Relaxing Moroccan Style on the Beach!

First, I figured out the whole picture ordeal. From now on, no pics on my blog. I will post ALL of them (instead of the 4 or 5 I have been posting) on my newly created Picasa Web Album, which is part of Google like Blogger. Not sure if you guys can just click a link to it from my profile, but I am posting the pics publicly. This link will hopefully work for you: http://picasaweb.google.com/SkiMania29
Let me know if any problems viewing pics, I have only posted Week 6 for now, will post previous photos when I get a chance! These are for non-Facebook users as I am posting the same ones on FB. Alright now the blog:

The Hammam was a very unusual experience, not like a Turkish bath as far as I know. We had our swimsuits on and entered a room with stone walls and a smooth stone floor. There were a few large basins for water of different temperatures and a bunch of pails. Then this old Arab guy who didn't speak a word of English came out and directed me to lie down flat on the floor. He poured hot water over me then proceeded to give me a sponge bath/massage/full body stretch routine. It was pretty bazaare and lasted an hour. He seemed to think it was all pretty hilarious, especially when I didn't know the stretching routine so he had to constantly reposition my arms and legs and direct me to flip over. He scrubbed me with three different soaps over the whole course of it. At the end, I have never felt so clean and relaxed! And it only cost about $9 for both my dad and I.

That evening, Amine took us to his sister and brother-and-law's house in the Medina for dinner. His friend Haj, who would be our driver for the next three days, was there as well. The house was really nice and the family was incredibly hospitable. It is kind of funny that they have a massive living room with 2 adjacent smaller living rooms, all very well decorated. Yet the kitchen was smaller than an average sized bathroom. Amine's sister (I forget her name and her husband's name!) cooked an amazing meal. We got to sit in the tiny kitchen and watch her cook for awhile, she seemed to really enjoy it. She made tajine, which is a very traditional and common Moroccan dish. It took her about 3 hours to make it! Then all the men ate while she and their two kids ate somewhere else. There were incredible appetizers and mint tea, the works. Oh, and Amine's sister's family is probably the happiest family I have ever seen in my life. The husband and wife were compulsive smilers and the kids were constantly laughing and playing. I really don't think it was an act because guests were there, I think they are like that all the time.

Unfortunately, my Dad and I ate fresh fruit for dessert, which we think is what made us horribly sick that night and the next day and a half. I was really miserable and thought we might have to cancel the road trip we had planned. In the end, I just gutted it out, we stopped at a pharmacy to pick up stomach meds. We think it was the fruit because we can't drink the tap water here (we were told our stomachs would hate us for it), and therefore we probably shouldn't have eaten huge chunks of melon that are probably filled with the local water where they are grown. From then on, we have stuck with cooked food only. The road trip consisted of a very nice, air conditioned, full size van driven by our personal tour guide Haj. We drove south from Fez and stopped at numerous small villages and saw beautiful scenery. We even stopped to let some Barbary Apes cross the road. We drove all day and ended up in the southeast of the country near the desert. We hopped in a 4x4 and headed out into the wasteland. Finally, we saw the Sahara.

We dropped our stuff off at the little resort hotel, grabbed the turbans we were given, and hopped on a couple camels! One was named Jimmy, the other Ma'ahm or something. Our camelman was Mohammad, he was 68 years old and walked in front holding a rope attached to the lead camel. We rode 2 hours out into the Sahara (near the border with Algeria according to my map). It was really fun and not as hot as I expected. They said we got lucky it was only 50 degrees or something, a week earlier it had been 55-60 degrees (130-140 F)!!! That would have been pretty awful. So we made it out to this oasis between a couple huge dunes. There were other groups out there too. We hopped off the camels and Mohammad cooked us up a tajine (I still have no idea how he got all that food out there). We slept outside on a mat with a couple sheets and a hard pillow. It was really nice, that is until about 1 AM when the wind started blowing. Prior to that, no wind at all. I woke up to sand spraying me in the face. And then the wind seemed to reverse directions every minute or two. I covered in the sheets, but way too late as there was now sand EVERYWHERE! Oh well, I still managed to sleep alright somehow. We woke before sunrise. I watched a guy hike up the nearest dune and ski down! Then this Arab girl hiked up with a snowboard, she was wearing a robe and full on head scarf. It was really surreal, total culture clash as she came flying down the dune on her board!

We camelled back that morning and hit the road again. Saw a lot of amazing places and ancient cities. A lot of rural people (Berbers) in tiny towns. A lot of nomadic people as well. We went to a gorge with huge cliffs and a nice stream running through. It is a resort for Moroccan tourists. Stayed the night in a town called Ouarzazate (tough to spell and pronounce). My stomach had finally returned to normal by this point. The following day, we finished up the drive by arriving in Marrakesh. It is another imperial city like Fez, yet quite as focused on religion and art. The Medina in Marrakesh is really amazing, and the shear number of people is astonishing. In the evenings it gets incredibly packed. The main square has tons of food stalls and orange juice vendors. You can get a large glass of fresh cold orange juice for 3 durhims, which is about 40 cents. The food in Marrakesh is really good, probably the best I've had so far. We stayed at a very nice place right off the main square. We spent most of our time walking around the city and taking in the sights. There are a lot of hustlers there, much like Fez and Tangier. Lots of people yelling, trying to get you to buy stuff, getting pissed off at each other, just a lot of action in general. After two nights in Marrakesh, it was time for a break!!

We took the bus to Essaouira, a seaside town that is small and laid back. It is a HUGE change from anywhere else we have been in Morocco. The atmosphere here (it is currently our second night here) is so relaxed and carefree. There are hardly any hustlers (only 3 guys who have tried to sell me hashish). The port is really cool and the beach is amazing. Yesterday we walked along the water and through the port. We went to the fresh fish stands. You look at a huge table full of seafood, then you talk to the guy, pick out what you want, and he weighs it for you. He tells you how much, you make changes or negotiate, and agree to the full price of your meal including salad, bread, and drink. Then you sit down and they filet your fish and grill it up right in front of you! It was absolutely delicious, so today we did the same thing for lunch! Not too expensive either, once you figure out which fish and shrimp are cheapest.

Today we spent pretty much the whole day on the beach. I got quite a bit of sun, only a little burn where I missed the sunscreen. The water was much colder than I expected, not sure why. The beach is very, very flat... so you can walk 50 meters out into the water and you are only waist deep. Hardly any waves because the harbor is fairly protected. There is a lot of wind, though, and windsurfers and kitesurfers are everywhere. Looks like a lot of fun! I really like this city and am glad we decided to stay two nights. It was a great place to relax during my trip. Tomorrow we are out of here, though we aren't sure whether we are going back to Marrakesh or up to Casablanca. We want to see Casa, but not spend much time there. Apparently it is not a tourist attraction, only an industrial, economic center. We might spend one night there. We need to be back to Marrakesh by Friday as my dad flies back to Madrid from there on Saturday morning. I will stay two more nights, then fly the dreaded Ryanair from Marrakesh to Seville, Spain. I was thinking about getting a hostel for those two nights, then I read some of the hotels (they are called riads here, basically a huge house) let you crash on a mattress on their rooftop terrace! It is only 4-5 dollars a night, that sounds too good to pass up!