Today was, essentially, a travel day. We did wake up this morning and get to walk through the gardens at Todra Gorge, just an hour and a half or so hiking through this oasis of fruit and vegetable plants along the river which flows down through the gorge. We saw almonds - I’ve never seen a fresh almond fruit up close, it’s a green thing that sits around the white nut inside - and green beans and dates up on palm trees. Then we hiked back through the little village, and had a super cute encounter with a wild dog and a little girl that wanted to take care of her and gave her a stuffed animal. Morocco is a real study in contrasts; the villages are very rural - not so much poor, though they are somewhat poor, but more just…rural. In a way that’s very different but analogous to the rural areas of America where the rhythm is fundamentally different. Then, unfortunately, we basically had to get in the buses and drive all the way back to Marrakesh, which was 6+ hours. We made a quick coffee stop or two - I’ve been very grateful for my sticks of decaf coffee crystals, which have kept me from drinking too much caffeine. We got back to Marrakech late in the afternoon and had a quick hour or so in the Medina, or market. I bought a couple of souvenirs for people and an orange belt for myself, and it was fun because I got to watch the guy resize the belt for me. He cut off a length of it and stamped a new hole and then screwed in the buckle, which was cool because the belts we get industrially made don’t have this feature. Now that I saw him do it I think I actually could probably do it myself in a pinch; the buckle is designed to be moved. Then we had our final dinner with the group, and that was super interesting because it wiped away some notions I’d be conceiving about Morocco; it was a very nice and upscale tourist meal with cocktails and views and great service and the food was actually really good and it made me realize that a lot of what I’d been seeing and feeling about the country was heavily biased towards us being in very rural areas; I thought about what people might think if they visited America but only traveled through West Virginia (not to pick on West Virginia but you know what I mean). The rhythm of life here is definitely very different than home, but now that I’m in an urban center it’s…more similar. You can find McDonalds and shower curtains if you are a tourist and you want them, and the cell service is impeccable. Still no trash cans in hotel rooms though.
I said goodbye to the group tonight. It’s always weird for me because I spend so much time alone and so when I’m with a big group it’s jarring to suddenly go back to being by myself. But it’s all good; I can’t wait to get home actually. I remarked to Cynthia that it’s nice that I am always happy to go home. They invited me - her and Cherelyn - to Cochrane, outside of Calgary where they live, and I may even take them up on it, I’ve never been to that part of Canada. I of course invited them to Oakland. The group was very nice - if older - and it was nice to travel with them. I did so many things that I never would have had the skill or ability to plan and execute on, on my own. I think I really like taking these trips.
Today the plan is to do a bunch of walking, to visit this things called Madrasa Ben Youssef and walk around the city. I love to walk in cities. Well, I love to walk, period. Then I have a Hammam and massage appointment booked for 3pm today, then it’s off to the airport very early in the morning to start heading home and the end of my Morocco trip!
Overall, it’s been a great trip and I’m glad I came, although to be honest it wasn’t as great as the Andorra trip - but that’s ok, that trip was a 10/10 and this was still a 9/10.
