Hello hello!
Boy has today been a doozy. I keep thinking about how I was once told that in order to read you need both black and white colors to make words which in turn give both colors meaning and that life is just the same, you need good and bad. One without the other doesn’t make sense nor does it give substance. And boy was today just a mixed bag!
We had a nice calm breakfast in the morning and quickly packed and hit the road for what we thought would be a 3 1/2 hour drive. Boy were we wrong!! Right at the city lines of Marrakech we were flagged down at the police checkpoints for speeding. This had happened before numerous times on this trip, but each time they checked our passports, warned us to slow down, and then smiled and let us on our merry way. Well this time we were actually going at the speed limit when we got pulled aside. Basically this policeman was running a scam and flagging down all the foreign cars and making them pay for their “ticket.” He was insistent that we pay otherwise he’d take Auntie Sureia’s license, and she told him to keep the license. It became a standoff which neither person wanted to back down from. All in all 150 dirhams is a $15 ticket. But what really smarted was this time we were following the rules. In the time Susan and I were sitting in the car, four other foreigner were pulled aside while the locals whizzed by above the speed limit. But to point out the obvious would have obviously make them more mad. Ultimately, we had to call the consulate who told us just to pay the bribe, ahem, I mean fine. I mean the guy literally gave us directions to the nearest cash machine when we first tried telling him we didn’t have any cash on hand. Major eye roll. Ultimately we paid and the scary cop did a 180 in personality and became our best friend, wishing us a good trip, telling us to come back to Morocco, and even offering us tea!! Sometimes I just can’t with people.
Since we weren’t sure what day we’d arrive in the city we hadn’t booked a hotel but figured we would be just fine since it is a major city after all. We, tried calling around but didn’t have much luck reaching the staff so then we just decided to show up at the place and speak in person. Well the hotel was in a teeny tiny street and we got our car stuck! And I mean stuck stuck. Literally 20 people surrounded our car to try and help us get out, people moved motorbikes aside and tried to push the planters out of the way. At some point Susan and Auntie Sureia got out of the car and one of the locals tried to back the car out. I kid you not he had at least two people watching each corner of the car and banging when he got too close. He was mumbling in French and getting increasingly stressed as a HUGE tour group decided to pass using the very same alley. Auntie Sureia thought she could do it and told him to get out of the car when a skinny, short, young guy named Soufraine from the hotel confidently hopped in. What a riot, after moving the seat way forward he literally shushed everyone giving him directions and gunned the car out of the alleyway, dodging all the obstacles, and started pulling the car out to the street and driving away. At this point Auntie Sureia and Susan were laughing so hard, because at this point what can you do and I can only imagine how my stricken face must have looked as we began driving away. I figured well, if he did drive off with me they’d at least know what car I was in and it meant we successfully made it out of the alley. Luckily he pulled into the next block, but not before giving me his number and telling me to hit him up. Even as I tell this story for you I STILL can’t believe the chaos that occurred!
At this point, it was late in the day and I was hot and tired and still had nowhere to sleep. I found a little cafe down the road and suggested to Susan that we stop there and search for hotels in the shade. I got myself a mint lemonade, which in this country literally means lemon juice. They don’t seem to put sugar in anything, so it was tart but actually really refreshing. We kept searching for hotels only to learn that the entire city was fully booked out by the French because they were on holiday!
I don’t know how we got so lucky but Susan has a friend in Minneapolis who has a friend Jane who runs a bed and breakfast in the Old Medina. Well she had a last minute cancellation and offered us what was probably the only available room in the entire city! You guys know me, I never get homesick. Sometimes I really miss certain things and obviously all of you guys, but I never really wish for a trip to be over. This trip all I wanted to do was go home and end our bad luck streak. Coming to the bed and breakfast with the friendliest American in town was such a relief I almost cried. Jane was so helpful and offered us advice and tips to navigate the city.
It shouldn’t surprise you by this point when I say we couldn’t get into any restaurant anywhere for dinner, even after Auntie Sureia tried to pretend I was Angelina Jolie’s daughter haha. Not sure if the host believed her or not but he did at least ask his manager and call us back. Jane directed us to a cute cafe that had yummy food and available seating near the city square. Bellies full and feeling a lot better about our evening we ventured into the town center for the night market.
It was wild! It was basically a county fair with food and lots of souvenirs. Most of the city was hawking and hustling. Also, so many people stopped me to ask if I was Moroccan or even would come up to me speaking Moroccan Arabic before apologizing when they realized I couldn’t understand them. Go figure, apparently I needed to go down south to fit in and find a friendlier crowd. I wonder if my Ramadan and Eid would have been different if I had started down south. Oh well.
This city keeps night owl hours and the markets shut down by 11:30. It’s kinda crazy that little kids stay out so late on a week night! The hustle and bustle died down as we slowly winded our way home. I’m feeling positive about tomorrow. It’s our last day in Morocco and Susan and I have come up with a Jane approved plan for seeing the best of Marrakech in the day before we need to drive back to Casablanca at night. I’m keeping positive thoughts and hoping for a way better day tomorrow.
Love you guys lots,
Carolyn
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