Day One Hundred Fourteen - Holy Photo Update Batman!

As promised, admittedly many days later, here are all the photos from Morocco thus far that I have deemed worthy of viewing by you glorious legion of readers:



As you are undoubtedly drooling over my exceptional photography prowess there are about an equal number of photos from Germany being uploaded. Stay tuned for them in the near future.

Day One Hundred Thirteen - Weddings.

Funny things can happen to you when riding the bus. Take for instance two events that happened to me recently. The first was about five days ago. I was dozing off on a bus taking me to Meknes, a big city in the central region of Morocco. A nice young lady sat next to me and asked me if I was British or French. Neither, I replied, I'm from the US. We got to chatting about this and that, her English was good enough so that we could hold a conversation but at times it was difficult. She was with her friends on their way to an oasis in a town nearby called Meski and she invited me to come with her. It was a really hot day and I felt a dip in a pool would be really nice, so I went with them.

We had a good time hanging out at the oasis but all the while I got the feeling that this little girl, she told me she was 18 but I have some doubts, was way too forward with me. She was extremely flirtatious to the point of making me a bit uncomfortable. I wasn't interested on account of her being too young for me, but she didn't seem to care. Her friend, Hicham, invited me to stay at his home in their town, Goulmina. I saw it as a great opportunity to get off the tourist track and accepted his invitation with gratitude. His family's home was incredible! These people must have been loaded. Unfortunately Hicham spoke zero English so this complicated the matter of holding conversation. But we did the best we could and managed to communicate somehow.

The next day I was determined to get to Meknes. I had to leave Goulmina because I knew this girl would not leave me alone while I was here. I hung out with Hicham at his hanoot, a tiny shop that sells a little of everything, and showed off the photos that I have accumulated over the past 4 months. Of course the girl showed up, after she got out of school, and hung out with us until I had to leave to catch the bus. Her friends kept joking around about me marrying her and taking her back to the US. That was pretty weird. It almost seemed like that might have been her plan all along. While on the way to the bus station she gave me a gift. It was one of those metal charm bracelets; this one had all hearts for charms. Cute. It was a very kind gesture on her part but I wasn't really sure what to do. Awkward to say the least. I could see that she was visibly bummed out that I was leaving. I kept thinking I've only known you for a day! How could you care so much that I'm hitting the road? We barely speak to each other about anything important since you don't really speak English. I didn't get it.

Soon enough the bus arrived, much to my excitement. I bid farewell to her and tried to let her down as easily as possible. Luckily for me the language barrier actually helped in this situation since she couldn't articulate what she wanted to say as a goodbye so it was a quick and simple parting. I sure was relieved to be out of that awkward situation and on my way to Meknes.

After spending a couple days in Meknes I caught a bus to Fes, possibly the most historical city in Morocco. While in transit to Fes I met a nice guy named Abdessalam. He was from a small co-op farm 20 km outside of Fes. He spoke the slightest amount of English and I tried all the Arabic I knew in order to hold a conversation with him. Unfortunately neither of us we very good at communicating in these foreign languages. But we had a good time trying our best; apparently he enjoyed it enough to invite me to his family's house for lunch. Of course I accepted, how could I miss the chance to have lunch with a real Moroccan family? I met his family and tried my best to speak with them but they spoke no English at all. It's situations like this that photos are the perfect remedy. I busted out my netbook and started showing them my photos from around Europe and it was a great way to communicate without words.

After thoroughly stuffing myself for lunch Abdessalam and I went for a bike ride through the countryside. It was really neat to check out this area that I'm sure sees very few foreigners. We stopped under a tree and ate a bunch of berries that looked like white blackberries. They were incredibly sweet, just like everything in Morocco. Abdessalam showed me all the areas in which his family lived on the co-op; this guy's family was huge! A couple hours passed by and I started thinking I should get to Fes before dark so that I may find a decent hotel. It took a few minutes to get that message across to Abdessalam but after he understood he took the opportunity to tell me one last thing. He was going to be married on the 10th of June and he would love for me to come. How awesome is that? As much as I would absolutely love to go to a Moroccan wedding by the time the tenth of June rolls around I'll be in Spain. Abdessalam was sad but he understood. Maybe I'll give him a call on his wedding day.

