Day 10

Day 10: Weds 02-07-03

I had slept solidly for seven hours according to Mickey Mouse. Focussing my eyes I was able to make out his shape on the clock, his arms were both hanging down as thought he were touching his toes. Maybe he was and this was part of his morning exercise routine? Whatever he was doing it was now 6.30 a.m. and I was wide awake with the shafts of bright morning sunlight starting to hurt my eyes as they came streaming through the bars of the open window.

Today was going to be my last full day in Morocco, something I was well aware of as I got out of bed.

I had decided I was not going to waste any time today. Although I had no agenda for the day I wanted to see and do, as much as possible, in the little time I had left.

Cats and kittens were everywhere as I came out of the hotel around 7.a.m. The back alleys were a breeding ground for these scruffy felines that all looked so emancipated, it was a wonder they were still alive in the first place. It just goes to show that even when virtually starving these cats are still able to reproduce, and if the amount of them that were roaming around this morning was anything to go by, reproduce in large quantities.

Well I suppose it takes their minds of the hunger for a couple of minutes!

How do you get a 15-foot ladder on a large old-fashioned bicycle? I don’t know either! But that is exactly what the young boy had managed to do. He was balancing it half way along the frame with one of the rungs slung over the handle bar and the back end held by one hand with the other steering! He was doing fine until it came to turning the corners in these tight little alleyways that are no wider then six feet in places. I watched him struggle for a little while as he tried to manoeuvre the ladder and bicycle around a tight bend. He was a game lad and kept at it, but there was just no way he was ever going to get it around, especially the way it was hanging parallel with the bike. I couldn’t take anymore of watching him struggle, so gave him a hand and took the ladder of the bike and stood it upright to get it round. He looked at me as if to say why hadn’t he thought of that? We laughed a bit and I ended up helping him balance the ladder all the way through the winding alleys until we came out in the main square in Djeema el-fna. We re-balanced the ladder on the bike and away he cycled up the main road looking like a window cleaner setting off on his round. The vision of this young boy on a large oversize bike, balancing a fifteen foot ladder riding off into the distance made me smile, I only wish I had my camera with me to capture it

I stopped at one of the orange juice stalls where I had two glasses cold refreshing vitamin E, kidding myself that I needed it! When what I really needed was caffeine and the urge was strong! I gave in and went to the Tarboukal, where I sat drinking my café au-lait as I watched the early morning goings on in the almost deserted square. It was quite noticeable that I was the only non-Moroccan up and out at this ungodly hour of the morning, if I’d had any sense I would have still been in bed like any sane tourist!

Walking around the souq was a pleasant way to start the day; a lot of the shopkeepers were just setting up their wares for the days trading. Most left me to my own devices, figuring, I suppose, that they would not entice anybody to buy this early in the day. They were right!

I had arranged to meet both Guillaume and Kim at the restaurant around 8.30 for breakfast. I was the first one there, followed shortly by the other two. What should I have for breakfast? I know, I’ll have bread and jam! I couldn’t face anything like eggs, so decided on some croissants and more coffee.

After breakfast we all went to look around the local area, starting at the Jewish quarter, where we were invited into one off the many bakeries that cook the bread for local people 24 hours a day. It was quite interesting to be able to see this side of local life, where people bring their uncooked dough already shaped into loaves for the baker to cook in his large wood fired kiln, that is constantly in use. Row upon row of baked bread was waiting to be picked up, and just as many were waiting to be cooked, women and children were constantly coming into the bakers to either drop off or pick up. In the few minutes we were in there, we saw the process by which the two men worked, one of them doing the actual baking as he placed the bread in the oven on the flat end of a large paddle like wooden instrument. The other man was running back and forth putting the baked bread on shelves to cool, then replenishing the line of bread waiting to be cooked. How they knew which bread belonged to who, I never worked out, but I suppose the system worked quite well. (Picture right: Boy carries bread to bakers)

Next we went to the Palais de la Bahia (The Bahia Palace), this is the place I had been to the previous week when I had joined the German tourist group, but as there was no large group this time I had to pay to get in.

Having already seen this palace I was able to show Kim and Guillaume (pic below Left) some of the more interesting aspects and photo opportunities it presented. After the palace we walked around for a couple of hours, stopping to look at anything and everything that was of any interest to us.

