the experience to being on stage with your fly open. Everyone's staring at you, but you don't know why. No matter what their age, every single male that I passed either stared, said hello, followed me, or some combination of the three.
The following day I left for Asni in a Grand Taxi, which was a regular taxi with more people. There were 7 f us total in the car; four in the back seat and three in the front. Walked with my friend in the mountains and saw Richard Branson's hotel, which is basically a large castel on the mountainside. We had couscous, which we ate with our hands, sitting on mats on the floor. The family had absolutely nothing, but they shared everything with me. The mom kept saying, "Eat, eat." Went back to Marrakesh and made dinner for my friend to thank him.
Left on the 14th for the airport. I was so tired of people honking at me and saying things that I went 4 hours early. The plane was delayed 4 hours because of a strike in France (rrrr!) Left at 10:30 at night and arrived at Lyon at 2 in the morning. I slept on a couch in the airport and then took a bus to Grenoble. Total hours spent in airport: 20. I would have been ecstatic to arrive in Grenoble but then I saw the 5 inches of snow and I wished I was back in Morocco.
Rap up: was a growing experience, to say the least. There were a lot of times I just wanted to cry, but there was no one else to depend on, so I had to suck it up and figure it out myself. This is another place that I will go back to in the future. I apologize for this obnoxiously long post, but I left a lot of stuff out for the sack of time and your sanity.
