Last Day with B

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So my Moroocomate and I spent are last afternoon and evening in the Medina in Marrakech (as she is leaving). We went back to our first riad that we stayed at. Something was a little different this time. Was it because we just came from the most beautiful accommodation? Or perhaps it was because of Ramadan? Our guess was Ramadan. It started 3 days ago. Ramadan is a month long fast - no one eats, drinks, smokes from sunrise to sunset. In the 90+ degree heat it seems near impossible to survive without water; however the Moroccans do it! We were told it is about one’s soul and g-d. It is up to the individual to decide to cheat or not. Each region, we found that kids start at all different ages. Some children start as early as 10 or 11 and other areas 14 - 16. It is taken very seriously here.

Our hosts Nadia and Abdul looked as if they got the crap beat out of them. Turned out we were the only people staying at the riad. They probably could have been sleeping instead of catering to us. Most people have ‘breakfast’ around 8pm. Eat again around midnight and wake up before sunrise to eat once again. Others change their schedules to sleep all day.

The square was still hopping, the souks were all open and the orange juice was still being squeezed for all the tourists. We noticed a lot more children asking us for money. We stopped to get some juice as Betsy and I started to have little snacks vs. eating lunch certain days. I ended up sharing my juice with a 6 year old (as many parents tell their kids to beg tourists here). Unfortunately an 80 something year old wouldn’t stop harassing Betsy, so we left our juice and kept walking. People kept squirting us with their water bottles (we thought people were being fresh until an adorable little girl started spraying us). Some men were lying, sleeping in their little shops; some men were over aggressive for us to see their goods. After being heckled and grabbed one too many times, we decided it was time to leave. It was almost 6pm and we saw, not 1, not 2, but 3 huge fights break out in the square. There are no policemen or anyone to break these up. They got really nasty. We were both a little freaked out but when we got back to the riad, Abdul said this is very common during this time.

I am spending one more week in Morocco. I am going up to some of the northern cities that I know in general are a lot more laid back than Marrakech (starting with Casablanca). I plan on seeing things earlier in the day and perhaps making sure I am indoors at my hotels that last 2 hour stretch before the locals become erratic.

I will miss Betsy - as she is a fantastic Moroccomate!

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