Morocco Day 2

All That You Read Is Not Always To Be

We had a fantastic night’s sleep but morning came too early… I opened my eyes to see Jenny already showered and getting under way to start the day – a bit of an atypical situation.

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast up on the roof terrace where once again, Ridouan was there with a big smile and warm service and he extended a very sincere invitation again (he had done so last night) to us to come and spend time celebrating Eid with him and his family beginning Tuesday since we were heading down towards his village. Honestly, if we could make it work, we would all do it in a heartbeat!

I had arranged to have a guide for the few hours we would have in Marrakesh this morning so we could get the most of our limited time and get to at least see some of the medina. I was hesitant in my planning to spend much time here as a hot crowded city did not appeal, nor did all the reported touts pushing you to buy rugs or handicrafts, and as you probably know, we prefer smaller towns and villages to large urban areas. 

Our guide Yaseen was waiting for us right on time and as we made our way out, we didn’t get past the front door before he stopped to describe it. Reminiscence from the guide Jenny and I briefly had in Nizwa, Oman set in and I thought we were going to have a tough two hours trying to move him along. But, as the morning unfolded, Yaseen quickly adapted to our style and we ended up having some very nice chats and covered a considerable amount of ground. He even shared how much he liked Americans and how his best friend is an American woman!

We certainly missed all the “highlights” people say you should see, but we did the things we enjoy like taking pictures; saw some places we wanted, including the Ben Youssef mosque (the oldest mosque in Marrakesh) though we were not allowed in; walked through Jemaa el-Fnaa (the most famous square in all of Morocco and a UNESCO site) where, while it was fairly quiet, we still saw the famous Moroccan snake charmers as well as the citizens of Marrakesh going about their daily lives.

We also took a tuk-tuk ride to go outside the city walls and see some of the newer areas of Marrakesh-basically having a quick comparison of 11th century Marrakesh to 20th century Marrakesh.

Part of the decision in not staying longer in Marrakesh was in all that I had read about being harassed by the trinket sellers, the henna artists, the “guides” offering to help you find your way, only to then demand money, etc. I had read that the men here are more apt to leer at us (Jenny especially). And I had read that it was packed with tourists, and there was not much authenticity left. We found little of that to be true. It might have helped we are here during Ramadan, and we were walking around the morning after one of the biggest evening celebrations when Muslims stay up until late in the night celebrating with family, but our morning was nothing but pleasant, including the weather as two days previous was close to 100 degrees!

By 11:30, we returned to the Riad, grabbed our bags and met the lady who was renting us a car. I got a bit nervous when she said the car was just a short walk as that meant in the Medina (a rather chaotic place) and as it turned out it was, but she offered for me to follow her out and get us going in the right direction – a huge help!

We immediately had to stop to tank the car up, and of course a road trip is not a road trip with Jenny unless we stop for sustenance and snacks, and finally we were on our way for the intended five hour drive south. Billy acted as my trusty navigator and he did not let me down.

The scenery changed quickly after leaving Marrakesh as we started towards the Atlas Mountains. The landscape became greener with lots of wildflowers while the tops of the mountains still had snow on them – such a strange thing to think snow in northern Africa in April. If we had had any regrets in not staying longer in Marrakesh, they quickly dissipated as we marveled at the scenery.

It wasn’t long either before we quickly realized that the Moroccans are crazy drivers – Jenny and I decided they were either tailgaters like the Omanis, or just plain suicidal like the Bosnians. I honestly think at one point the two lane highway had five motorized vehicles side by side at some point of passing. If you ask me, the Moroccans think the center line is meant to be straddled, not kept on the left. We were completely awe-struck when at one point we were headed downhill and a taxi came flying by me, and took the next bend in the right lane of the two-lane uphill side. We actually came upon a very bad one-car accident with a car that had flown past us. Needless to say every blind corner has me hugging…and I mean hugging, the far right shoulder. Not to mention having to watch out for the mopeds, bicycles, pedestrians, trucks, goats, dogs, and boulders that are frequently found in and along the sides of the road. The amount of rockslides we drove past is insane!

Our drive up and over the Tizi n”Tichka pass, where we topped out at about 6,500’, was marvelous – truly spectacular. It was unfortunate there was a heavy haze hanging in the air, some sort of Saharan dust we think, that obscured some of the views but even so, it was simply gorgeous.

We encountered the many forewarned police checkpoints – six in total – but at each one I made the complete stop like I had read was requisite and at each one, we were waved through. We of course made some stops where reasonably safe to take pictures, and at ATMs, as we have yet been able to get any money…(maybe the police knew)!

We arrived in Agdz at 6:00, making our way through the backstreets, past smiling waving children, down a dirt road that ran through an oasis of palm trees to find our accommodation for the evening. We received another very warm welcome from the staff and another round of hot mint tea, but this time sweetened.

We chatted with the host for a while who took an interest in Jenny’s instant camera. It wasn’t long before he asked if she could take a photo of he and the ladies who worked in the kitchen and dining areas. They were all so tickled by it; they hung it straight up on the refrigerator (literally putting tears in Jenny’s eyes).

Since there was but little daylight left, we took a quick stroll outside the garden gates where we encountered so many friendly locals greeting us in Arabic, French and English. Two young boys took an interest to us and immediately followed us into the old village. Jenny asked them their names in Arabic and then offered them a picture. The older one quickly rejected it but the younger one gladly posed for it. Of course, when the older one saw the photo of the younger one, he then stood for his chance to also get one, which Jenny gladly obliged. They were so cute in making sure they could keep them for themselves.

We returned to the inn where we had a delicious dinner of roast chicken piled with noodles in a semi sweet cinnamon and golden raisin sauce – not something any of us would typically order so it made it all the more enjoyable. It was a very pleasant evening sitting out on the terrace, overlooking the gardens, with a warm breeze blowing, sipping on a glass of Portuguese red wine we had picked up at the duty free in Lisbon!

All is good so far in Morocco…