Tea In The Sahara – Morroco

If someone asks me if I enjoyed my trip to Morocco, I will respond: “Morocco was a very interesting place to visit.” And if they persist, and ask me if I plan on returning to Morocco, I will respond: “I saw many interesting things in Morocco.” The reason I will give you for these evasive answers to seemingly simple questions, is that I don’t think I really know. When Ann explained we were going to Morocco with her sister’s family, I was initially concerned about vacationing in a Muslim country during Ramadan. What I should have been concerned about was going anywhere near that part of the world in August. I told Krusty, whose real identity will remain a secret to those out of the loop, Morocco in August is where they send people in hell when they’ve been bad.

This bears explaining, so get comfortable. We touched down in Casablanca where we met Ann’s sister Kate and her entourage, made up of her three boys and one girlfriend (not one of hers, one of the boys’). I realize the whole Kate/girlfriend picture remains vague. Sorry about that. We all climbed onto a much smaller plane to the flight to Fez, whose claim to fame is its medina. The old town constitutes one of the largest urban areas closed to vehicular traffic, which makes perfect sense once you get there. The streets, a generous use of the word in this case, are sometimes no more than a meter across, and usually packed with people. That being said, the occasional scooter does manage to work through the (literally) unwashed masses.

Propane delivered to your door.

We spent the first day doing a guided walking tour of the medina in spite of the heat (40c+), although we had been assured the hot spell was over. I was reminded of the big market in Istanbul. There were countless stalls, and countless people. So many of each that it seemed unlikely we could go more than an hour without losing someone. So we did. The most responsible eldest nephew found a way to go left where we went right and after a few minutes of backtracking through the rat maze, we realized he would not be found quickly. Since he was an experienced traveller and past voting age, we chose to abandon him, knowing full well he had no money and probably no knowledge of our hotel name. 

Just imagine a thousand stalls like this...

While the rest of us sat sipping sweet mint tea in the comfort of a carpet store, our guide put out feelers within the medina. In less time than Ann could complete choosing an overpriced carpet, the lost member of our group was returned to us. We then took in a visit to the local tannery, accessed conveniently through a leather goods shop. If there is a better way to encourage kids to stay in school than watching the locals muck about in dying vats in almost 50c heat, I would like to know what it is.

And it smells as good as it looks.

Still, I am beginning to believe teenagers are generally immune to obvious life lessons. Perhaps, as an employee of the tannery, Perri will be able to get a discount at the leather goods shop. Glass half full? As we strolled through the medina, Ann and I tended to be a bit cavalier about eating the sample fruit at the fruit stands, not to mention the salads at lunch. This strategy proved to be … flawed.

Gate to old Fez

Another gate to old Fez

A quick note about Ramadan, which, when observed in Morocco in summer, makes something like Lent seem pretty simple. These people give up all the basics between sunrise and sunset for a whole month: eating, drinking, smoking, sex. In the heat of summer, the first two items (and possibly the last two, as well) take quite a toll on the local populace toward the end of each day, as witnessed by the occasional street fight around 6 p.m.. The flipside is the big party once the sun goes down. Each night the streets refilled around 8 o’clock with people in a partying mood. The revelry usually continued until well into the morning, all without the benefit of alcohol! We experienced no difficulties (except perhaps guilt) acquiring a midday meal, or water anytime. Our guides were consistent in the message that observers of Ramadan harbor no ill will to those who aren’t observing, although we were discouraged from being too in-your-face about publicly eating and drinking during daylight hours. Sadly, not all tourists seem to have embraced the same philosophy.

The next day we were picked up in a large van, later to be known as the hot box, and carried away over the Atlas mountains to a small town on the edge of the western Sahara. At this point, the first member of our group began to display symptoms of an unnamed malady, which stalked our group throughout the remainder of the trip. Knowing almost nothing about tropical medicine, I would hazard a guess that this predatory illness was a non-lethal mix of new and suspect food, suspect water, and varying degrees of heat stroke. In my case, I lean towards giardia or dysentry, based on how I'm feeling today. The impact on the various individuals in the group wasn't perfectly consistent, although, without going into graphic detail, toilet paper quickly became a commodity of great value.

Not a lot of trees around.

So, after gearing us up like Lawrence of Arabia wannabees, we were unceremoniously deposited upon the backs of a number of ill-tempered and flatulent camels, and led into the desert.

My trusty steed.

