I woke up early and showered because I wanted to soak up every moment I could in the clean, mold free, private hotel bathroom complete with hot water and amazing pressure! (In hindsight thank god I did this because the shower was less than desirable at our next accommodation). We had a buffet style breakfast around 8:30 and left the hotel with Driss at 9. I was bundled from head to toe because our first activity was an hour hike through the gorge. However, there must have been a communication error because the "hike" was really just an hour "drive" through the gorge with a few stops for photos along the way. By the third time we got out of the car I realized that my layers were slightly excessive for the "sightseeing while driving" that we were doing. In the gorge there are rock formations that look like monkey fingers so they've been appropriately named "Monkey Fingers".
Our next stop was a kasbah museum. Our driver, Driss, warned us that it wasn't worth the entry fee so Mark and I obviously disagreed over whether or not to go in. We ended up going in but not getting a guide. There weren't any descriptions so hell if I know what we were looking at the whole time we were inside. Our next stop was a cinema museum for movies that had been filmed in the desert. Gladiator was one of the movies filmed here so this museum had a lot of Gladiator memorabilia and set pieces. The cinema museum also had a room of cameras ranging from 'way back when' to modern day. It was cool to see the evolution of the cameras used by the desert filmmakers.
Next we went to Ait-Ben-Haddou which is a berber town in the desert. There are four families currently living in the ksar (a group of earthen buildings behind high walls for protection) Those living in the ksar grow their own food and make their own building materials.
The riads (homes) inside of the ksar stay cool because they are made of clay and don't have any exterior windows. We climbed to the top of the dwelling places for a gorgeous 360 degree view of the surrounding desert and Arabic city.
In order to get from the Arabic side to the Berber side, we had to hop from stone to stone across the water. One of the locals from inside the ksar explained that when the water level is low it's ok to get across using the stones but when it is high they use donkeys and horses. (When we exited the ksar to return to the Arabic side we found that there was a tall wooden bridge for getting across. The locals giggled at us and said that it was built within the past year or two but that they still enjoy watching the tourists hop from rock to rock on the way in) While in the ksar we saw builders using clay and brick and merchants selling goods. The locals living in the riads offered us tea which they've affectionately termed "berber whisky".
The weather was gorgeous and Mark and I actually felt hot sitting in the sun at one point. It's about time, Africa!
After leaving Ait-Ben-Haddou we drove to a stop-off on the side of the road where we learned how to make rose water and rose oil.
The process involves distillation in these massive vats. Next we drove to an argan oil co-op. Here we watched the oils being made and tried many different scents. We bought Mark an oil for his beard and then walked next door for lunch. Earlier in the day we had told Driss that we did not want to go to a touristy, crowded lunch spot so he delivered yet again. This spot was a few steps below the side of the road and had a beautiful outdoor garden where we sat and enjoyed the sunshine while eating kabobs. A stray kept coming near our table to I eventually ended up sharing our fries with him.
We then piled back in the van for the remaining four hour drive to Marrakech. The majority of it was switchback mountain driving on roads that were under construction. I was white knuckling it the whole way while Mark was sleeping soundly. I kept hoping we'd make it through the mountains before dark and somehow we did. We stopped at a toilet right outside the mountain range for muslim prayer just as the sun was finishing setting. By 8pm we were at Hostel Waka Waka and were greeted with tea (of course).
Our dorm was right off of the main room so it was really loud, especially because our door wouldn't stay closed so the six of us took to wedging a shoe between the door and the floor to get some privacy. Mark and I headed to "the big square" with a few girls from our hostel for a truly unforgettable experience. The square was filled with tons and tons of food stalls and vendors. The stalls tried to get you to give them your business by grabbing you and blocking your way. I was immediately overwhelmed and angered by this so Mark and I quickly left the throng and headed back to the first stall we came across, because initially, as we had walked past this man he had called out after us, "I won't touch you". I had no idea what he meant by his statement at the time but now I knew why. "Thank you sir for not touching me. Yes I am happy to give you my business." Stranger words were never spoken. Not only was the man at this stall PDA appropriate he also made damn good food. We had a delicious meal of olives, bread. tajia, veggies, potatoes and cous cous.
After eating we wandered through the area of the square with live music. We found a great spot where the men were lively and fun. They even pulled me in to dance with them. Mark and I both had a laugh as I tried to imitate the dancers' silly movements.
After we were done dancing we did some exploring of the long, winding streets. There was so much to see! The city was so vibrant at night. We walked as much as we could before we were overcome with tiredness. Unfortunately our hostel was so cold that I slept with my winter coat over me. Hmm... this seems to be a theme in the Moroccan DESERT.
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