Salam Alikum, from Morocco!

 

We departed Spain and traveled slowly across the mouth of the Mediterranean to Casablanca, Morocco. We had BIG plans here! Our adventure group was comprised of 7 non-students, all from Charlottesville, and 5 students heading for some trekking in the Atlas Mountains- Yippee! Our trip was small since there were 99 students heading to the Sahara to ride camels. We had been looking forward to some non-city hiking for some time. As soon as we cleared the ship, we met our guide, Feta, and headed to the train station for our trip to Marrakesh. Even after stopping at the ATM on the way to the train station, we were too early for the 1 PM train, so we headed for a café across the street for some water and to pick through our boxed lunch, while we waited. Boxed lunches from the ship have a very bad reputation. They consist of a small chicken leg, a hard boiled egg, a scary sandwich with fluorescent pink meat, a Capri juice bag, an apple and Kashi bar- so we usually only eat the last two items. Since we were traveling with young people, however, they will eat most anything, so there was a lot of trading, even to other SAS students at adjoining tables. Iva was very pleased that our guide allowed her to feed two cats the chicken legs, for which the Moroccan kitties were very grateful.

At our pre-port talk, an hour long presentation prior to every new port, the presenters stressed wearing a lot more clothing in Morocco than the students had been wearing in Europe, despite the warmer temperatures. Covering the shoulders and knees was considered minimal standards. In addition to the concern for offending the Muslims in this country, longer clothing was also a key part of trying to avoid malaria. Wearing long pants and shirts was not as difficult for our group, as we were hiking in dry conditions, trying to escape sunburn, mosquitoes, and upsetting the villagers.

We boarded the train in two first class compartments to begin the 3 hour ride to Marrakesh. We had great hopes of arriving in time to visit the incredible market, prior to our dinner reservation at a local restaurant complete with belly dancing. As apparently happens in Morocco, the train must stop at times to wait for the oncoming train- and it can take some time. Our 3 hour ride ended up lasting 5 hours! We stopped 3 times and watched locals working on a house, another group hauling brush with their donkey cart, and another spot where the police were interrogating someone by shouting. It was entertaining, but it dwindled our shopping time. The scenery for most of the ride was very dry, with coconut trees, lemon and lime trees, and lovely bougainvillea, oleander, and other tropical plants.



Marrakesh train station

 Once we arrived, we walked across the street to our hotel, checked in, receiving mint tea in the process. We found our rooms and then immediately headed in 3 taxis to the Marrakesh market for the sights and sound before our 8 PM dinner.

The place was as colorful, loud, and incredible as you would imagine- lots of music, stands with fresh oranges, lemons and limes for fresh squeezed juices, many stands of nuts, grilled food that smelled amazing and some food that looked as if we didn’t want to know what part of what animal it came from. We did see brains waiting to be grilled, so then Iva stopped looking. We proceeded to the stores with leather goods, brass and silver, shoes, clothing, and souvenirs. We had been advised that the Moroccan merchants were disgusted if they did not have to bargain- so we tried. Some of us were better at it than others. One student ended up spending too much after the merchant saw how much money she had. Most of us saw minor savings, but Iva noticed better deals for the young women on our trip! Iva had been planning on purchasing a small rug when we went to the Berber Villages (makers of the famous Berber rugs) and mentioned this to our guide. He said that we would not be going into villages that made rugs to be sold and that we should look in Marrakesh. Despite our desire to pay the rug maker directly, Iva decided to take a quick look at a rug merchant to get a sense of prices and styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Dan Ralston knows better than anyone, it takes Iva a long time to make a decision about these things, and she always defers to him to do the tough negotiations. Iva hates that part! While just making a quick assessment of the inventory, as we only had about 10 minutes before we needed to head to dinner, Iva was quickly caught up in looking a rugs, as the merchant had 3 boys pulling them out as fast as you say you don’t like the size, shape or color. They do not choose to hear, Iva was "just looking", as they pull out anything they think might be to your liking. Bill rolled his eyes, walked out, and went to find a gift for Sharon, knowing he wanted no part of this process. Since Iva had gotten small rugs in Peru and Nepal in the past, Morocco seemed to be the best place for such a purchase on this voyage. It was her quickest sale on record, because we were headed to dinner, but the price was cut two thirds in the end. Who knows if it’s a good deal, but Iva will be showing off her Moroccan rug to you all in 2014! It was a special treat that they rolled and wrapped it up, sewing the wrapping with a large needle, and then delivered it to our hotel for free! Iva was skeptical that it would all come together, but it did. So for the rest of the weekend, the rug was hauled in the luggage, in a large purple duffle Dan had brought back from Nepal. As Bill and Iva carried the duffle the rest of the weekend, it did resemble a body bag, but the donkeys carried it during the days while we hiked.

