It's taken us a few days to set up this blog but we're in Morocco! We arrived on June 6th. Marrakech is alive and intense and like nothing weve ever experienced before. You have to always be alert because everything calls for your attention. The people are incredibly warm and friendly and very willing to help out - but nothing is free; they always expect a tip. It's fine though because there is so much poverty that you want to give them something anyways - and at the exchange rate of 10 dhirams to 1 US its not at all expensive.

The sun is hot here - 98° in the shade - as Ethan (Danielle's brother) would say its not the sun it's the FATHER. We have chapped lips, tourist hats and a parasol and look ridiculous - though its safe to assume that even without those trappings we would look like tourists. Today we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up walking for 2 hrs in the blazing hot sun by which time I (Dani) had a near tantrum which could only be cured by downing 1 litre of water and gorging myself on the most incredible icecream EVER.

Everyone here believes that my name is "Rasta" and if not, "Jamaica" so I guess I have to thank my braiding lady from the Ivory Coast for her work. Whatever - "you doh afi dread to be Rasta" as the song says. Nick has not acquired any pet names as yet everyone assumes he's a French tourist and he's making a huge effort to prove them right by using the French he's acquired.

The Medina (old city) is a maze of souks: tiny stalls where brilliant carpets, leather goods, pottery, spices, and textiles are on sale and you need a healthy dose of self restraint in order to not go broke. Men fly by on scooters and bicycles and you have to watch that they don't hit you as the streets are narrow and winding and you get hopelessly lost. Nick had the brilliant idea of bringing a compass and we have been able to find our way around reasonably well.

One of the best aspects of Marrakesh is the Djemaa el Fna, which is a very large public square. By day is a place for stalls selling nuts, dried fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, and all other manners of food. There are souks are stream off in a maze from all corners of the Djemaa. At night, it becomes even busier. Over a hundred food stalls are set up every single night in which great and cheap food is served to throngs of tourists and locals. Surrounding the food stalls, there are dancers, singers, and other performers that are surrounded by tourists and locals. It is quite the experience, and our favorite part of Marrakesh.

It smells wonderful in the spice stalls - we bought some paprika because we never knew it actually had a smell. And a man tried to sell us some Moroccan aphrodesiac tea that he swore worked very well as he "drank it every night."



One place that doesn't smell too rosy though is the tanneries. This is where they make the leather after soaking it in vats of lime and urine and pigeon-doo that the Berber women collect and bring from the mountains. LADAMERCY what a stench - they give you a sprig of mint so you don't pass out from the stench. It's a process that has been around since the 11th century. And Nick was so interested in this urine stomping history that he kept asking questions and prolonging our visit so that by the time we had left my mint sprig was almost expired and I had suffered near brain damage from lack of oxygen. But stinky tanneries sure do make some purrdy leather goods. We bought a leather ottoman dyed brown by cinnamon that we HAD to purchase: all self restraint has officially been left behind.




That's all for now! Enjoy the pictures

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