Morocco

Wow. In a word, that's the best way to describe Morocco. It was chaotic yet charming, dirty yet gorgeous and scary yet... uh... scary. I knew to expect people trying to sell you stuff left and right. The guidebooks warned against various scams and suggested travelers "go with the flow" because things work a little differently down there. Boy do they.

(That big rock you've heard of... Gibraltar.)

We arrived in Morocco via train to Algeciras (Spain) and ferry to Tangiers. The ferry was supposed to leave at 1 and was supposed to be half an hour long BUT it actually left at 2 and was 2 hours long. The seas were rough and people were puking all around me. You know it's bad when the staff runs around handing out plastic bags. I managed to keep my lunch down just fine but once I heard a guy yakking next to me I had to go outside for fresh air. Ug. Tangiers was just as chaotic as I expected. Within two minutes of departing the ferry Angela and I were accosted by men trying to sell us tours, hotels, taxis and one gentlemen offered me "a boogie boogie" if I came back to his house. Ug again.

Moroccans speak Arabic or French and thankfully Angela is fluent in French. Getting around was a breeze! I just sat back and let her do the talking for the most part. Whenever we were tired of being asked where we were from (a common tactic to get you to talk to a shop owner or "guide") we conveniently forgot all French and English and pretended to be Russian or Swedish, staring at them blankly. Ignoring the aggressive vendors is the only way to get through Morocco with your sanity.

We ran into a couple while looking for a taxi in Tangiers and decided to explore the Medina (old town) with them. It was a guy from the mid-west and his Lithuanian bride. They had been in Tangiers since the morning and had already had their fill of Morocco. She was tired of men clicking at her or whispering in her ear as they walked by and he was tired of being harassed by salesmen. The whole cab ride and tour of the Medina was a trip to Negative-town. Blah blah blah the whole time about the people and everything that was wrong with Tangiers. I could sympathize to a point, but then what are you going to do? You're already in the country and have to make the best of it. Complaining about it is only going to make it worse. (I'll eat these words later, don't worry...) Angela and I were happy to run into another lovely couple when we were sufficiently lost (the Medinas are like mazes with lots of dead-ends). They were Parisian and had just moved to Tangiers a few months before. They offered to give us a tour with their adorable toddler in tow. We were grateful to hear about what they loved about Tangiers. The culture, the people, the history... They showed us around the various streets and markets , when Mr. and Mrs. Negative decided to head home, took us for Moroccan tea. They offered to have us stay with them on our way out of Morocco, too. So nice! We stopped for some couscous "to go" and found that they didn't really have a "to go" option. After a strange look and shrug of the shoulders, the chef wrapped the entire plate of couscous and veggies in paper and plastic for me to take. And charged me for it. Lesson learned.

(Inspecting Angela's "health cookie" that smelled like hay.)

(Specialized meals at the local McDonalds.)

(Tangiers. Well, the pretty part.)

We decided to take the overnight train to Marrakesh and bought tickets for a couchette. Unfortunately, after buying the tickets, we learned the first 2 hours of our ride would be by bus then a 2 hour wait at the train station before picking up our couchette at 2:30 in the morning. Mind you, carrying my heaping dinner plate the whole way. This inconvenience did allow us the opportunity to meet a very sweet 23 year-old who worked at the train station and insisted on keeping us entertained while we waited. He also insisted on joining us in Marrakesh and offered to marry me for my birthday. He didn't mind that I was 10 years his senior. His only request was that I'd convert to Islam.

We arrived in Marrakech 6 hours later and found it to be very different from Tangiers. The air was cleaner and you could see snow covered mountains in the distance. Our Riad (hostel) was right out of a Cost Plus or World Market. It was gorgeous. After winding through the maze of stuccco'd streets you come to a plain and small door. Behind it was a three-storey residence with an atrium in the center and balconies running around the inside. Our room was dripping with Moroccan decorations. There was a rooftop terrace and our first taste of sunshine. It was perfect. (Cats patiently waiting outside the door of our Riad.)

After getting a map of our neighborhood (just a left then a right, right, right, left, right, straight, right, left and straight again to get to the main square) we ventured for some lunch and sightseeing. The main square is what Marrakech is know for. It's full of vendors and entertainers. Like a Pike Place Market on steroids, acid, PCP and crystal meth. It was a little bit intimidating. There are rows and rows of vendors selling everything from potter, leather bags, clothing, shoes to fruit and meat. I don't have pictures of the snake charmers or various performers because they make you pay for them and I got really tired of being asked for money.

One of the loveliest things about Morocco is the food. There are flakey pastries full of nuts and spice-laden meat dishes baked in tajines, clay teepee-looking things. Carrots with cinnamon? Who knew??? I can't say enough about the food. They use so many different spices, it's hard to say what's in anything. I had coffee with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and lavender. I bought a blend of 25 different spices that are common in Moroccan cuisine. In our cooking class I learned that the blends vary from home-to-home and include anywhere from 25 to 72 different spices. Mostly cumin, turmeric, paprika, ginger, pepper and coriander. The meat falls of the bone and the veggies (usually eggplant, carrots and zucchini) are like butter. If you lacked teeth you could easily eat like a king there.