After the BIG purchase, off we walked to the restaurant. We were famished, since we had not really eaten much except snacks since breakfast and it was after 8 PM. Our meal consisted of a local favorite. Tajine consists of cous cous, chicken and vegetables. It was amazing! We would be eating this frequently in the next 3 days and it was always tasty. While we enjoyed our meal, Moroccan musicians played, dancers pranced, one woman danced with a platter of lit candles on her head, and finally the belly dancer gyrated. It was a touristy restaurant, in terms of food and entertainment, with large groups at all the tables. But it was opulent, amusing, and the food delicious.






We departed for our hotel and a good nights sleep before heading to the mountains the next day.

 

After a terrific breakfast with local honey, homemade breads and pancakes, eggs, and fresh juices, we loaded into our 15 passenger van and headed toward the Atlas Mountains. We stopped at a roadside stand and bought pomegranates just picked from the trees.

These we ate during the trek. After about an hour of driving, we met our hiking guide, Hassan, and the lucky donkeys who would carry our luggage. At the start of the hike, mountains seemed far off, but we proceeded past mud huts and barns, fields of sheep and goats, and past villages on our way to the village where we would stay for the first night. Of course, as hiking veterans (and the oldest in the group!), Bill and I were the only ones with trekking poles, but our group seemed hearty and young enough to make the first days 6 miles.

 

 

 

Hassan led the group and Feta walked sweep, with another man named Ash (who turned out to be the Atlas Mtn. tour director and had attended Central Florida University). While we were all still getting to know each other, we walked and talked and asked our wonderful Muslim guides all about their people, religion, politics, food, water supply and rainfall, languages, education- whatever we liked. They were very frank and the conversation flowed without offense, as we asked our questions trying hard to be culturally sensitive. Some of the female students rode the donkeys for a while- just to say they had.



After we walked for about an hour, we stopped and ate the nice lunch that they had provided us- much better than the ship’s food! The donkeys also carried cases of bottled water for us, since no water we would encounter in Morocco was forecasted to be safe for our pristine American systems. We were warned to not even brush our teeth in the water. In addition, any food that could not be peeled or boiled, we were advised not to eat. Just rinsing vegetables in the local water could be enough to make us sick. While we hiked throughout the weekend, we would hear the call to prayer reverberating across the valleys. Since a minaret exists in every village, all spaces could hear the call five times daily, beginning at 6 AM. Our guides said that they tried to make it to at least 2 prayers in a mosque a day, but that it was also acceptable to pray where you were at the time of the call- you just earned fewer points.

 

Land tortoise at top

So after our leisurely lunch in an olive grove, we continued our hike until we arrived at the first Berber village where we would stay for the night. It was only 2:30 PM, and we had only been hiking for about 3 hours. Our accommodations were quite nice- we had our own separate building, with a courtyard in the center and a roof top terrace. This guest house had mattresses on the floors with blankets in four separate rooms and a sitting area with cushions, in addition to the courtyard where we ate meals on plastic tables and chairs. The bathroom included a squat toilet, the first one for several of our hikers. While the toilet paper was refreshingly available, we had to be very careful not to rinse our toothbrushes or drink any of the tap water. It was very spacious and the 12 of us had the entire place to ourselves.

