Let's continue

Day 5 Monday
We woke up early and headed over to the Djemaa el-Fna, the main square of Marrakech. There we met Omar, our camel trekking guide, and the 5 others who would be joining us. There was Andrew and Caroline, a young British couple, and Cindy, Vid, and Charlotte, three students from Cambridge. Cindy is actually from the U.S. so the nationalities were even. Omar is Berber which means he is a member of the indigenous people of North Africa. (Famous Berbers include: St. Augustine, Terence, and Zinedine Zidane) He was born out in the desert so he knows his way around there pretty well. Now he leads tours through Morocco and the desert. Good stuff.
We spend Monday driving from Marrakech in the direction of Merzougae which is a city close to the edge of the desert. We didn't make it there all in one day because we stopped at various places. We stopped at two casbahs (requisite rock the casbah joke here) and had Moroccan tea. We also stopped at Dades Gorge which is amazing. A river flows through two sheer cliffs faces which people can climb. I wish I could rock climb but I probably would start with something easier. Anyway, the drive was beautiful. We went through the Atlas Mountains too. They were amazing. Snow at the tops but lower down they were just red. Very red with some green vegetation. And the drive was a little scary with all the switchbacks and a lot of times no guardrails and speeding and donkey carts and people. But everybody survived. So it was a long day but definitely worth it.
And now a word about Moroccan food. There isn't a whole lot of variety here but it's good. Couscous is always good as are kebabs. Tajine is a stew like dish with veggies and meat; I always went with the lamb. Omelettes are also big and some crepe like things for breakfast with a bit of jam. Also lots of flat bread and olives. Moroccan tea is a very sweet, hot, mint tea which is good but can be a little too much sometimes. Also there's some sort of way to pour it but I can't do it because I was afraid I'd spill. Oh and fresh squeezed orange juice. That is delightful. Anyway, that's mostly what I ate the whole time.
That night we stayed in a little hotel somewhere in southeast Morocco. There was a group of Berbers at the hotel who played drums and sang for us. They had an electric banjo too. OK, it wasn't a banjo but a stringed instrument similar to a banjo. It was amazing. Some of the best music I've ever heard. They were a bunch of older French couples there too and they got chosen to be dressed up in traditional Berber dress and dance a bit. It was very cute because they were a little embarrassed but clearly having a lot of fun. They were groups of older French couples all throughout Morocco; it's a popular destination for them.

Day 6 Tuesday
Another early wake up to finish our drive to Merzouga and the desert. More scenery and tea but we were all getting really excited to see the camels and desert. We weren't really on any roads anymore. Just driving through a very arid landscape in the direction of the desert. But we couldn't see any desert yet and though there were some camel crossing signs, no camels. Then we crossed over a little ridge and there it was in front of us. Huge dunes of golden-orange sand. They just sprang up from the cracked, dry earth. There wasn't any transition. It was the Sahara. And camels! They are big and when they yell, they sounds a bit like Chewbacca. We were all a bit anxious to get started. Omar tied scarves around our heads in the correct Berber manner and then we jumped on the camels and headed out. We were tied together in a caravan so nobody would get lost and there were two other guides besides Omar. They walked though. And Omar trekked all over taking his own path. Obviously he knows where he's going but out there, to me, every dune looks like the next. We rode for an hour and half to two hours. Riding camels isn't scary and not very hard. There's a saddle and they're pretty slow. I would always get a little nervous when we went down steep dunes because I wasn't sure the camel would be able to keep it's footing. Of course it did but I held on tight. It wasn't particularly hot out there either. Granted it is early spring still and Omar assured us that it got hot. Very hot. I was very comfortable though. It was like stepping into a postcard. Every picture you've seen is accurate, only being there it's just more. There's nothing like it. I felt as if I could've been on another planet. It was surreal to say the least. I also decided that next time I want to sled down some dunes. That would be fun. After a bit, we reached our camp. Nestled between two huge dunes, Omar had a tent set up. Very spacious really. Then we climbed up a big dune to watch the sunset. Climbing this thing was hard and we all struggled. The sand is rather fine too so we all picked up some extra pounds of sand in our shoes and pockets and mouths and ears. But it felt good tor each the top even though it was overcast so the sunset wasn't much to speak of. This is when my camera broke (I'm assuming there's sand in it) so I didn't get pictures of the 2nd half of our journeys. So that means I just have to go back. After the sunset we slid back down to camp and had dinner, more tajine, bread, and couscous. Omar and his buddies got a fire going and we all sat around while they played the drums. Omar had also let us stop earlier on the drive over to get some beers so we sipped those around the campfire. He obviously knows his audience because getting alcohol in Morocco isn't as easy as it is in other countries because it's Muslim. But he knew people would want a drink. It was all very pleasant. They let us try the drums too. I was undoubtedly the best one there... I'm sure it was absolute cacophony to Omar and his buddies. Then we just sat around and talked. The sky was very clear and we could see nearly every single star ever I think. I identified various constellations (Dad, I'm sure you would've known a lot more but I held my own) though their positions in the sky were different than at home. Then we turned in for the night and slept on some pallets in the tents with lots of blankets. As soon as I got into bed, it got really cold. I could feel the cold air blowing on my face so I had to duck my head under the covers. I slept pretty well except for when I heard some scratching noises and became convinced that a scarab was crawling on my pillow. I'm pretty sure it was just the camp's cat prowling around though.

