Marrakech Part 2

Morocco-Marok
What a fantastic time I had in Morocco. To be honest my expectations were low as we arrived into Morocco a day late after being held up at Gibraltar, where we were trying to take on oil, because of really rough seas. Our stay there had been shortened from four days down to three. This shortness of time in combination with the 12-year-old Heidi’s memories of Morocco from our first voyage didn’t have me to optimistic about any genuine Moroccan experience. I am quite please with the degree to which I was mistaken. The three days that Peter and Michael and I explored were some of my best days of travel…some for no particular reason and other moments will likely become apparent shortly. The ship dropped us in Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco. We made a straight b-line to the train station to catch a train to Marrakech a city located inland that capture more of the traditional cultural and religious practices that characterize Morocco. Mike and I packed ourselves into a cabin, consisting of two bench seats facing one another, with five other passengers. I was thrilled to have the company of three generations of a family…a 7month old baby boy, his mother and grandmother. The efforts of all of us in the car to keep this bundled baby smiling really created a special atmosphere for me. These women who may have looked different to me by their dress soon reminded me of the universal task of childrearing and no matter how different people may be, the stages of life and how we cope with them are all very similar. They loved their little guy like any other good mother would. We also learned the significance of sharing ones food particularly when you are in a confined space, as watching someone eat isn’t considered well mannered…solve that problem by giving everyone food! Another one of those things that I feel the rest of the world has figured out that enhances a sense of community even among strangers.
Our arrival into Marrakech was a good reminder to us of our ignorance linguistically. With no Arabic and maybe one word of French to get by with, navigating became a little harder that it had proven to be in Spain. But have no fear; it only took a little time for us to refine our body language and interpretation skills of French. And I guess I can give credit to the numerous people who (for whatever reason were able to identify us as Americans…weird?!) came to our rescue with a little English assistance. With no real agenda to achieve our ability to take things as they came was really to our advantage. The boys and I enjoyed our hours of strolling and people watching as we headed in the direction of the old town, or Medina as these areas are called throughout the Muslim world. We often questioned if this sort of purposeless movement throughout a place was not using our time as wisely as we could have, it sometimes seems that in order to really see a place it is important to hit the hotspots but we decided that each step we took shed some story of this ancient city, its people and their ways. Having Peter and Michael by my side allowed for great conversation. It’s truly a treat having their company and their perspective on things. They both offer a great comedic relief and reminder of our fortunateness to the sometimes-perplexed Heidi. The walls that lined it and the all that roused the senses marked our entrance into the Medina. The streets turned to alleyways lined with small shops of spices, dates, fresh fruits to cell phones and ipods. If it weren’t for the occasional booth of modern electronics it seems these streets would have been pulled out of the distant past as men and women or traditional garb, the daily prayer echoed throughout and although chaotic, time seemed in no way rushed. All alleyways led to the main square that was filled with snake charmers and trained monkeys doing tricks.
We ran into some Semester at Sea students and despite some hesitation on my behalf the boys convinced me that it would be good for us to branch out and get to know some people. My hesitation has to do with my fear of the potential detraction of others’ ‘and ours time due to our pure power of numbers. Besides a little too much volume in our restaurant it proved to be a great time. The hookah bar followed for another authentically Moroccan experience.
It is dinnertime now but the best is yet to come. The next morning we ventured into the High Atlas Mountains for a spectacular adventure, stay tuned please.