As it was still early, some of us wandered around the village, and some around the house where we stayed, visiting the cows, turkeys, chickens, and goats, as well as the small children. After a time, Iva wanted more exercise, so she headed out with Jason and Stephan to see the view from the distant hillside. Bill was going to join, but preferred to avoid the steep descent straight down the drainage ravine that we took as our route. At the bottom of the hillside we walked up the steep hillside, looking back at the orchards and houses of the small village. As we crested the hillside, anticipating a grand view, we were met with a hard top road. Very disappointing, when we hoped we were in more remote territory. The view was still awesome toward the Atlas Mountains with the orchards of olives at their base. Soon a few trucks rattled through with building supplies as we walked the road toward the mountains. We approached some road intersections and then out of no where, there was Bill! He had come to save us from getting lost and certain starvation. We were happy to see him and we all headed back toward the village and our house for the night. As we could hear sheep and goats in the bushes beside us, we followed one of the paths into the underbrush. Many farmers take their flocks out for the day to graze. We happened upon a Berber sheep farmer and Stephan worked to communicate with him through gestures. We admired his flock and smiled and eventually allowed us to take a picture of us with him. Photos are not allowed by most Moroccans, so we had to ask permission before taking any. It was shocking when he pulled out his cell phone, and we knew we were not as far from civilization as it looked. We wound our way back to the house on the dirt streets.

 

While we were out walking, others had discovered the hamim, which was a hot room, with water heated by a fire. It was a large tile room where the men and women would alternate bathing with the hot water and a bucket of cold water. Since we had not anticipated any baths, this was a real treat and we all took turns using it in groups. Afterward all the women and Stephan received a henna tattoo from one of the caretaker’s daughters while we waited for dinner.























As we waited, the men and some children played drums, created sounds from whatever reverberant article they could find, usually a discarded plastic container or bucket. Then the dancing started, with the Berbers demonstrating some dance steps and pulling all of us up to join them.

















 This went on for some time, as our hunger grew. Dinner was a big spread of tanjine, bread, with apples, grapes and pomegranates for dessert. In addition, Moroccan mint tea was poured. We felt very satisfied after our first day of trekking.

Most folks chose to sleep on the roof to see the stars, but we did not since there were street lights. Morocco has had a rapid growth in its electrical infrastructure, with electricity and satellite TV service reaching most villages in the last 5 years. Many villagers still do not have indoor water or sewer, but they do have rudimentary electrical service. In addition, we had been advised not to eat anything that hadn’t been boiled or peeled (like a banana, cucumber, or apple could be) to prevent GI distress. We carried hand sanitizer and toilet paper with us at all times, and drank the bottled water provided.

We woke the next morning to have breakfast at 8 AM. This was Moroccan pancakes, fruit, honey, and tea. We set off for our days hike, after the donkeys had been loaded up with our overnight bags and the locals had a group picture taken with us.

 

 This day we were going 10 miles, which was preferable for us. We again walked around fields and down drainage ditches, arriving at a village school.

The children ran down the hills to see us. We had been provided with toothbrushes from a group called Global Grins, which we were to distribute to children in the various countries as we traveled. These kids were so excited to be handed a toothbrush! It felt great to provide some pleasure with something so simple.

On we hiked toward lunch, winding our way through a village and then through some national park land. The trail was mainly a wide dirt road, which made for easy walking. We had nice views of sheep herds and distant villages, dry fields waiting to be planted as the rainy season approaches.

 




Plaster making ovens at lower right

Lunch this day was magical. The donkeys and some of the Berber men had taken a short cut and arrived before us at a wonderful peaceful pine woods beside the trail where all you heard was the occasional herd of sheep or goats coming through.

















There was a large nylon rug laid out for us to sit on and eat lunch, and it was another terrific spread, except that it included cat food (fish) which Iva skipped. We enjoyed more cous cous and vegetables, tea and pomegranates, sharing the leftover fruit with the donkeys. After lunch, we were told we could enjoy a Berber nap! What’s not to love about a nap in the shade after a delicious lunch during the hot part of the day prior to more hiking! YAY! So we all stretched out on our big rug for about an hour, and rested in the shade. When we roused and headed to the bushes to powder our noses, a big herd of cute goats came through. Precious! We gathered our daypacks and headed out, with just a short time and distance to our next Berber village.