(I snapped this pic at the first restaurant we ate at. Sweet, no? The tower you see on the left has a loudspeaker on it. There are dozens of these throughout town and 5 times a day you'll hear a haunting wail come from them. It's announcing when it's time to pray.)

We stayed two nights in Marrakech. Most of the time we just wandered through the streets and markets. We made the mistake of venturing out of our Riad at 10 pm for some snacks. Of course we were instantly accosted. The whole time in Morocco we were a target, obviously western women. We were hissed at, beckoned to, offered various sexual encounters, appraisals of various body parts were yelled... it was constant. The men also offered to be your guide, even if you knew where you were going. They'd follow in front of you and point to streets you should go down, then demand money for their services. This, despite us saying No no no no no no no repeatedly. That night one guy was particularly insistent in "helping" Angela negotiate the price of oranges and then insisted he lived near us and followed us home. Down the darkest part of the alley he grabbed my arm and rubbed my ass. I spun around and hit him with the bag of oranges and screamed at him not to touch me. After chewing him out he got all pissy like I had offended him. That was the lowest and scariest part of my trip. Western women are treated like property- there are no boundaries. Every other country I've been to, they may yell at you but they'd never grab you. At that moment I was ready to go home. We went back to the hostel and decided our curfew was 9 pm for future nights. The hostel owner put the TV on for us and we watched Halloween H20 for a nice distraction.

The next day we found what looked like a spice market but was actually a "pharmacist". The owner was very nice and gave us the full tour of all the spices and items for sale there. I bought some coffee (with various spices), a vanilla and cinnamon mixture and a special Moroccan seasoning blend. When we told him we were on our way to see about a cooking class he said he was friends with the teacher and hooked us up with reservations for the next day and took us to the location so we'd know how to find it the next day. See, some niceness again! It's all up and down here. The great things are really great and the awful things are really awful.

(Locals and their "wizards" coats.)

(A stork nest in the middle of town!)
On my birthday I went down for breakfast to find chocolates and other treats my travel companion had brought for me. How sweet! One box had an airplane on it and looked like it was a toy. We discovered she had actually bought me food coloring. And lots of it! I'm going to make a yellow velvet cake before I leave. What else could you do with it??

We went to the cooking class and were blown away by the setting. It's at the Maison Arabe, if you decide to go to Marrakesh. I found the class by looking in Trip Advisor for things to do in the city. It was the second highest rated activity. A special birthday treat for me! The class had four other students- a couple from Paris and one from New Zealand. We learned how to make preserved lemons (it takes two months!), all about Moroccan spices and the specialty dishes. Then we cooked. It was the best meal I've ever ever ever made. Delicious. Absolutely wonderful. I'd like it again right now. They served us wine (Oh, by the way, you can't get alcohol anywhere in this Muslim country... we searched and searched and searched. Only hotels seem to have it.) and desert after our meals, pool-side.

(Ok, the henna tattoo. I don't really care for them, nor did I want one, but this woman grabbed me and said she'd just do a little flower for me. For good luck. She seemed nice and was being very sweet. She pulled me to sit at her station (two crates on the ground in the main square) and then proceeded to do this whole hand of crappy flowers. THEN she demanded I pay her 600 Durham for it. That's about 80 dollars. Seriously. I told her I'd give her 140 Durham and she scoffed at me. Then offered to go to the ATM with me so I could get more money out. Hell-to-the-no! Then she looked me up and down and demanded a gift if I wouldn't pay her more. Awful! Chalk that up to another bad experience in Marrakech. Unfortunately, this little reminder is going to last a week!)

(Our teacher, Angela and the nice girl from New Zealand.)

(The hotel and our classroom.)

(My dish! Look at that steam!) (Our class.)

Next stop was Fez. It was a 6 hour train ride through rolling green hills dotted with sheep and cows. This was not the North Africa I was expecting! During our time in Fez it rained heavily. We only had one day so we hired a guide to take us around. We had been told that Fez was magical and I'm assuming when it's not raining it is. It was much cleaner, mellower and quieter then Marrakech. We didn't get harassed at all. I also had bought one of those big sac dresses the locals wear to try to dissuade attention. So, I don't know if this had any bearing on our experience, but our last day in Morocco was much nicer (treatment- and window-shopping-wise) than the rest of our time. The Medina is the largest in the world and one of the oldest neighborhoods. It's winding streets hug both sides of the river than runs through it. More great food and a lot of time spent on the couches of our Riad, waiting out the pouring rain.

(Leather tannery in the heart of the Medina. This place stunk so much they passed out mint leaves as you walked in.)

(A view of Fez from the "south castle".)

(Ruins of the "south castle".)

It took us exactly 24 hours to get home. Our night bus ended up being the morning bus and we missed our ferry and subsequently missed our train back home. I don't know if the delays are scams (so you buy different tickets) or just how things go there. I recommend flying, though. I'm glad I went. It was the experience of a lifetime, meaning, it's the only time in my lifetime I'll probably experience Morocco. Without a private bodyguard, that is. Or, maybe when I'm old and grey and harassment will be at a minimum.