Day 7: En Route to the Sahara, Part 1

Unreal

Friday started as usual, with a trip to the orphanage. It was a great day and went by really quickly. Nadir, a nurse, and I had a sweet game of monkey in the middle. So much fun. We returned after placement for a quick lunch, last minute packing, and then we were off to the desert.

     Our guide, Hamsa, picked us up in a sweet van and we began the first half of our 10-hour drive. Hamsa was THE BEST and brought us to a bunch of wicked cool stops along that way. It really helped to break up the trip. We saw some beautiful views as well as some monkeys! Right off the main road was a foresty area filled with monkeys that Hamsa told us are only in Morocco and Gibraltar. We fed them bread and peanuts, and a few people got a ride from the horses of sketchy men. The monkeys break and eat the peanuts just like people, so weird.

Hamsa! The best guide in the world.

Sweet bubble van.

Awesome views

"God, country, king" written in the mountains

Chillin', eating peanuts

Om nom nom

    But the coolest thing was when Hamsa decided to stop at a nomad’s home along the road. He offered to give the woman’s son a ride to the town we were headed to in turn for a chance to see inside their hut.  Outside, the woman and her son had a few cows and a chicken. As nomads, they pack up and leave every 15 days or so to find new food for their livestock. Their house was made of woven cloths hung over large wooden poles. Inside, there were multiple mugs to sit on as well as a small kitchen area. The woman and her son spoke Berber (but so does Hamsa) and they not only let us into their home, but also offered to make us tea. It was sweet and delicious and I still can’t believe we had tea with a nomad.

Nomad tent and livestock

Entrance to tent

Tea!

            Back inside the van, we finally reached Zaida, the place we were staying for the night. We were all happily surprised at the hotel. We each had our own bed and a working toilet, hooray! Dinner was delish and the first of 4736579 tagine meals I would have in the next 24 hours. After dinner, Kate, Meghan, Malone and I asked Hamsa and our driver Omar to take us into the town to walk around. Even though it was late, Zaida was poppin’ because the town is a popular stop of travelers. We walked through the market stalls and a pottery shop. The vendors are all so friendly—one gave me a sample of a sugarcoated peanut. Mmmm. It was so awesome walking around with Hamsa. Having a translator made me experience everything so much more.

Zaida market

            Back at the hotel, we played a few rounds of Catch Phrase and called it a night.

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            The next morning, we showered—what would be the last for a while—and had a breakfast of coffee, Moroccan crepes, and apricot jam. Not only was this ride long, but it was hot. And with another 5 hours to drive, we made many stops along the way.  

Coffee!

Crepes!

Kate's mint tea

            We stopped at a local market with piles and piles of fruits and vegetables, clothes, and other obscure things were for sale. The people were not too keen on having their picture taken, many of them shading their faces. A woman told Hamsa she would let us take her picture for 50 Dirhams  (I snuck one anyway.) Apparently, they don’t want their picture taken because they think when people from the West see the pictures, we’ll think they are dirty and poor. I think their way of life is beautiful and only wish everyone saw it this way.

Piles and piles of produce

Child and mother with another baby on back

            We stopped for lunch in a cute little gas station/café. Another tagine for me, oh boy. Haha. Also, we experienced our first mini sandstorm during lunch. All of a sudden, you could here the wind and then we had 2 seconds to look the other way and cover our water glasses, bread basket, etc (none of which I managed to do). It only lasted 5 or so seconds, but afterwards, EVERYTHING was covered in sand. Crazy. Luckily our food hadn’t come out yet. Welcome to the Sahara!

            After lunch, we still had a few hours left, and broke up the trip by stopping to see an oasis in the desert. It was so neat to see all the palm trees and greenery in the middle of dry, dry land. Then, we stopped to see some baby camels drink Coke out of a bottle, what a sight.

Oasis!

Haha, I think I might send this picture to the Coca Cola Co. 

 Lastly, we stopped at a marble factory. Marble is very prevalent in the desert area of Morocco. What is unique about it though is that it has fossils! A long, long, long time ago, the Sahara was covered in water. Eventually, the ocean dried up, creating fossils in the Earth. Because the fossils were there for so long, the stone became marble. The marble at the factory was absolutely beautiful and the fossils—snails, squid, etc—were really cool. We saw a marble working sanding around the fossils and the marble cutting machine, which cuts 1 cm every 10 hours. Slow moving. But it was definitely worth it when we were brought to the showroom. I may have bought a few things. ;)

Marble snail fossil!

Marble tables and fountains

Marble saw

A short while later, we arrived at our departure point! I’ll leave you hanging here and come back with a post about our night in the Sahara later. Teaser: it was arguably the best experience of my life. The pictures are killer. Can’t wait to show you!

I have no words.

Off for now, a bientot!

-Allie