The Red City

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So after surviving the overnight train, we finally made it to our final city and Morocco's tourism hot spot, Marrakesh. We pulled into Marrakesh's train station at around 9am and again we all caught taxis from the station to our hotel in the Ville Nouvelle section of Marrakesh, Hotel Le Caspien. While driving around in the taxis, it was apparent why Marrakesh was known as the red city as the walls and buildings seem to all be some sort of reddish tint. In 24 hours we had gone from the blue town to the red city! As it was still early in the morning, our rooms were not yet ready so Abdul recommneded that we go out and find breakfast somewhere. Melanie, Troy, Liz, Sophie, and I went wandering and eventually made to Avenue Mohammed V, Marrakesh's main thoroughfare. We found a sidewalk cafe serving breakfast and just hung out here for about an hour reminiscing about the trip's highlights and the sudden realization that it was all coming to an end. After having breakfast, we found our way back to the hotel and checked into our rooms for a much needed shower and change of clothes after last night's overnight train. After a few hours, we met up again in the hotel lobby to walk over to the Majorelle Gardens. As Troy was not feeling well, Melanie, Winston, Meg, Sophie, and I were met by Lucy in the lobby. Lucy was a new face who was joining the second half of the full Morocco tour that was going into the southern part of the country. About half the group was leaving the tour in Marrakesh having only signed up for the northern portion of the full tour. It was a very warm sunny day today in Marrakesh probably around 80 degrees as we made the short walk to the nearby Majorelle Gardens. Named after a french painter and subsequently owned by designer Yves Saint Laurent, the gardens are one of Marrakesh's top attractions. There were so many tourists here at the gardens and it was by far the most we had encountered during our time in Morocco. We wandered along the pathways that were lined with palms, bouganvillea, and various types of cacti while admiring all the brilliantly colored pots . Even with the huge numbers of tourists, the gardens were surprisingly tranquil and calm and we all thouroughly enjoyed just wandering the garden grounds. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in for our first experience in a Moroccan supermarket to pick up some water and snacks. There is always something fascinating about checking out a supermarket in another country. It's definitely a good way to see what different types of foods and products another culture uses. After a short rest back at the hotel, Winston, Meg, Lucy, and I took a taxi to check out the Djemaa El Fna, Marrakesh's famous square that is world famous for it's exotic and lively atmosphere. Once we got to the square, I was a little disappointed to see that it was bascially just a big open square. The lively atmosphere with snake charmers, storytellers, and musicians was pretty much non-existent. Apparently, most of the action takes place in the evenings when the night food stalls open. We decided before we checked out the souks, we would grab some lunch at one of the rooftop terraces overlooking the Djemaa El Fna. Lunch was very disappointing as it was by far the most sub-par meal we've had on the trip. Despite the bland meal, at least we had a good view of the square. After lunch, we set out to explore the souks and maybe do a little shopping. Meg stopped to get a shoe shine and was told it was be 10 dirhams to shine her shoes. After getting both shoes shined, the guy told her that it was 10 dirhams per shoe. Meg was obviously annoyed at being fooled and protested and ended up just walking away after paying 10 dirhams. In the grand scheme of things, it was only about a dollar but it was very annoying to see how people view us tourists as opportunities for a scam. We walked around the souk checking out a few shops but we didn't purchase anything. After about an hour of wandering the souk, we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for our final group dinner and agreed to return back to the square tonight when all the action supposedly happens. Our final group dinner together was at the hotel. It wasn't the most Moroccan of meals, but it was probably our most fanciest meal of the trip. Dinner was bittersweet as this was the final time we would all be sitting together to share a meal. We talked about the trip's highlights as well as what was in store for those continuing on the southern Morocco part of the tour. Some members of the group gave speeches and toasts which made things a little sad since I felt this group had definitely forged a good bond. Despite this being the final dinner together, tomorrow everyone was still going to be around so it wasn't time for goodbyes just yet.

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