The (Slow) Marrakech Express

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Since my site is just north of Marrakech I had two options for travel from Immouzzer: I could take a series of busses and grand taxis directly south through Beni Milal, or I could go a fairly roundabout way by taking a grand taxi from Immouzzer to Fès and then the train to Marrakech.
Considering that a group of about twelve trainees were going to have to spend the night in Marrakech, I chose the latter. When we got up very early that morning I almost couldn’t believe that I was going to be taking a train to Marrakech. I had to take the Crosby, Stills & Nash CD with me on the train so I could listen to “Marrakech Express.”
After Sefrou and Immouzzer, Marrakech was a shock. I had been surprised by the abundance of tourists in Fès, but that was nothing compared to what I saw in Marrakech. It reminded me a bit of my visit to Florence, Italy when I wondered if there were any Italians living in that city. There are a lot of Moroccans in Marrakech, but there were still far more tourists than I had expected. I think part of the reason was that right now the Marrakech Film Festival is going on, the town is pretty full.
Of course, the hotels that Peace Corps Volunteers stay in were not full. There are a couple little ones on back streets that the PCVs usually stay at because they’re within the budget of a Volunteer and the people there know us and are used to us.
I splurged that night on pizza and a Sprite for dinner then later fresh grapefruit juice from a street vendor. A glass of orange juice was only 3 Dirhams, or about 30 cents, but grapefruit was 10 Dhs. It was worth it, after so many sweets all month long, I needed some sour grapefruit. I heard all grapefruits here are imported, but I find that hard to believe; they’re definitely scarce and relatively expensive though.
I wanted to see more of the town, but since it was late and I hadn’t slept much the night before (I had planned to sleep in the train which was so full I barely had room to sit much less sleep. And it was not very express, it took a good 8 hours and stopped frequently) I went back to the hotel early. I did see some of the main square, Jama F’na, but didn’t try to get any photos since it was night. I figured I’ll be living an hour away for the next two years, I can wait until I have a chance to get some really good photos.

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