Morocco (Spring 2009)

Unlike my usual travels, this trip came with little to no planning. To be honest, it wasn’t even my idea (although I wish I could take credit for it). It was really just a nice excuse to meet up with an old friend, Amanda, and to accompany her on a mission to see Morocco and find some down time out in the desert. Although I did have guidebook (do libraries know you’re taking their books halfway around the world?), my main impression before arriving was of hot, old cities full of markets and tourists. Thankfully there were far fewer tourists than I expected, and those old cities and markets don’t seem to have changed for centuries.

We started our adventure in Fes, known for its medina, and old medieval walled in section of the city. Some locals claim there are 9,000 streets there, and after wandering around and getting lost almost immediately, I believe it. The great thing was that it was walled in so eventually you had to find some sort of border. Realistically though, we only saw the smallest fraction of the medina. The entire area is massive, and since we were probably just walking in circles anyway, it seemed to never end. Several times we passed by very low alleyways (more like tunnels), which I eventually realized were to prevent horses or donkeys from passing through. We soon learned that donkeys coming down these narrow alleyways were actually not that uncommon. There is also a new modern part of the city which we saw from a bus window and which seemed like a whole other world and time. The medina may have some sort of logical organization but good luck figuring it out. The main thing I found were areas that specialized in one sort of handcraft, like the leather tanneries or the brass works. Just by walking around you could hear and see the people busy at work inside their workshops/houses. As a foreigner, everyone was happy to show you their work, especially the final products. You wouldn’t believe how many people were dying to take you up to their roof and show you the tanneries below. Of course after witnessing an industry (and smell) that hasn’t changed for a thousand years, they guided you back through the building that just happened to be a co-op selling leather goods at “the very best prices.” The view from above was pretty cool and to counteract the smell they give you fresh mint to hold under your nose.

We soon found another use for the mint, which was the amazing tea served there. It was a simple combination of green tea, sugar, and half a cup full of fresh mint leaves. I can’t begin to describe how good it was. Realizing that alcohol was hard to come by here, the fresh mint tea made a very good substitute for unwinding and watching the world go by. Officially, street guides are not allowed in the medina but tell that to everyone and their brother. After wandering around the medina looking for a hotel while chasing off the boys who happily agreed to show us places, we finally gave up and followed them to a house. For about the same that we would have paid for a hotel room, we got to stay in a family’s house, which was basically five levels stacked on each other with this little narrow staircase in the middle. Our room was impressive, and looked like it was out of The Arabian Nights or something. Now if only a mosquito net was part of the décor!

Anyway, we were on a mission so signed up for a camel trek out near Merzouga, a town on the edge of the Sahara. The whole thing was arranged through some guy the family apparently knew but looking back that seems like a stretch. Basically everyone claimed to have family in Merzouga. It was a long overnight bus ride, but after arriving we realized we had the hotel to ourselves, and the whole day to sleep in since it was too hot to travel. We left later that afternoon and traveling through the desert by camel felt surreal. The only downside was sitting on an actual camel. You don’t think about it until you’re actually on one and realize it’s not the most comfortable ride in the world (there is a hump there after all). Thankfully we only had to travel a couple hours before we reached an oasis of trees, nomad tents, and other travelers. Our accommodations were simple but perfect and consisted of a traditional Berber tent (which basically meant it was a bunch of old blankets tied around a pole) and a hotpot full of veggies and chicken. To stop our camels from wandering away in the night, our guide simply tied one of their front legs in half at the joint. We wandered out into the desert that night to check out the stars while the locals pounded away at their drums, whose sound seemed to travel on forever.

The next day we were determined to climb the huge sand dune next to the oasis but it was one of those moments that felt like we were almost there when in reality we weren’t even close. I’ve heard the key to walking in the desert is walk along the ridges. In truth, there is no easy way to walk in the desert. You also have to think about what makes a dune…sand and wind. Definitely not a good a combination if you wear contact lenses. Didn’t make it to the top but definitely got high enough to look all around and even see Algeria off in the distance. Took the camels to a nomad village, population 8, to wait out the day heat. Turns out there were only 2 people in the village that day so we spent most of our time napping in a little mud shack while fighting off the flies, which nearly drove us insane. Headed back to the hotel and spent the next day traveling back over the Atlas Mountains towards Fes. It was nice to see all the scenery that we missed on the original night trip, and we ended up stopping in the mountain village of Azrou for the night. It seemed like a little European town with a great atmosphere. We also found ourselves shocked to see some women walking around with no headdress on. Had a nice day looking around town before heading back to Fes and a crazy day of medina wandering and souvenir shopping.

Morocco turned out to be a big surprise even though I had done little research. Like many places, the people here came in extremes. On one end you had those who thought of nothing but money and made sure you knew it. At the other extreme you had the vast majority who were the most generous people you’ve ever met and would go out of their way to show you places or help you out. We even had one man offer us money on the bus thinking we didn’t have any! The other big surprise was the scarcity of English in Morocco. In most other countries I’ve found there’s a local language, and then the basic English used for the foreigners. Apparently Morocco is an exception. When dealing with foreigners, French is the language of choice. My French is terrible at best, but thankfully the people understood my pathetic attempts along with my made up sign language. If I had known, I would have brought a French phrasebook along with my guidebook. Oh well, I’m sure the library was happy to get their book back in one piece and maybe next time I’ll actually do a little research beforehand.