Part IV- "This Ain't So Bad"

Luckily, I suppose, there were taxis awaiting our arrival. Of course being about the only "blancs" on the boat, we were attacked after getting to the parking area. I ventured apart from the group and found an ATM where I got some dinars (I have trouble imagining life before ATMs-I'm just thankful they exist everywhere). Our taxi driver was a nice enough guy, but he very quickly figured out we had never been to Tangier. As a result, we went to see his "friends'" hotels while virtually ignoring our constant requests (which came from the somewhat unreliable Lonely Planet). At each stop, I got out, went up to check on the rooms and came back to report so we wouldn't leave our bags in the taxi alone. The first two or three were vetoed until finally it was after one in the morning and our standards had lowered significantly. We figured no evidence of rats or roaches and running water in the room was good enough for a couple hours sleep. It wasn't a Marriott, but we survived. We decided to stay another night while we explored the city a bit and plotted our course for the rest of the trip- but we moved into the Holiday Inn- a big step up.

Deema and I headed off after depositing our goods at the hotel to the markets. They were not unlike the markets of Jerusalem or Douala, but the food market was much more fascinating. All sorts of fantastic food, and the unique ability to come face to face with dinner (with the skin removed, unlike here in Cameroon) was particularly pleasant. After a while, we ended up at a huge artisan shop with just about everything you could want with a Morocccan flavor. The owner was quite entertaining and regaled us with tales (and pictures) of his friendships with Hillary Clinton, Martin Scorsese, and John Malkovitch. Quite a character. We bought a few items from him and continued on our exploration. At some point during the day, we made reservations for dinner at the fancy hotel in town (note: not ours) and we all met up to enjoy a fantastic dinner with a moroccan band and belly dancer! Of course, I was chosen to go dance with her, so Mom, the photos aren't what they look like! She was a dancer in a restaurant. Thats it!

We planned out the next day quite impressively, and went out to hire a driver/guide for the day. One of the first stops was a panoramic view of Tangier from a neighboring cliff- there were a number of Moroccans also there just contemplating their place in the world... After that was the Camel Man. In a sandy parking lot between the road and the ocean was a camel driver in the touristy sense (he obviously lived for people like us). It was quite evident that none of his money went towards dental care, however, and he was quite funny. As official photographer, I took lots of pictures while both Deema and Frankie got on camels for a ride around the parking lot. Unbeknownst to us at the time, those would be the only camels we would see our entire trip. After a narrow escape from the rain in Hercules' Cave, we had lunch of chicken schwarma back in downtown Tangier. A stop at the lighthouse with its beautiful views and a nice drive on that side of the city completed our tour. We stopped on the way back at the train station to get tickets for the night train to Marrakesh.

After my favorite dinner of the entire trip -Pizza Hut stuffed-crust pizza- we boarded the train and found our couchettes. I was either really tired, or they were surprisingly comfortable, but I slept almost the entire trip down. At 7am the next morning, we arrived in Marrakesh.

Frankie's time with us was coming to a sad close, so this was to be her last day, catching a train early the next morning and going to the Casablanca airport for a return to the US. As a result, we split up and I went with Frankie for one last day of shopping, this time in the renowned souks of Marrakesh, while Deema and Jean headed off to find a place for us to sleep for the rest of the week. Frankie and I had a blast trying our best to navigate the Marrakesh medina. They say don't try it without a guide the first time, but those who know Frankie and I know that's a challenge! We had a great time "feeling" our way around and haggling everywhere we went. I didn't intend on doing much shopping that day, but I still ended up with a bunch of stuff. My shopping goal for the trip was really only to get things for my friends here in Cameroon, since it would be almost a year and a half until I return to the US. But, there were a couple of items that were just irresistable and I'll get them back somehow!

Along the way (and it turned out on the way out) we found this mod, New York-ish lounge called Café Arabe which had aranchini. Now, I don't get overly excited about aranchini, but then again, I'm not Sicilian. Frankie immediately became best friends with the proprietor and swore that we'd be back once we found our friends again. And we were.

Frankie and I stayed at the not-so-impressive Ibis hotel next to the train station for the night (the manager and employees consistently acted as though we were theives out to rob him blind. He even followed us to breakfast to see how much we ate from his "free" buffet). We got on the early train to Cassablanca for a three hour trip so I could help her to the airport. When we arrived, we had several hours to "play with", so we went to the one notable tourist attraction in Cassablanca- the Hassan II mosque.

As the third largest mosque in the world, and less than fifteen years old, it was impressive in scale, in detail and in awe-inspiring beauty. We weren't allowed inside, as it was prayer time and thousands were streaming into the gigantic building which supposedly holds 20,000 worshippers at the same time under a retractable eighty foot roof with thirty foot tall modern chandeliers. Truly a modern engineering feat. After, we went looking for Sam's Bar, but found that only a replica existed inside the Hyatt hotel. Too bad.

Frankie set off for the airport, and I returned to Marrakesh by train, passing fields, villages of stone and mud and plenty of herders.

End of Part IV...