Around mid-day, Kim, who was beginning to feel the heat, returned to her hotel to pack up and leave, having decided she would move into the same hotel as both Guillaume and I. We went to the souq again to check out some prices on bits and pieces Guillaume was thinking about buying. Then feeling the heat a little ourselves decided to get some lunch of sandwiches and cold drinks. Over lunch Guillaume and I spoke about out hopes and aspirations for the future, our previous travels and just life in general, which was a pleasant way to spend an hour, sat in the shade offered by the restaurant.

Back in the hotel around 4.30 we found Kim had settled in and was in a room on our landing, she was quite happily conversing in French with the man who worked here at the hotel. Guillaume joined them, and I, not being able to understand a word they were talking about went to my room to rest a little, before finally taking a shower.

We all met up again around 6.p.m. to have one last walk around the souq. Safety in numbers was the way to deal with the over zealous shopkeepers it seemed, as they did not bother us too much. We were able to shop quite happily with Guillaume buying himself a pair of leather slippers without too much fuss at all. Another place we went into was a herbal remedy shop that had every herbal cure known to man, at least that was the claim of the pleasant young man who showed us around, without actually trying to sell us anything. The metalwork section of the souq was interesting and I was able to buy a lampshade that had taken my fancy. This purchase was made at one sixth of the price I had originally been quoted! You really have to bargain hard and be prepared for a long drawn out process.

As we walked we came across a little shop where we were all impressed by one man who was making kebab skewers. He gave us a little demonstration of how he created the wooden handles on a small homemade lathe of sorts. This small spinning machine was operated by a simple string pulling a mechanism that turned the wood, which in turn was carved with a small chisel the man held in place with his bare feet! His skill and deftness was really something to admire as we stood and watched the demonstration in awe at his skillfull display.

The demonstration pieces he had carved were given to us with a hole in the top, this so that we could use them as key rings. A nice little touch and one that probably swayed our decision to buy, and buy at the price being asked without any haggling, as we all thought the skewers were a good price to start with.

We decided to eat at one of the many stalls in the square, which was probably not the best decision we could have made! No matter where we sat around this stall we were being hit head on by the smoke from the grill, which was being whipped up by the strong breeze blowing all around us. Around 9 p.m. the music started to blare out from the main stage, a large troupe of Berber musicians were playing traditional music and stirring the crowd. We stood in a less crowded spot to watch from a safe distance. From the corner of my eye I was aware of the young man behind us who was standing very close to Kim, for no apparent reason as there was plenty of space without having to be so close. I at first suspected he might be a pickpocket, but was of course wrong. Kim came and stood in front of me a little put out by the attentions of the young man who it seemed kept touching her bum! Hey! whatever turns you on. On a more serious note though this can be quite an off putting experience for females and is testament to just how sexually repressed these young Muslim men were.

I was quite happy for Kim to stand in front of and the young Moroccan a little disappointed as he slipped away, now aware that we were conscious of his behavior. Still his loss was my gain as Kim made a good rest for my camera on her shoulder to take some pictures of the performers on stage.

Each group seemed to do a set of about twenty minutes playing continuously the same rhythmic drum beat, that has to be said got a little boring after a while. The locals seemed to enjoy it immensely, so that’s all that matters I suppose. After half an hour’s entertainment Kim had seen enough and was in need of a drink. We went over to the TCM restaurant, where we could view the square from its roof top restaurant.

They have a system here whereby you have to buy your drinks before they allow you onto the roof; this is to discourage people from using this high vantage point as a free viewing platform out over the square. They also charge twice as much as anyone else for the privilege! We only had soft drinks and stayed for about 15 minutes to take in the spectacular views.

Kim returned to the hotel while Guillaume and I went back to the Souq in search of a leather pouf that he had his eye on. It was getting late and Guillaume had to bargain hard to secure the item he wanted, which he managed to do after a very long drawn out negotiation process. It had been another long day and now getting late, so we decided to return to the hotel ourselves.

Guillaume stayed downstairs talking to his friend on the reception desk, he had received a note from a French girl he met on the flight over, she was offering a lift to the airport the following morning if we wanted one. I went upstairs to sit and talk with Kim for a short while before turning in for the night. I set Mickey to wake me at 6.a.m. as I was leaving for home the following morning.

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