Thursday, April 25, 2013

Morocco!

Well, it's here. Our last port. Bittersweet for sure. I'm still so ready to get home to what I've been referring to as the "f's": family, friends, and Fletcher but still loving every moment of this adventure. So, speaking of adventures, onto Morocco!

Morocco was beautiful! The first day I was on duty and spent the day packing and cleaning and figuring out my life (BORING!). On day two, I went to Marrakesh on an SAS trip with Craig, which was very fun. In Morocco, they speak French and I was thankful for a language that I could recognize, read, and sounded familiar. My conversation attempts didn't extend much past "bonjour" (hello), "pardon" (excuse me), "s'il vous plait" (please), and "merci beaucoup" (thank you very much). I also obnoxiously said "tres bon" (very good) at everything I saw HAHAHA.

Okay, back to Marakesh, all the buildings are the same color – a pinkish clay color. It was very pretty. We went to the Jardin Majorelle which was created when a guy (Jacques Majorelle) who lived in Marrakesh traveled the world and would bring back plants from everywhere he went! It was very pretty. There were a lot of cacti, trees, and some pretty flowers. Yves Saint Laurent has a memorial in there where his ashes were spread. We had a good time in the garden, getting lost from the group and attempting to keep ourselves busy for the long amount of time we were given (I could do it with birds or flowers EASILY but not trees). ;) 

 

We then walked through the Medina (town). There were donkeys and mules everywhere. Most of the townspeople use them to transport their goods or construction materials. In the Medina, we visited a school that was built in the 16th century. I couldn’t believe how cool (temperature-ly) it was inside there. Somehow, back then, they were able to know what kind of stones to use, and what kind of construction would allow a “natural air conditioning”. It was also so beautiful because it was so ornate! The wood and plaster work was all beautiful and all done by hand. When we were walking through town we saw the carpenters using the same techniques their ancestors used. Just chiseling away piece by piece. The talent was insane! Everything is done by hand the same way their ancestors did it. We ended our tour at a large square that was full of shops and cafes. There were entertainers everywhere – snake charmers, monkeys that would sit on your for photos, and people doing beautiful henna art on hands and arms. It was very crowded but a lot of fun.The snake charmer tried to charge me ridiculous moneys for taking a picture of the snake... I told him that there was no way I was paying to take a picture and that he could watch me delete it! Sorry buddy, I took two! ;) (Don't worry, I'm not totally unmoral - people were paying left and right but $5 for a zoomed in photo from far away! If the snake was on my neck I would've done it but this was crazy!) We shopped a little in the square, but I have to tell you friends, after Vietnam, Myanmar, Ghana... this girl is over bargaining! I am ready to buy things with fixed prices!!! LOL I wanted to shop/bargain so little I didn't even get postcards (or my magnet from Morocco which I've gotten in EVERY other port). I was so over shopping - not that I did a lot of it on the trip. I cannot believe how much money I saved in comparison to home - I have it backwards! When I get back I'm going to save at home and splurge on travel! ;)

Day 3, we went to Fez. Fez was by far one of my favorite places I’ve seen on this voyage. I would put it second. South Africa, Fez, then Vietnam. Favorite places, no questions asked, hands down. There are three parts to Fez (Old, Middle, and New). The New was built in the 20th century, the middle in the 16th, and the old… well the old was built a REALLY long time ago! We spent most of our time in Old Fez. I kept picturing Aladdin when he steals the apple and is running from the police. The roads were windy, you never knew what was around the next corner, people were everywhere, and if you looked above there was also stuff everywhere! It was very cool. I didn't see Aladdin though. There are no cars are allowed in old Fez, so there were horses, donkeys, mules, and motorbikes everywhere. It was so alive with smells and sounds! I have never seen anything like it! (But don't try to go without a guide! You might never find your way out :))

Our first stop was at a silk shop. After almost crawling through the tiny/alleyway/crawlspace of a doorway - we arrived at a family business (in Fez, everything is a family business). We talked to the grandson, who was a college graduate with a degree in business management. His father, and grandfather were both working on the fabrics. They make the most beautiful scarves and blankets out of vegetable silk, cotton, and wool. The colors are dyed naturally with spices. They were making all the blankets on huge spindles right in front of us. I got a blanket for my bed.. it's orange and purple (my kryptonite.. SASers even started saying "but it's your color pallet" GO TIGERS!). Anyway, it's beautiful and I'll take a photo when I get home! 

After the silk place we walked through the market and stopped to look at wedding attire. The dresses were vibrant colors with gorgeous embroidery on the front. The grooms buy shoes and belt to match the brides embroidery from her dress. There were giant “bridal seats” where the bride and/or groom are carried into a wedding. It was all very lavish.

 

We wandered some more through the medina and stopped at a school that was built in the 6th century! THE SIXTH CENTURY!!! That's insane to me since our "old" stuff is like 17th century old. The school was very detailed and pretty with tile, plaster, and wood work. Much like the other one but way older! (To my housing friends, I wanted to take a picture of those "dorms" to show our students when they complain! Talk about living in a closet.)

 

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My favorite photo of Fez… mostly thanks to the man sleeping in his wheelbarrow!

We then went to the tannery to see how leather is made. They gave us mint leaves at the door in case we were bothered by the smell of the leather. (eww) We were above it (thankfully) and were able to look down on huge colorful vats. Each color was for a different kind of leather - camel, cow, I forget the rest... Want to know a secret that shocked me? They use pigeon poop to make leather!!! UGH! Something about the acid in it – I don’t even know! I was shocked. But they put it in the water to treat it. I wasn't listening after that... I just kept looking at people mouthing "PIGEON POOP?!". The man said a lot of people keep pigeons at home as pets and sell him the poop on Fridays (remember all those bird cage pics I took earlier?)! Can you imagine? The leather was beautiful though so whatever they are doing is working! But sadly too expensive for me to buy... I already told you I'm over haggling but I am REALLY over haggling when you quote me 4x what you offer me as I'm about to walk out the door (guess what, there is no way you would sell it if you were losing a profit right? So now I know you were royally trying to rip me off and I won't buy for you! The end.).

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Our last stop was at a ceramics place, where again, EVERYTHING is done by hand. It was beautiful! So many colors. We got to watch each step of how they made the ceramics, and some of the students took a try. They even got into the huge pot of clay that was in the ground where they mash it up with their feet to try it out! Disgusting. We watched them paint, and make tiles, and set those huge tables. It was awesome. I cannot believe the talent that these people have that they can chisel out tiny designs from big tiles with big hammers. Very authentic. 

 

After we left there, we went to the ruins of the castle and an overlook of the city to take a million photos.

We spent out last day in Casablanca. Not too much to do there besides shop, so we went to the Medina and the mall (yay fixed prices!) - who knew the mall was filled with Gucci and Louis Vuitton (not the fixed prices for my wallet!). We almost went to a movie but couldn't guarantee that they were in English so we took a taxi to the town to see what was going on there. On the way in the taxi, we passed the one and only thing I wanted to see in Casablanca! The Hassan II Mosque was beautiful. I wish I could've explored it up close.

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The food in Morocco was good. Most meals had couscous with meat, fruit, bread, and mint tea (which was so good!). On the last day we ate at McDonald’s in the mall – sometimes it helps when you are homesick! I got a McFondu which was pretty much a burger on flatbread with 4 kinds of cheese on it (including fondu cheese!). It was pretty great! So delicious! :)

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That’s it for Morocco!!! Last time walking up the gangway! <3

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