This just goes to show, when you travel, ride the cheap bus! Whatever the locals use for travel you should use. Then you can get little girls to fall in love with you and also get invited to weddings. Fun!

Day One Hundred Three - Solo Once More

Tomorrow will bring the separation of myself and my travel companion, Daniel. While he wishes to stay here in Marrakech in order to sort out his financial situation I have more grand plans: the desert awaits me! It is not completely without sadness that I will bid my new friend goodbye but all things must come to an end at some point. It will be interesting to continue in this country alone. Things will be especially different since Daniel can speak some French, a very helpful skill in Morocco. Almost all of the people here speak French as well as Arabic or Berber. Myself, I know nothing of this nasal language. Perhaps it is time for me to learn. My apprehension of even basic phrases would go a long way in making my life in this region much easier. Although it may not be very necessary since the farther I go north the more useful my Spanish will become. And I have never spoken Spanish better than I currently do on account of my conversations with Daniel in the language, of which comprises about fifty percent of all our speech to each other.

The desert being my next destination I've been trying to mentally prepare myself for my surroundings being blazingly hot all the time. Even here in Marrakech today it's really hot, so much so that Daniel and I have retired to our hotel room until the sun goes down. The desert can only be worse. But there is some comfort in knowing that I will be going to the high desert which is not as hardcore as deep Sahara. I will be traveling near the Atlas Mountains mostly. I have plans to go to the Todra Gorge which is supposed to have some awesome slot canyons for hiking. My time in the desert should last about four or five days, I hope, then I will finally be in the Fes/Meknes region, finally in the north of Morocco, making my way towards Spain.

A couple nights ago we were at the Cascades D'Ouzoud, a beautiful waterfall in an equally stunning valley. If you're in Morocco you have to check this place out. You can camp at the bottom of the falls and literally watch the Cascades from your bed. It's a really cool place. Watch out for the dude with crazy jerry-curls (did I spell that right?) though, he's only trying to get money out of you, no matter how friendly he seems to be. He acted like some kind of Moroccan gangsta thug. A weird character to encounter at a place like the Cascades D'Ouzoud.

Yesterday came and went like most days. If it wasn't for all the wonderful birthday wishes I received from Facebook, email, and various other means, there would be no way of knowing it was my 22nd birthday. I'm pretty sure that's the first birthday I've had outside of the US and it sure is different that way. It really made me homesick. But a friend told me during a chat on Facebook that, "I would give my left nut to do what you're doing. Everyday is like a birthday." That got me thinking about the whole situation and helped me to remember that I really am in the midst of quite the opportunity. So what if my birthday was a bit uneventful, party wise? It was in Marrakech! How many people from the US can say that? I'm doing my best to not sound like I'm boasting. That is surely not my intention. I'm just trying to say that I realized since I'm having many unique experiences all the time I need to remember that they are all special even if they are common. Since I've been traveling for three and a half months now all these experiences have just become daily occurrences. Sometimes I forget that other people would love to have the opportunity to travel like I have been doing. I lose perspective of that sometimes.

I swear I have a million and one awesome photos to share but it takes bloody FOREVER to get these uploaded. I certainly can't be paying for that time at a cyber cafe. I have to wait until I can get free internet access somehow. I really want to show you guys what Morocco looks like and I also have some great ones from Germany.

Day One Hundred Two - 22

Happy Birthday to me! It's weird when nobody realizes and/or cares about my birthday.

Day Ninety Nine - Quick Update

Recent happenings as of late:

I came to the coast to celebrate my birthday which is in three days. Instead of partying I got food poisoning and spent most of yesterday either hating my life or sleeping. Gotta love Morocco!

Got my wallet stolen in Marrakech the other day. I was boarding a bus, an activity not at all similar to getting on a bus in the states. Basically you need to shove and push everyone out of the way in order to actually get on the bus because there is not enough space for everyone. So while I was doing my best to push every mother, child, and elderly man out of my way some crafty bugger got away with my wallet! Not a big deal though considering it only had 200 Dirhams in it, the equivalant of 24 bucks.

