Morroco contd.

Day 4

We got up very early and had a berber breakfast- a type of flat bread that was half naan, half crepe with apricot jam and butter, hot milk, hot coffee, orange juice that was really tang. Then it was back on the bus.

The tour did involve a lot of bus time, but we were driving through such marvelous country side that I never felt bored. And there really was no other alternative- it allowed us to penetrate deep into the country and see things we were never otherwise have found.

Our first big stop was at a small town, where we were led by a local guide through a feild into the heart of the village. We were joined by a bunch of local kids who walked with us, offering us little woven palm leaves in return for pencils. sadly, i didnt have any with me!

In town, we were invited into a local home. We were led into a small room covered- floor, ceiling, walls- with woven carpets. There was a loom in one corner where a woman worked preparing wool. A man introduced himself and served us tea. Then he introduced the woman as his sister- she didnt speak english. He then explained to us how the carpets were made, and the signifigance of the colors.

The lesson was followed by a sales pitch and a very awkward silence- none of us was interested in buying a carpet, but no one wanted to say so. The tension was finally broken with a question, and we were all rather glad to leave.

Back on the bus! Next stop was lunch and a walk in another gorge. Sheryl and i got another lesson in berber and arabic from a friendly local. (again, phonetic spelling!)

ismee elizabeth - my name is elizabeth

musharafin- nice to meet you

bus, again, and then a stop at a fossil warehouse for a quick stop. Turns out that area used to be underwater, and there are a lot of fossils (i think they said devonian period, lots of trilobites).

We arrived in the dunes of merzouga a few hours later. Abdullah introduced our guide for the evening, Mustafah, and the two of them helped each of us tie our scarfs around our faces as turbans. Then we mounted camels and went for an hour long ride into the dunes! Camels= not that comfortable. But the dunes were beautiful- the sand was so smooth it looked velvety, disturned here and there by odd black beatles. The sun set behind us just as we arrived at our camp. We were spending the night in tents.

We tried sandboarding a little down the dune, but it didnt work that well, and climbing to the top was too much work.

Dinner seated on the ground around a low table, with nothing but a propane lamp. there were wild- looking cats circling outside of the light, i even saw one run over the roof of the tent. they rushed in after we finished eating and scattered chicken bones everywhere.

We sat around the fire while mustafah taught us rhythms on the drum. its a lot harder than i thought! then we lay out and looked at the stars. One by one we either fell asleep where we lay or went into the tents.

That night it was freezing- i stayed curled on the sand in the fetal position most of the night, wearing every peice of clothing id brought and covered in the blanket that id sat on while riding the camel. didnt get much sleep.

Day 5

Woke (so i guess i got some sleep) before sunrise, rode the camel back to the van and breakfast in the guest house. hot milk and coffee never tasted so good.

Spent most of the day in the bus heading back towards Marrakesh. We stopped for lunch, and for evening prayer. I spent most of this time sleeping to make up for the cold night.

We arrived at marrakesh around 6, and said goodbye to our fellow travellers. We had to find a place to stay for the night, since we'd originally planned to spend that night on the tour. We ended up at the Riad- a hotel connected to the tour program. They gave us a great discount since they had changed tours on us.

It was absolutely beautiful! the first thing we did was shower. It had been a few days, and we all smelled rather like camel... When i got out of the shower, i picked up the pile of clothes id left on the floor and a roach fell out. I shook them out very well before i put them away, and then put the rest of my stuff on the table. Oh well.

We had dinner back at stall 114 in the square. The servers remembered us! after our meal, we started talking with them. They taught us how to make mint tea! we hung around until they were starting to close down ( we hadnt gotten there until almost ten, so this wasnt that long) and the servers offered to share their evening meal with us, even though they had already fed us! I was continually amazed at how generous the people in morroco were. I completely lost track of the amount of mint tea i was offered. our friends at 114 talked to us about morrocan politics and travellers theyd met. They all spoke english, though none of them had learned it in school. theyd just picked it up on the job. One guy said itd taken him 12 years to learn! It was remarkable.

went to bed late and exhausted.