A woman in Marrakech...

Marrakech is an "experience". In the Djemaa el-Fna, snake charmers, henna ladies, musicians, and basically everybody is out to make money off of tourists. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it actually becomes comical once you understand it - assuming you didn't get suckered. Likewise, wandering through the souks can be a minefield of aggressive touts, but it's good fun once you understand the way things work.

Even outside the souks, though, I find it tedious to be a woman here in Marrakech. I can't go anywhere without some random 20-to-30-something year old modern Moroccan man attaching himself to me like glue. In fact, I find it more tedious in Marrakech than in Italy - and that's saying something. Perhaps it'd be less tedious if my French was better, but it gets old trying to shake off some dude and not make things worse. I'm over it and ready to move on. C'est la vie. (The only thing I can think of is that, although some Moroccan women opt not to wear the hijab, my hair is really long and noticeable - on top of the fact that I'm obviously not Moroccan and, thus, attract attention. Who knows the real reason?)

Fortunately (I guess?), my time in Marrakech is coming to an end. I've booked a 2-nt/3-day tour to the Sahara (which almost didn't happen due to the weather in the High Atlas mountains that you have to cross on the way to the Sahara - i.e. snow/ice), then plan to crash one additional night in Marrakech before leaving for a few days in Essaouira to wrap up my holiday...hopefully in a bit warmer, more restful environment. It's been cold, here - and it'll be really cold in the desert!!

Sidebar: It also seems impossible to come to Morocco and not wind up getting high off second hand hash smoke. It's not "legal", but seems almost as pervasive as the fresh orange juice stands...

Bonjour au Marrakech!

Well, it's been an adventure thus far - but I don't think I really expected my first foray onto the African continent to be anything less. I flew San Diego to Chicago to Madrid to Marrakech - perhaps a 20hr+ journey during which I slept maybe 1.25 hours (and only then on the flight between Spain and Morocco).

After arriving in Marrakech, I found that the ATMs at the airport were completely out of money, so I had to change $USD to Dirhams in order to pay for a taxi to Djeema el-Fna so I could try to make my way to the hostel and have some general spending money until I could access an ATM. That was my first time actually having to make use of any "emergency money" while traveling, and I was glad to have it with me. After making it to Djeema el-Fna, I tried to use my ATM card at another ATM...which proceeded to not give me any money and, instead, kept my card. (That's a first! ...especially given that I alerted my bank about my travels prior to leaving.) Interestingly, the local guys who run the hostel weren't that concerned about it; they just told me to wait until the bank that owned the ATM opened in the morning, show my passport, and get my card back. I was skeptical, but it actually worked. (Don't think it would've in the U.S., that's for sure!) I was then able to change my PIN number online through the hostel internet - after trying to call my bank toll-free-international without success. There were a few more foobar moments as I tried to get cash after changing my PIN number (ATMs being down); however, I was ultimately able to get some cash and move on with life. Woo.

But, yeah, this is Africa - even if simply N. Africa - and I didn't expect it to be a trip without hiccups. Fortunately, 1) the Moroccans have been very friendly/helpful, and 2) a little bit a high school French is still lingering somewhere in the back of my mind to try to help in conversations where the other individual doesn't know English. For example:

Me: Bonjour. Parlez-vous un peu d'Anglais?
Them: No.
Me: Uh, OK. Le machine n'acceptez pas ma carte, mais je ne comprendre. Tout l'information est bonne...

(Hey, I never claimed to be able to spell in French... At this point, I'll take whatever works!)

"Wheels up!" in the a.m...

I leave for Morocco tomorrow morning and I'm, frankly, too exhausted to be excited. Hopefully that'll change somewhere over the Midwest...

I've worked 28hrs in the last two days, alone, and had to squeeze in an emergency trip to the dentist to deal with a toothache on a tooth that had a root canal back in 2002. (Somehow, an unseen root is apparently tangled in my sinuses - which have been finicky lately due to weather - and sinus congestion is triggering a major toothache.) At any rate, I've now got two 'scripts and a super-decongestant to take with me...and one of the 'scripts made me puke last night. Should be an "interesting" trip...

I'm really glad I decided on a longer-than-initially-intended stay in Marrakech. I think I'm going to need some time to just relax before moving about the country - even if it means I won't see as much of the country.

Depart: Nov 22nd (for Marrakech)
Return: Dec 7th

UPDATE (10:30PM): "Dude, I'm going to Spain - like outside of the airport!" This little gem popped out of my mouth earlier this evening as I looked at my flight itinerary. I've been so busy with work that I overlooked the fact that I have a 19hr layover in Madrid on my way home from Morocco. Who knew? ;-)