I've been hanging out with a lot of Peace Corps volunteers lately. Morocco has the second largest number of Peace Corps members in the world, after Ukraine. I CSed with one and then she gave me the number of another that was nearby. He's from Berkeley! I come all the way around the globe and stay with a guy from Berkeley. Crazy business. Here in Essaouira, the town on the coast that we came to in order to celebrate, I'm hanging out with 8 other Peace Corps volunteers, all mostly from California. Good people.

I've been learning some phrases in the native language of Morocco, Berber. It's really fun to speak with the people here in their own language. But there are so many dialects that some people don't even sound like they are speaking the same words as me.

We were detained by the police in a small village in the mountains because Daniel is from Mexico and the Moroccan government thought he might have the swine flu. Although they didn't tell us this until the ordeal was over. So we sat in the custody of the police for three hours with no idea as to why this was happening. Finally they summon Daniel into this hotel and give him a quick physical to make sure he is clean.

That's a quick rundown on some of the more interesting events as of late. I'll try and write more details some other time.

Day Ninety Three - How did this happen?

Day ninety three. Over ninety days abroad. Of course you realize that means that the three month anniversary of my departure has come and gone. The 1st of May marked that milestone. On that day I was thoroughly enjoying my time relaxing on the coast of Morocco in a small village named Imessouane. Our room was literally on the coast. I open the door and am greeted by the sea. So, naturally, I spent an entire week there. I loved it. I'm also now thoroughly brown from all the sun I soaked up. The part of the village I was staying in didn't have electricity or running water. It was a little like camping. Until this morning I hadn't showered in 10 days. Yeah, I know that's pretty bad, huh? I did wash myself in the sea though! Needless to say my shower this morning was amazing, even if the water was near freezing.

And speaking of the sea. The sea! What power! I was in a constant state of awe when in the presence of Neptune's strength. Imessouane is known for good surfing. There are very strong winds that create a constant state of crashing waves. In certain parts of this coastal area one can find waves that crash so triumphantly onto the rocks that water sprays 10 meters into the air! That's about 30 feet for all you Yankees out there. This of course is not the strongest show of the sea's great power but for me it was very impressive. I just know that I would stand no chance in the throws of that great beast.

I have been in Morocco for 11 days now. My first two days were spent in Marrakech. This city is hectic, to say the least. In the parts of the old city one must constantly be aware of little motorbikes speeding by that come within inches of one's body. There are constantly people spouting words at you trying to attract you to their shop or food stall. It's quite the experience. There are many tourists here but they somehow manage to mix in with the locals decently enough. This is one city in which despite heavy tourism there is still a strong native culture. Not a feat that many cities around the world have been able to accomplish.

Upon my arrival at my hostel in Marrakech I met a guy named Daniel, from Mexico. We were both solo travelers with no plans in Morocco so we decided to pair up. He's a really nice guy with some interesting stories. Although he is not quite the sharpest crayon in the box. But his kindness makes up for it. We have had a great time together. It's good to have some company. I've also been able to practice my rusty old Spanish! That's been really fun. I guess I actually did learn something in high school, despite my best efforts to the contrary.

Now I'm back near Marrakech, staying with a CS host in a village 30 km outside the city. This is a really cool area and I'm excited to go exploring a bit. Although on my way over here, while boarding a bus, I was pickpocketed and lost my wallet. Luckily for me there was only 25 dollars in it and my driver's license, which is easily replaceable. An important lesson learned. We are near the High Atlas Mountains which contain the highest point in North Africa. I'm eager to get into this region and hike around. I believe that will be our next destination.

There was a time when I first arrived in Morocco that I was extremely excited and wished to travel more in Africa. I was prepared to abandon my plans for Europe and continue in this marvelous continent. But of course I was blinded by my excitement, as usual, and once I looked into what it would take to get prepared for Africa my enthusiasm slowly fizzled away. Because of the vaccinations, medications, and equipment that would be necessary for me to procure I am abandoning my plans for Africa at the moment. I feel I would enjoy it more if I were to outfit myself from the beginning for a region such as this. There are also many parts of Europe I still wish to explore.

My plans currently are to spend a couple more weeks here in Morocco then cross the Strait of Gibraltar in the north in order to reach the southern region of Spain. I am excited to travel in the country and to use the only other language I know besides English. Hopefully the people will be able to understand me.

I have a ton of photos to share. I just need to upload them all which is quite a long process. Once I get them up I will post them for your enjoyment.