Today, after exactly seven days in Morocco, I woke up early (05:30), grabbed my packed bags, and brought them down the to front of the hotel. It was still dark outside and even though the lobby restaurant didn’t officially open until 07:00, Mourad convinced them to serve us at 06:00. I ordered my last Moroccan hot chocolate, and ate cold cereal, not able to stomach much more so early in the morning.
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Today was our last full day in Morocco. After a long, but exciting night at Chez Ali, we woke up late, ate breakfast, and packed ourselves into the van. The trip from Marrakech to Casablanca is short compared to the other traveling we have done on this trip, only three hours. We only stopped once, at a gas station, where I tried to get rid of some of my Dirham on two kinder bars for Mike and Jared back at the office.
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We woke up in Marrakech, ate breakfast, and promptly hopped in the van for our guided tour around the city. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I was excited because I knew that later on, I would get some free time to explore by myself! The tour was much like the other city tours we had been on in previous days, except that the tour guide was pushy, and seemed genuinely frustrated by us. I will admit, we were a high maintenance group, hard to keep together, constantly stopping to buy things from children and women on the street. The other tour guides had been paired with Mourad as a team for keeping us in check, but Mourad was called away on business that morning and so this tour guide was left to his own devices.
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It was to be a long day, mainly a travel day, as we made our way from Fes to Marrakech. I wasn’t looking forward to being crammed in the van for 10+ hours, but when we awoke to pouring rain and heavy fog (the first time I’ve seen rain since we arrived), I was relieved that we wouldn’t be attempting to tour the attractions in such weather.
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Fes is a completely different scene than I have ever encountered. The day began innocently enough as we took in the panoramic view at Borj Sud, the southern fort of Fes. It was cloudy, as it seems to be every morning, and the light made for less than spectacular photographs even though the endless houses built upon eachother are quite a sight. We picked up a new travelor/ tour guide named Malek who would guide us through the crowded ways of Fes, some 9,500 streets and alley ways! Malek was excited but comfortable with our group and it was only a short while before the women in the tour convinced him to take out his cell phone and show them photos of his new bride…
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The day started off early, 06:30. it would be a productive day, Morad had said the night before. We started with breakfast. One of my favorite things about french influenced countries is the presence of hot chocolate. I scooped three large spoonfuls of cocoa into my mug and guessed which of the two thermoses was water, and which was coffee. I was happily surprised that the one I chose actually contained hot milk. I selected a few items from the buffet, a chocolate croissant, scrambled eggs, naan bread, and corn flakes. The milk I poured over my cereal was warmish and sour, probably unpasteurized. I topped the meal off with an orange drink that turned out not to be orange juice, but maybe Tang…
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We arrived in Paris some time after 05:30 to a cold morning and pouring rain. The flight from Boston was relatively uneventful with a few crying babies and the occasional kick to my seat. The night before I had tried to get as little rest as possible (three hours), hoping to jump kick my transition into the time change, but I felt excited and nervous on the plane and barely closed my eyes.
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