Morocco Part II

It was my trips mission to ride a camel and the night before we were scheduled for our camel tour it was looking like I wouldn't have the funds to meet my goal. Using careful money strategies and getting the tour company to agree to me paying with a credit card, all worked out in the end. This was by far my favorite day of the trip. I hope you guys like pictures! This isn't even half of them, I just chose the ones I like best.

 This is the oldest village. In Marrakech? In Morocco? In Africa? I'm not sure, but it's the oldest.

 Our tour guide said we should use the toilet before we left. This is what was waiting for us behind the bathroom door. Let me say this, it was not as difficult as you would think. Those grooved feet guides are pretty helpful. What happened to my Bidet?

 Let's back up. First a driver picked us up from our hotel and drove us about an hour out of Marrakech. Next, we stopped and met our camel tour guides and camels, used the "toilet", saddled up and set off into the Atlas mountains.

 I was fascinated by Moroccan graffiti.

 Fact: We went on our tour on a Wednesday, making it a true hump day.

Mission: Accomplished.

 My camel was cool. I was stoked to be the leader of the pack. I thought riding a camel would be like riding a horse but worse. I was mistaken. I actually prefer a camel to a horse and am considering camel travel as my means of transportation from here on out.

 My shadow self on my shadow camel.

 We passed these women on the trail. They are riding donkeys. The bails that they have were cut, bundled and stacked by these women. No help from any man. Rock on ladies.

 The whole gang. The two men did not speak much English but they lead the camels along the trail with us and kept them in line which is good because Miguel's camel, which was tied to my camel, kept YELLING and had some STANK camel breath! OH MAN! I thought I was going to pass out from the smell every time that camel opened his mouth. After walking a ways, they tied Miguel's camel to the other side of my camel and that seem to keep him calm. Before, he kept trying to eat the blanket that I was sitting on and I could feel myself shift when he did.

My camel's name was Asia. That's not how you spell it, but when our guides told us the names, that how it sounded. Good times.

Next on the tour, we had lunch at the tour company's owners house. Got it? The guy that owns the tour company, opened up his home and he and his wife and kids make lunch for everyone that goes on the tour. By far my favorite meal of the trip! It was SO good. We started with salad, then lamb tangine and dessert was fresh fruit. We ate outside and had a great view of the valley and the village.

Moroccan mint tea! SO GOOD! It was a bit chilly when we first arrived and we could see our breath, but the sun was beating down on us.

 I borrowed Miguel's hat to keep my face shaded.

WEST COAST! Photo by Katherine

 Photo by Katherine

Katherine, Amanda and myself.

Photo by Katherine

 After lunch we went on a hike through the Atlas mountains.

 Katherine is making fun of the way Amanda runs in this picture.

 This is our tour guide, Mohammad. He was a great guy with lots of information and he was very patient with us while we took pictures and even bought us each a bottle of water before we started on our journey. He told me a great story: On our hike we walked around a valley. In the picture above you can see that we're able to look down at the valley. He told me in the late 1700s a flood came through and wiped out the village. It was disastrous to the homes, the land and it killed some of the villagers. Today, there are hotels and homes built where the flood came through. Mohammad said, "we told them its not a good idea. We warned them of the flood, but they didn't listen. They built there anyway."

The colors of fall were present.
On my last day I went to the Hammam in our hotel. Basically, I sat in a steam room (naked as the day I was born) and then a woman came in and washed me with something that reminded me of seaweed. Next I layed on a yoga map and she scrub 8 layers of skin off with some kind of sand paper stuff. Then she washed my hair and gave me a big comfy robe to wrap up in. It was all part of the Moroccan experience.

Susan "Straight Gangsta" B.