Morocco

2.03.09

Left early in the morning with the SAS trip to Marrakech. We left through Casablanca and got a nice preview of the city. Three and a half hour bus ride. The country side is rather beautiful. Just outside the city of Marrakech, we stopped at the Majorelle Gardens, a nice little plant conservatory with many of the indigenous plants of Morocco. Mostly cacti. Not too terribly exciting, but still beautiful.



We then proceeded into the city, which was not as terribly big as Casablanca, or as developed, but still attractive.

Visited an old palace, as well:



We ended up going to the main market square in the Souks (marketplace). We had lunch which was delicious. Lamb. Cooked with figs. It was sweet, succulent, and all around delish! A great first meal in Morocco. After lunch we walked around the square, where snake charmers, monkey sellers, and gypsies tried to get you to pay them for pictures.





From there we were led through the Souks, a plethora of little shops all trying to reel in costumers to buy robes, teapots, lamps, hats, clothes, and more items than one can shake a stick at (they sold sticks too). There was a wide array of colors, all attempting to capture your attention, if for only a moment.




After a bit of free time, we bused to our hotel (a pleasant inn smashed in the downtown area of Marrakech), walked around a bit, and purchased some snacks at supermarket.

Later that night, we drove off to Chez Ali, for a "horse fantasia", as it is called. We enjoyed a lovely dinner of couscous, meatballs and egg, and the most saccharine oranges I have ever tasted. I had two of these oversized, sugary oranges. After dinner there was a show, which wasn't as excited as one would hope. A few horse tricks, some marching, and fire. A few of us went back to sit down at our tables and were offered mint tea, the unofficial drink of Morocco. I thought the oranges were good. This tea was simply astounding.

We then retired for the night, warned of having to be up and ready by 8:00 the following morning.

2.04.09

After a quick breakfast (with amazing orange juice), we took to the High Atlas Mountains. There we visited a few homes of the Berbers. We saw a home with it's own hydro-powered mill. One household gave us a tour and then sat us down for bread and more mint tea. YUM! From there we returned to the market for lunch and free time to prowl the Souks. We bartered like crazy on bags, jalabas (robe-like coats that all the natives wore), teapots, and other things. We did pretty well lowering the staggering prices of the much more learned shop owners.

After our time in the Souks, we came back to the bus and drove back to Casablanca, where we retired to the ship for the night.



2.05.09

In the morning, we left the ship, walked half an hour to get out of the port into Casablanca, and skipped over to the third largest mosque in the world, the Hassan Mosque.

Practically a skyscraper, the Hassan Mosque is huge. It acted as a wonderful guide, since it was so easy to spot in the distance. Upon reaching the mosque I looked off in the distance and said, "My. It seems a storm is brewing." No more than five minutes later, it began to rain. And the wind began to blow. And before we knew it, we were being drenched and pushed back. Attempting to fight the storm as a futile effort, and a few times I found myself moving backwards.

Once we made it into the mosque, we jumped in a tour. Stepping into the interior I was caught off guard. It was large, dark, and highly decorated. Intricate designs flooded the walls, the ceilings, the floors, and even the chandeliers (which, might I add, descend with a remote). Our tour guide talked about the history, how there were eggs in just about everything, and that the ceiling opened up to the sky. Nearly the entire ceiling. It was simply breathtaking.

From there, we traveled to the Souks of Casablanca. Unfortunately, they were not as exciting as the Souks in Marrakech. Casablanca's Souks were much more developed, and there seemed to be less. But it was still a good time. It was raining again.

And then we got lunch. And, of course, it was awesome. I got Lamb Tagine. Not as sweet as the first lamb I had, but just as succulent. Hmm! So good. And the mint tea was great, of course. Moroccan food is so far at the top of my list of best foods of the trip. We'll see where it ends up after India, Thailand, and China.

After lunch, we returned to the Souks to rid ourselves of our few Dirhams left. It rained... again. And with that, our time in Morocco was just about over. A few of us quickly ran to the supermarket by taxi and returned to the ship by taxi (turning the originally 30+ min walk into a five minute drive). It took a few taxis, though. Because I'm no good at attempting to quickly sketch out a ship on a scrap piece of paper and with a non-working pen in order to explain to the French speaking driver where we needed to go. Luckily, the next driver spoke some English.

And so ends up trip to our second destination.

(P.S. Pictures will be uploaded later. I'm on the ship. Internet is limited. Can't upload photos.)

Ship life update:

2.06.09 - 2.08.09

Classes. Bleh. Ocean. Bleh. Stopped in Dakar, Senegal to refuel. We were not permitted to leave the ship. Still got some good pictures.

Tomorrow we cross the equator and celebrate Neptune Day. My hair shall finally be gone!

Hussain and my roommate Zach have a slap bet regarding the number of female student that will be shaving their heads tomorrow. The winner gets to slap the loser. Good times.