Day 7 Wednesday
Woke up quite early as one tends to do when camping. It was still chilly out and overcast again so no sunrise. We had breakfast then got back on the camels to head back out of the desert. By this time, I felt like I could ride a camel for days into the desert. Next time I'll go for a week or something. Get farther out because in reality, we weren't very far into the Sahara. If Omar had abandoned me, I could've found my way out within a day. But despite my belief that I could be a desert dweller, I think we all know I wasn't made for it. Pale skin, light eyes...not so good for desert life. Anyway, we made it out of the desert and said goodbye to our camels. Then back into the Jeeps to drive all the way back to Marrakech. A much quieter drive because we went straight through and everybody was tired. A little awestruck that we had just done that too. Got back to Marrakech around 8 PM or so and dumped our stuff back at the riad. Then we headed out to Djemaa el-Fna to get dinner and see what it was like at night. It was amazing. Full of food stalls that set up tables and people milling around. Also smoke was billowing from the grills because there's a lot of meat being cooked. The guys working the food stalls will come out to you and give you menus and urge you over to their place. Meanwhile their neighboring competitor is trying to entice you away. They all serve the same stuff though. Just go wherever you want. It's all not very sanitary but very colorful and fun. While we were eating we watched a group of Spaniards try to decide where to eat. They were quite sought after and anytime they started in the direction of one stand, all the employees would start cheering and the competitors would boost their efforts. It was great. At dinner another American sat down with us. His name was Paul and he was travelling alone; he didn't say it but he spotted us as Americans going to this place and followed us there. I would've done the same to have someone to talk to. Anyway, he was a talker. But it was good to just meet someone like that. He had traveled a lot and had lots of stories. But we were exhausted so we went headed back to riad and bed around 11.

Day 8 Thursday
We got to sleep in a bit but were up and ready to go by 11. This would be our first time seeing Marrakech in the middle of the day. It was busy, lots of tourists but they were mostly French or British. Not many Americans at all. In fact, any time we told a shopkeeper or waiter or anything that we spoke only English, they assumed we were British. And when we said no to that, they assumed Canada, Quebec especially. Sometimes I just said I was from Vancouver. One really does get a different response when they realize you're American. The main square was full of orange juice vendors. They'll yell and try to coax you over. There were snake charmers, acrobats, musicians, storytellers, and some fellows dressed up in colorful outfits with big hats that had fringe. I don't know what they were there for except photo-ops. It was quite a scene. Then there are the souks. A maze of markets, covered and uncovered, in the tiny streets of the city where one can buy anything. There are different areas, like carpet, leather, shoes, food. But we wandered around those forever. The shopkeepers were just as persistent and eager for your business. They'd call out at us and if you even stopped for a moment just to look, they'd be all over you and urging you in to look more. And everything is negotiable there. You have to bargain with them. They'll set the price unreasonably high and you set in unreasonably low. Then from there you work it out. I'm not great at this but I tried. And it's always a good idea to start to walk away or mention that the guy four stalls down gave you a better price and you're going there. It's all a big game. Fun but tiring. We were completely lost, no maps could do us good. So we weren't able to find the Koranic school which is apparently beautiful or basically any other historical sights. We did see the big bell tower that Sevilla's Giralda is modeled on so that was nice. I was perfectly content to just wander around and take it all in. Marrakech is just one big show and there's always something going on. My travel companions were less than enthusiastic about it all though and were becoming quite trying. They had become disenchanted with Morocco, I think. I had not however. We also sampled some Moroccan sweets. I have no idea what they were but they were good. That evening we went to the train station and got the night train to Tangier to go back to Spain. It was much less eventful than on our way there. Early on, the other two had fallen asleep and I was just about to when a man walked by an tapped me on the head. I didn't see who it was but I was awake now so i just did some reading. Then a bit later the man walked by again and tapped my head again. He wagged his finger at me and said 'No sleeping' and nodded at the other two. I think he may have been French and was telling me that one of us had to be awake at all times, to watch our stuff and such. But I'm not really sure. Anyway, I stayed awake basically the rest of the night. The train was freezing cold too so sleeping wasn't comfortable anyway. It was a long night but I got some good thinking done.

OK, once again I will stop here. The next entry will finish up my adventures. And again, if you want the really good details and gossip, just ask me. I'll hold forth for hours.