This house was much more simple, and we were staying in the same house with a family. They had no indoor plumbing, but carried water from a nearby spigot. We had a squat toilet and the hamim shower, though much smaller, darker, and less clean. There were several small children running around, and a very sick cat which was upsetting to Iva. So with that, we headed out to walk around the village and see the rest of it. This village was much larger and had LOTS of children. Unfortunately here, all the people did not want their pictures taken, so we have nothing to show of the villagers. We headed toward the school, which had just gotten out, and distributed more toothbrushes to hordes of enthusiastic children. All the boys followed Stephan as he ran up past the school to higher grounds, while Bill, our guide and the women walked with the girls toward the schoolyard. We should mention that Morocco is very male dominated, and when it came time to distribute toothbrushes, our guide turned to Bill for that honor. Being the gentleman he is, he turned the process over to our trip leader, Sara. While our guide was not thrilled with that, he smiled and nodded. The little girls hung on all the women, wanted to be carried, admired all jewelry, and loved to play. We had several women on the trip who love children and they led them in dancing, singing, skipping, and lots of laughter. The Berber children now know how to do the hokey pokey and play duck, duck, goose, and red light green light. I doubt these kids return to the school yard after their days there, but they had a great time this day.

In addition, Bill got to be a country doctor, as a woman from an adjoining village came over with an infected cut on her finger. So she followed us back to our village hotel and Bill pulled out his antiseptic wipes and Neosporin. He cleaned the cut for her, put on Neosporin and covered it with a band-aid, then gave her the rest of the antibiotic ointment to keep. He also had been sharing his ibuprofen (which they can't get in Morocco) with our guide, Feta, who has been suffering with plantar fasciaitis. So Dr Bill was providing health and relief from suffering all over the Atlas Mountains. We had another delicious, and well presented meal and retired early.

Our final hike out was earlier and short, as we were just heading for the bus which would return us to Marrakesh. So after more local honey, homemade bread and tea, we headed out of town past the school. The flowers along the way continued to be beautiful and we looked down onto gardens planted beside the streams as we hiked from above. Arriving at the bus, we said good-bye to our donkey friends and tipped our guides. We headed back to town, and one more amazing meal.

Hassan on right, Ash third from right, Feta sixth from right

Lunch was at a new organic restaurant that Feta’s friends had recently opened and it was AMAZING! It was like an oasis at the end of a long dusty road. Lush green gardens, a covered tent for us to eat in, and quick service made this an enjoyable experience. We were served banana milk, fresh tomatoes and greens and organic beef and cous cous. We had to eat quickly so as to make our afternoon return train to Casablanca, but we thoroughly enjoyed our final Moroccan meal.

That said, within 2 days, all but 2 of our Berber villages buddies had joined a large number of the Sahara Camel trekkers, and many other field trips which were struck with the Morrocan trots, about 150 total! It was worst than when a field trip stopped at a Pizza Hut in India on the way back to the ship a few years ago.  There was such a large number of ill students that some were quarantined until their conditions improved. While we were not quarantined, Bill was not a happy camper and had to resort to Cipro to relieve his symptoms. Iva recovered a bit faster.  Many students missed days of classes, and the trips to Morocco took its toll on the shipboard health. No one is quite sure how we all got so sick, as we all drank bottled water. The medical team feels it was from rinsing toothbrushes in the local water, but it could perhaps have been the water from rinsing the delicious vegetables on our final day. It took almost a week for no new cases of illness to arise and for all to return to health. We will be VERY careful what we eat in Ghana, our next stop!

This was a special trip for us since the group really bonded. Students were very patient in teaching us their slang and explaining their 20 something thinking. While Bill, Jeannie Siler and I were the only ones in our 50s on the trip, everyone had a terrific time in the stark, lovely Atlas Mountains, and we were so glad to get out for a trek. Providing the toothbrush gifts was also a high point. These villagers seemed quite content with their lives, unaware of all the tangible things they are missing, that would just make them miserable. But technology is on its way, as their current regime is promoting technology and education for all children, even the girls! Our oldest guide, Feta, was concerned that the focus on education will remove much of the future workforce. Our only regret was not having more time to shop in the crazy Marrakech market.

  

 

 

Marrakesh camels