Our Comfort Level Has Improved.

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Geo: 31.6334, -7.9996

The next day our confidence level had grown and we were ready to take on the square cameras in hand. First, breakfast. Our riad was like a B&B and breakfast was included. They served pancakes... well, crepes. And bread with jams with coffee and juice.

We went down to the square and took pictures. You should negotiate the price before you start snapping away and you will inevitably be hounded by others for more money even though you already paid another guy. We weren't keen to hold the snakes so we photographed from afar. The monkeys however Beth and I held. You must check out the videos on you tube. http://youtube.com/user/sgskinny

We ventured back into the souks, this time to buy. We found our way to the spice area and Steve found the guy he wanted to buy from. So they do magic and natural medicine, you can imagine the things this guy was selling. Dead animals, leopard skins, live eagles, turtles and chameleons, herbs and spices, skulls, you name it. I tried to photograph it but the camera just doesn't catch the madness. Steve asked about snoring and the guy took some black seeds (I think) and put them in a small piece of cloth. He rubbed it in his hand, held it to Steve's nose and had him inhale deeply. WOW! He then made the rest of us try it. I was clear for four hours!! Obviously we bought some. Beth told me days later that she still had a pain in her left nostril. See said she broke her left nostril in Africa. Explain that to your children.

From the souks we went back down to the bus and jumped on to go into the new town. We wanted to grab the other line to do the romantic tour. Well, I don't know what was so romantic about it but it was nice. We went outside of the city to a bit more rural area. Lots of palm trees. After the tour we went in search of beer. Not an easy thing to find as it turns out. We ended up at the Sofitel. A very swanky hotel with a fabulous bar on the patio. It was lovely.

Walking home we had to walk past the palace which is at the end of our street. Well, the guards made us cross to the other side of the street. As we crossed the street the lights went out. The palace was still lit but the rest of the lights were out. As we walked down our street all of the little shops were working by candle light. It was a bit eery. Beth had the great idea that we just stay in and order pizza.... "do you know the address to the riad?" I thought it was a great idea!! Then we got to the alley leading to our riad. Thankfully the moon was near full and provided some light but when it came to ducking into the cubby containing our door it was black. We busted out a lighter to find the key hole and we were in! We were greeted by Zachariah who informed us that the power was out and he provided us with candles. He worked nights at the riad and spoke good English. We asked him about taking a day trip outside the city. Beth had picked up a flyer for a company that did day trips to the mountains or Sahara. He offered to make a phone call and arrange a day trip to Ourika Valley in the mountains. Very exciting. We hung out at the riad for a while and the lights came back on. Yeah!

We went back to the square for dinner because I had read that it completely transforms at night. It does. You wouldn't believe how different it was. Where did all of this come from? There were so many places trying to get us to come in to eat. We picked a place and sat down. Let the feast begin. After perusing the options Steve ordered a ton of food. Here are a few things we had: maroc salad, olives, chicken and beef skewers, eggplant, peppers and fried potatoes, bread with salsa, pastilles and calamari. As we were finishing a young girl walked up behind me and looked at Beth for permission to take some of the beef skewers that were left. She nodded yes and the little girl snagged two skewers and then grabbed what was left on the plate with her dirty little hand! We coined her the skewer stealer.

What a crazy place this is. We wandered around in amazement.

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