I know that doesn’t sound very interesting or fun, but it was. Although I had seen pictures and movies, I remained completely unprepared for the impact of seeing endless dunes of sand, marching off to the horizon. Sadly, it was pretty windy, and the sun had set as we wound or way out to the camp, so my camera was ineffective. Half way to our objective, the equivalent of the Ramadan horn blew, signaling the end of the fast. Our guides immediately dropped to the ground and began chugging water. At this point I realized:”Wow! These guys have just gone 14 hours without water in this unbelievable heat. And this is day 23 with 6 more to go.” I’m not sure I could do it.

So we arrived at camp where I must have missed the orientation because I had no idea where we were going to sleep, or whether dinner was on the way, or when we planned on leaving the next day. After about an hour of standing around in the dark, listening to the orchestra of farting from our ‘ships of the desert’, the guides emerged from their dinner tent in a very good mood. Soon we were enjoying our own dinners while being entertained by our guides’ personal song stylings. Curiously, I didn’t seem to have an appetite although it had been some time since our last meal. Probably nothing to worry about.

In the wee hours of the morning, I was able to enjoy a meteor shower while praying for the quick departure of a large and angry bobcat from my bowels. At least that’s what it felt like (again, I’m no medical professional). If I were to pick a specific moment where this particular trip turned a corner, I would have to say this was it. The next morning I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, foolishly thinking that silly bobcat had moved on rather than depositing a litter, as it were, before leaving. Dawn over the desert was an emotional moment for all of us as our worthless lives were quickly brought into the proper perspective. Fortunately, the previous night had taught me patience and humility, so I was able to face the rising sun without any pretensions.

Dawn 

Perri's cousin contemplating his place in the world.

Nice to visit, but...

Choo Choo!

The temperature rose as quickly as the sun so we were off to town on our four-footed methane producers and a nice breakfast. Curiously, I was still not hungry. Probably nothing to worry about, although the next twenty-four hours were a bit hazy for me. I have a strong recollection of it being really hot, and then stopping a few times. There was one stop for lunch, where I was more than not hungry. We stopped somewhere later in a pretty nice hotel and I didn’t have supper. It had a pool, I’m pretty sure. The next morning I was feeling much better, although the rest of the trip remained a study in inner strength and concentration.

The nephew's skateboard proved to be a hit.

Many long and circuitous miles later, we found ourselves in Marrekech, but not before seeing the aftermath of at least three major accidents. Seatbelts on everyone! The conditions were such that the interior temperature of the van was 37c with full air-conditioning. Our guide suggested the exterior temperature had exceeded 50c. The oases we saw along the way were such a contrast to the sandy backdrop of the desert, I kept expecting to see golf courses.

Is this the par 3 or the par 4?

Combining heat with the wiggly nature of the road, and the one member of our group immune from the bowel monster was also feeling a bit off. As for the rest of us: no comment.

Marrekech seemed much more contemporary than any other place we’d visited so far. Even the medina was less… medieval than Fez. The quality of the genuine handmade goods had a ‘made in China’ look and feel and it was clear the tourists were expected and welcome.  The highlight was the main square in the old city, after dark, where it took on a carnival atmosphere. We saw snake-charmers and jugglers and belly dancers.

Is that a cobra?

It was there where I’m almost certain a local man made me some kind of offer for Perri. Sadly, my Arabic and French weren’t up to snuff to close the deal.

While in both Fez and Marrekesh, we stayed at hotels converted from old family homes, known as riads. The riads are very cool places to stay but are often very difficult to find without some local assistance. Additionally, you can’t get anywhere close to these places with a car, so some toting of luggage may be required. In Essouari, there is an entire industry around hauling tourist bags around the old town with modified wheel-barrows. On the bright side, you get an opportunity to be truly immersed in the local culture.

Essaouira is a coastal town where the Moroccans go to escape the heat and we joined them for the last two days of our adventure. Along the way we passed a grove of argan trees. The nut produces argan oil, a much-valued product, and the leaves are a favourite of goats. So much so that the goats have been known climb up into the trees for a snack.

Those birds look funny.

The town is on a fishing port and is one tic further along the touristy spectrum. We enjoyed the moderate temperatures (high 20’s) and wandered the streets looking for knick-knacks. Perri was able to acquire a henna tattoo (at least, I hope it’s henna).

Still smells better than the Fez tannery.

We finally arrived in Paris where we stayed the night and had almost a full day to amuse ourselves before catching the high-speed train back to Bordeaux. Like anyone who finds a free day in Paris on a hot day, we went to an English movie (air-conditioned, of course) and had Vietnamese food, followed by a bike ride along the Seine and a spot of ice cream.

Where can a guy get a good meal?

Morocco: great people, occasionally good food (if it doesn't kill you), and killer weather.